My Gear is Falling Apart

January 30, 2015
Hari Hari, South Island, NZ



I've been having a string of gear breakdowns and it's really getting frustrating! I think it started with a leaky air mattress that I patched. Then when I tried to rotate my front tires, I pinched both the tubes trying to get the "too small for the rim" tires off. Didn't even know that could happen, but when they were remounted, they both were flat. Perfectly good tubes now damaged. We can't find our size tubes in NZ, but I stupidly told April not to order some because our tires never go flat and I had a spare as well as patches. And here I damaged 2 perfectly good tubes....badly. And patches aren't holding in this heat...they melt, then leak. So we've been patching a lot of tires. And since I'm tormenting, what's with these plastic or aluminum tire irons? We've broken 3 new ones and bent 3 others. And can't find anything here tests any stronger. It gets back to the tires being smaller than the rims and too hard to get off and on. Bad idea. But they're so much sleeker than the tires too big for the rim. Why can't ICE (the trike manufacturer) and Schwalbe ( the tire manufacturer) make tubes and rims that match???

So what came next? Another leak in my mattress, near the old one. Another patch. Then during a big wind in Queenstown while our tents were up during a zero day, my tent was blown over and a pole snapped. Hoof it to town where they tried to replace the broken pole sections to no avail. But one smart man suggested I just take off the small broken piece (about 2 inches) and live with it. So that's what I'm doing. Another section is cracked and I duct taped it and am hoping it will hold. I contacted the manufacturer in the States, but he's unresponsive. Not good customer service from Big Sky International.



So on we pedal northward over a very long steep climb called the Crown Range. 16% grade in places. 13 kms climb! Didn't start up until 2 pm in this heat. Grind. Grind. Grind. Up and up and up. Got to where we could not make the pedals go round. Didn't think we were going to make the next chain bay just ahead 50 meters! Ugh! 11 kms down. I don't have anything left. It's been 4 hours to get here. Out pops my thumb and the 3rd car in line pulls over! It took him two trips but he took us up to the top. As we drove up those last 2 kms, I knew I'd made the right decision. From there we coasted down to Wanaka stopping to camp at a creek along the way. A lot of people have given us kudos for that climb!












So continuing northward camping by rivers and in pull offs, my next batch of breakages happen. First the strap on my flip flops pulls out:(. Then my headlamp casing falls into my hands:(. Then that night my sir mattress leaks again. So there I sit in my tent raking the 30 minutes to patch it. This leak is 1/2 inch from the other two...all at the head of a glued baffle seam. It's now midnight. Inflate per instructions and crawl into my bag. BANG! Flat! Flip it over and there are two 12 inch long rips on either side of the glued baffle seam. SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!!!! Gonna be done long nights ahead sleeping on the hard earth.



See the few things I have to try and pad myself. It's not working!! Sore, bruised body...getting worse every night. Tonight will be the 4th one:(


I guess I expect everything to last forever. But losing my sure mattresses a big deal! There are no towns we will pass through for the next month that have an outdoor store. I tossed the air mattress because it was useless, but afterwards decided to contact ExPed to see if this may have been a defect and they'd nail me a new one. A kind man wrote to tell me to contact the store where I bought it. I did buy it in NZ when I was here before but that was over a year ago. I assumed it was out of warranty so why would they help me? And I had no receipt nor the defective product. So I went online to see if I could order a replacement to be sent to a town up ahead and read that my sure mattress had a 2 year warranty. I wrote back to ExPed about my predicament and was advised to contact the store for the replacement. He would support me if need be. So this morning I called Bivouac in Tauranga on the North Island and was told to bring in the defective air mattress. I chuckled. Not happening. Don't have it and not near you. But somehow he became convinced to help me against company policy and at a cost to the store. Think you, Bivouac! Amazing customer service! He had it in the mail sending a tracking number back to me 30 minutes after I called!! Tim, you rock!!

And deserve friends in Wellington popped an air mattress they had in the mail to me this morning after hearing of my plight! Now 2 mattresses will be in Greymouth next week:))). Thanks for thinking of me, Prue! I'm so touched! I'll bring it back when I come, or send it back.

So today we stopped early a couple of days south of Hokitika where we're picking up repair parts for April's trike and L'arginine (amino acid pills) for my high blood pressure. Hopefully they'll bring it back into range as they always do. Also decided to get off most dairy since it's the one thing I do show antibodies in the blood to...but I love dairy. This has been hard.

We're set up in a Dept of Conservation campsite for $6 each. Sweet! On a lake for swimming.



Livin' the life!

BagLady

The Kepler Track

January 15, 2015
Te Anau, South Island, NZ

When I last left you we were headed north out of Invercargill. We camped the first night in a farmer's meadow. Never saw the farmer. Then heading north, the next night I spotted a river and a bridge on a side road and headed over to check it out. Wasn't looking too promising. No flat, grassy spot for tents. Coming back over this rattly wooden bridge, there were 2 trucks waiting there turn parked side by side. So I hopped off Blaze and walked up between them. "Any place to wild camp around here?"

"Your lucky day", one guy responded. "Follow that track."

And we did. So did he, ahead of us. And finally, way down, it curved to the river. Crunchy grass but it would do. And like most of our encounters, "Wouldn't you rather sleep up at the house in a proper bed?" No, we love our tents.



Jake taking a dip to cool off!



Me taking a dip to cool off:))!!!



I think I look good in this official something hat...don't you?

But he did come back later with a bottle of wine and a chair to join us after dinner. "Would you like to borrow my ute to tour around tomorrow?" Really? What we really want to do is go to Te Anau and walk the Kepler Track. "Ok", says Peter. Really?? "Actually, let me see if I can get my Ford Falcon back to loan ya". And he makes a call.

"Let's go get it tonight", he says. "But you girls will have to drive because I've had my license revoked." Hmmm. Ok. (Probably drunken driving because he was knocking off the beers.)

So that's how we got a car to drive the 60 kms out to Te Anau to hike the Kepler. Sweet!!

Peter also offered to cook us breakfast and showed up bright and early to haul our bikes and gear up to his house where it all would be stored. Every time one of us was alone with him, he was hitting on us. A high energy guy. Oh and he carried guns in his truck: a pistol and a rifle. April says she checked the chamber of the pistol and it had no bullets but he sure liked to twirl it around.

By the time we finally hit the road, April was at her wits end from his energy. She broke into tears, poor girl. A nice man. A lonely man. Going through a tough time right now.

Now we were on the road, April driving...on the LEFT. STAY LEFT!!! That was my job. Watch her at all her turns. She did great! I find riding in a car too fast. It makes me nauseous. My eyes can register what it's seeing. Too long on a bike.

A ways down the road, April turns to me and says, "What's Peter's last name?" Damned if I know! And we cracked up. Here we were driving down the road in this guy's car and we didn't know his last name or address. How crazy is that????

This track, one of the Great Walks of NX, is 60 kms (36 miles). There are only 2 bookable campsites on it. But a couple we met on Stewart Island told us about another site that didn't require booking. They also suggested walking it clockwise. So that's what we did. We parked at Rainbow Reach because the DoC (Dept of Conservation) folks said they'd had no burglaries at the parking lots. It was only 5 kms into Shallow Bay to our campsite on the lake. Beautiful. It rained that night and morning. Well, actually all that next day. But the rain was so light and spaced that it felt like we dried between raindrops. This was a bush walk all day. The NZ bush is full of ponga ferns and the trail was like a walk in the park. My only issue was my new Chaco sandals that April had brought for me were rubbing and causing blisters, something I've never experienced with them before. And because my feet were wet, I couldn't put duct tape on the hot spots. I was a hurting dudette. I finally switched to my flip flops. But walked barefoot when I could. Ouch. My flip flops rubbed a sore between my toes. I think the rain making for wet feet was the culprit. But I had 2 more days to hike. Hmmm?












We arrived at Iris Burn Campsite drenched to the bones. The rain had gotten harder before we could make it in. Lovely shelter there with space for cooking and picnic tables under cover and places to hang things to...dry? April came up with the smart idea of erecting our tent under the shelter and carrying it to the site so the inside stayed dry. She started a fad and everyone arriving later did the same thing. We had a great group there that night: Kathryn & Michael from Australia, "Drip Dry" ( I gave him a hiker name when he arrived soaked and drenched with rain) from Ireland, and Roy and Ben from Israel.

The next day was going to be a long one for all of us. 23 kms up and over Mt. Jackson to Brod Bay Campsite for Kathryn & Michael and April & me. The Israeli boys were going further to the car park. "Drip Dry" decided to go back up to the ridge line to see the view before going in the whole other direction and out to the car park we came in from 2 days ago. Oh, to be young!

The views were spectacular! Breathtaking! Beyond words!















That 3rd day was long...long downhill at the end. Oh so hard on the knees. My knees and feet were killing me...just all achy. But the Israeli boys caught up with us after their long lunch break at the hut and they hiked with us to the campground, providing great distraction of how our bodies were feeling:)

We stayed the night at this campground on the shores of Te Anau Lake and hiked out to the closer parking lot in the morning. Our plan was to hitch to the further parking lot (10 kms) and our car. But we didn't think about the fact that in the morning people are arriving not departing. Ok. Dutch that plan. Let's have lunch and then hike to our car. No sooner do we make our sandwiches than I see a woman coming out if the park. Any chance you could give us a lift to Rainbow Reach parking lot? Sure. I was heading there myself! Is that trail magic or what? You have to give up and what you're looking for comes to you!

We were apprehensive about getting back to Peter's and whether we should stay the night as he expected or just pack up and bike away. How was he going to be? We decided we would confront the issue head on and talk about it. But when we arrived, Trish, an ex girlfriend was there and provided a delightful buffer. We thoroughly enjoyed her company and hospitality and Peter was busy elsewhere on the farm most of the time, although hospitably concerned that we had everything we needed. A pleasant contrast to before. So we stayed the night and cycled out showered, laundryed, and restocked to continue north.


Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Tramping Stewart Island

January 10, 2014
Bluff, NZ

The following morning we packed up our backpacks and headed down to the ferry. The sea looked calm so I decided to try no drugs.


Big mistake! What was I thinking? I made it halfway before I needed the first barf bag. I was standing on the rail with a cold wind in my face and sea spray soaking my clothes and my mouth in a barf bag for the last half hour. The swells were big and that boat rocked and rolled. I felt awful. When we finally arrived in Oban I was drenched from my hair to my toes. My whole body was rebelling. My head throbbed. I felt like shit. Get me to the hostel, the tent up, and let me sleep. Poor April was left to entertain herself because I was out of commission. (No after photos.)

When I awoke a couple of hours later I felt better so we trudged around the small village. They had a little theater showing a film about Stewart Island. Let's go, says I. Another mistake. A movie about Stewart Island has water in it...and boats! I was sick all over again. To bed. That's the only thing that helps.
By morning I was a new woman and ready to hike.

This island is special for it's bird life, especially kiwis, the native bird to New Zealand. I've cycled a lot if this country, but this was my first tramp through the bush. OMG the ferns could swallow me whole they're so big. It really was like tramping through a movie set of Jurassic Park!






Our plan was to take two nights, three days to do the 33 km Rakiura Track, one of the Great Walks of NZ. We booked into the campsites which were near the huts with water collected from a cooking shelter roof into a tank, the cooking shelter and toilets. Our first site was on a beach and April dropped onto the beach to walk in. She was attacked by birds. Oyster Catchers. This couple had chicks and I saw them scurrying down the beach with the babies...not knowing they were fleeing April. Whew! She put her poles up to protect her head. They were a black bird with bright red beaks. A while later I strolled up the beach forgetting about the birds but in the direction away from their nests we'd been told and I look up to see this bright red beak coming straight at me like a dive bomber. I turned and ran! Now this bird is only the size of a small seagull. But he's serious!!

Then during the night when I was getting up to pee I notice a headlight by the shelter scanning all around. Then I see her mate go out of their tent and they have bright lights shining and flashes going off. They'd gotten their adult son up too. And I watched them scatter this way and that, like the keystone cops. So funny. I figured they'd spotted a kiwi but I felt protective of the bird and didn't want to get up and add to their trauma so I stayed in my tent. April slept through it all. Did I miss seeing a kiwi. Yes. Three of them. But I don't regret it. I feel we humans are so bent on saying we did something ("I saw a kiwi!") that we don't respect them. But I could have seen a kiwi:). And that will have to be enough. I watched Kiwis watching kiwis, I tell everyone!

The rest of the hike was pretty flat, uneventful, but with amazing scenery. We met 4 guys from Italy and a couple from Canada that had see us on the road biking. Several folks actually said they'd seen us.

This hike psyched us up for doing another Great Walk around Te Anau in Fiordland if we could figure out how to make that happen. It felt great to have backpacks on and be tramping. Hmm. Well have to research this.

So back to Bev and Bruce's to meet up with Adele and Andrew who arranged our bike accommodations in Bluff, and dinner, and a great sleep in the garden before heading north.

With access to a computer I researched the option of catching a bus to Te Anau. It was too far out of our way to bike. I remembered buses were difficult with my one trike before when I was here. I was very concerned about two. And they got even stricter. Maybe if we took 2 different buses? Only one a day? That won't work. Screw it. The Kepler Track isn't going to happen, April. I can't figure out how to get there.








This is Burt Monro's bike with which he set the land speed record in the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. Google this guy. Most interesting. And watch a great movie about him: "The World's Fastest Indian". Oh, by the way, this motorcycle and many other relics and old cars were in a great hardware store in Invercargill! Greet place to visit!


Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman

Getting to Bluff

January 7, 2015
Bluff, South Island, NZ

There, I've gone and done it again...gotten behind on my blog. The worst part is I can't remember where I left off. Guess I'll have to save out of here and go look that up. Wait here. I'll be right back...

Ok, I'm back. Good, just New Year's Eve. I think I can bring you up to date. We spent a windy New Years Eve in Fortrose camped near the beach at a freedom camping site provided. How sweet! It was so windy that April and I stayed in our tents and ate whatever we had in our bags. I have the tuna. Do you have the mayo? Who has the tomato? I think I'm just eating chips for dinner. We texted between the tents because we couldn't hear each other. Them we sent each other funny pics.










I'm so sure those pics won't upload so we'll see if you get them it not. Funny, fun evening. But early to bed. Another New Year's Eve I've slept through!

The next day we were nearing Invercargill and thinking we'd have to use a campground because we couldn't find any nooks or crannies for our tents. We needed water so we stopped at a farm to get some. And it turned out to have a nice big yard. Can we camp here too for the night? Sure. We ended up staying 2 nights, being fed the whole time, laundry, showers..so wonderful! Brooke and Stu and daughters Grace and Emily. The youngest only 6 weeks old and the big sister just 2. They have a beautiful dairy farm and have sold it and bought a larger one.









Yup, we were camped outside the dining room window!

Once we figured out plans for tramping on Stuart Island we managed to tear ourselves away and move on down the road...to Bluff and the tip of the South Island. And only when I got to the southern most marker did it hit me that I'd cycled the full length of New Zealand (and more). Pretty exciting!




While cycling through the Catlins, we met a couple on holiday that mentioned they lived in Bluff. And needing a place to store our bikes, I kept their contact info. They offered to help but we're arriving later than us son they hooked is up with Bev and Bruce, this wonderful retired couple that moved here 6 years ago and remodeled an Art Deco house. What a treat meeting them has been and we've been spoiled again: meals, showers, laundry, and camping in the garden!



Thanks Bev and Bruce !!
Livin' the life,

BagLady

Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman