As I was about to leave my dorm, the rain came down. I had to wait it out, at least the brunt of it, but I had time to spare. One hour later I was on the road.
I saw a couple of cyclists turning towards the gravel and mud track that I had decided to bypass, and without hesitating even a moment I continued on the highway.
I was enjoying my ride, I even strayed off the main road to visit the small town of Blackball, something I wouldn’t have done if I was pushing Greengo through the mud. I skipped two off-road segments today – one at the beginning and another at the end of the day. No regrets.
Until today I hadn’t seen much difference in scenery between North and South Islands; maybe the mountain peaks are spikier and snowier on South Island. But today I reached the West Coast with the Tasman See on my right and distant mountains on my left, and a flat road in between. Change is good! In the next few days I will cycle parallel to the coast, though not very close to it.
WarmShowers came through for me in Hokitika where I stayed with Claudia and Pat. One of their sons is cycling in Europe. We had a lovely dinner and a nice conversation. Pat’s great grandfather happened to be a circus performer back in England. Unexpected connection.
Today in numbers:
132 km – distance cycled
2200 km – width of the Tasman Sea