World Famous Sandflies

From Queenstown and up the west coast the weather surprisingly cooperated with us for the most part.  There was only one day where we got absolutely drenched and ended up having to shorten our day.  It was like we were taking a bath all day long. 

Trevor still doesn’t like it here very much since he says it is cold and wet, has many steep hills, there are no shoulders, too much farmland and the prices are ridiculous.  True, the price of food has skyrocketed and this is by far the most expensive country we have been to but I am personally enjoying the scenery and fresh air.  Trevor doesn’t care for that though. 

I pick up many brochures en route to see what is ahead and have noticed there are many ‘world famous’ sights all over New Zealand.  Seems like everything I read is famous if not world famous.  Funny though how I have never heard of any of them prior to coming here.  Anyway, I get a kick when reading about all these ‘famous’ attractions.  I will say one thing they should be famous for is their notorious sandflies.  These nasty bugs are super annoying and bite like crazy.  Much worse than a mosquito bite as they itch and last longer.  My legs are bloodied up from all the itching.  Every time we take a break or set up camp we have to layer up completely so we won’t get bit.    

Yesterday we waited most of the day in Picton, the town where the ferry departs for the North Island.  Just as we were about to set off for our stealth camp spot we were approached by a kiwi couple who asked us about our trip.  They were very nice and gave us their leftover fries and even offered us a proper feast at their home in Te Awamutu.  They were a bit surprised we don’t eat any meat and that our current diet consisted of pretty much bread, margarine, oats and sugar.  Anyway, I told them I knew where Te Awamutu is since I had a former work colleague in London who was from there but she unfortunately passed away last year in a car crash.  I told them that and coincidentally they know her family very well.  So that was kind of strange, we both knew of the same person.  Complete randomness. 

On the milestone front we have been on the road for one year now and logged over 40,000km.  So far I am quite glad how this 2^nd attempt is going.  The end is getting nearer… 

Right after Queenstown we took the Crown Range route which was quite hilly.  But where there are hills there are lookouts. 

Trevor at the highest paved road in New Zealand at 1076m.

Anyone in the market for some bras? 

Real frustrating seeing these signs plastered all over the country.  They sure don’t make stealth camping easy here.  

The day we got completely soaked.  And of course Trevor gets a flat out in the open exposed to the wind and rain and has to fix it while getting buckets of rain poured on him.  He got real pissed off as the patch didn’t work at first and then he popped his tube after pumping it too much.  It sounded like a gunshot and smoke came out of the tire.  I was startled and Trevor had trouble hearing for a short while. 

At Haast Pass which to me isn’t much of a pass at 563m.  The rain really kept on strong as we cycled down the steep road.  This of course was hard on the brakes and a bit dangerous in my view.  Slippery and steep surfaces are not a good mix.  

Aoraki/Mount Cook I believe is the one covered in snow. 

The world famous Franz Josef Glacier. 

Hokitika beach.

I checked out the world famous pancake rocks which were neat.  I had to weave my way through a bus load of Chinese tourists while I walked the loop.  Later one of them approached us while we ate our breakfast at a bench and said hello.  Then stared at us for about half a minute and then left.  Felt like we were back in China there for a minute. 

The layering and delayering ritual we have to do on a daily basis because of those irritating sandflies.  Just to sit in peace and eat. 

Last year Easter was very good to us with all the deals we got in Canada.  We often think back to those days of eating Easter jelly beans, eggs and chocolates.  However, Easter didn’t serve us well this time round.  I forgot the exact date it was and didn’t properly stock up on food.  When cycling food is very important and is our fuel.  So being without it for even a day is not a good time.  In Richmond which is in between Hope and Nelson (no I am not in British Columbia) we went to the Pak ‘N Save only to find it closed.  I was dejected and angry that the whole country was closed during the long weekend.  We cycled onward and Trevor spotted a sign advertising 2kg of gala apples for $2.  Sweet deal!  It was one of those roadside honesty shops where you put your money in a container and take whatever is on offer.  We have seen these before but usually there is nothing on offer or whatever is on offer is not a good deal.  So I was very pleased to see these apples and for a good price.  Probably should have picked up another bag.  I like apples.  I like food.

We have just arrived in Wellington!  From here we head north to Auckland…