Greymouth to Wellington

When I arrive in Greymouth, the weather is very nice and I even spend the afternoon along the beach - is this really the We(s)t Coast? But the weather forecast is not very flash for the upcoming days, because the remnant of a cyclone is expected over the country later on. So, I decide to move on especially since the wind direction might be in my favour at this moment. On a dark, cloudy morning I pack my tent and other stuff on my bicycle again. It is cloudy but warm and humid on my way to Reefton. The first part of the trip follows the Grey River inland and I pass some tiny villages. The sticky warmth and the sound of the cicadas give me the feeling of cycling in the tropics. During the second part of this trip, the scenic hills make place for more cattle and farm land, but around Reefton there are only green hills around. The first sight of Reefton is nice; it has history from the gold mining days and has a western style street. Reefton is 'famous' for being the town with the world's first street lighting, connected in 1888. When I arrive at the campground I get the advice to pitch my tent straight away before the nasty weather is going to strike: that sounds encouraging. Luckily it is not getting very nasty - only a bit of rain and no wind at all. I stroll around town a bit, having afternoon tea and a beer and prepare myself a dinner at the campground before heading to the tent to have a good night's rest.

The forecast for the next day is pretty ugly, but I do not want to stay in Reefton. And after all it is better to be 'en route' when it's raining than just hanging around a campground. So at 07:30am I am already cycling to try to get as far as possible without any rain. This takes only 45 minutes and then it starts pouring and blowing. There is only one small town between Reefton and my final destination of today: Murchison. This town is called Inangahua and there is something that is called a shop/post office/cafe etc. but not a lot there. It is very disappointing and the people there basically tell me that I am a 'stupid foreigner' to cycle in this area - 'no Kiwi would do this'. Fair enough! I move on... another 55 km to cover.

The road becomes more winding and undulating, so I am changing gears constantly. It is a beautiful route, but I must say I can not really enjoy it to the full. When the rain eases a bit, I am finally able to make some pictures and luckily I am at a nice spot at that moment (although every part of the South Island is beautiful in my opinion). During this part of my trip a lot of the car drivers wave to me or blow their horn - is this to encourage me, or are they telling me that I am crazy?! I will never know. What I do know, however, is that some of those logging truck and cattle truck drivers really are crazy and try to drive me off the road. Pretty bad behaviour, I should say.

When I finally arrive in Murchision, I am soaking wet, but my first goal is a cafe for some drinks and food, because I am starving by now and want to get a bit dry as well. I get a few strange looks from the people there and when I sit down (in the outside area) an American tourist asks me whether I have been kayaking on the river? That's how I look! Later on I have a nice chat with them and they want some information from me for the remainder of their travels on the South Island. Then I go to the campground but decide to take a cabin this time.

The next day there are still clouds, but it doesn't look very bad. I know there is a nice camping place around 40 kms from Murchison and the next stop would be Motueka - around 80 kms further from there. I have one huge advantage: the wind is southwest and my direction is north. I leave Murchison on the cycle lane, that runs along the SH6 in this town and very easily I am on my way enjoying the scenery. Around 10:30am I arrive at the first possible stop; it doesn't make sense to stop here, because the weather is improving and it is great to cycle. So I go on, but already realise that it is going to be a long trip, longer than the 120 km I had anticipated. There is only a minor climb of 3 km to around 600 metres ahead of me and the rest is mainly undulating and back to sea level in Motueka. It is getting hot and sunny, that's what I need. The last part of the trip through the Motueka Valley (along the Motueka River) is very scenic and with the assistance of some tailwind I manage to arrive in Motueka with 140 km on the teller today. I know what I deserve now: a nice beer (Mac's Gold of course).

During the very enjoyable trip to Motueka I spend some time reflecting my cycling tour and decide that it is time to head home. I left Wellington nearly six weeks ago and have spend a great time on the South Island. I have seen a lot of beautiful things and have experienced this Island in the best way there is! Also I have met a lot of nice people, learned a lot about different countries and about New Zealand and learned a lot about myself as well.

The two days in Motueka I spend lazy - although I also make a cycle trip to Kaiteriteri - a beautiful beach closeby - but am surprised about the number of people around. Moreover, there is the friendly rugby match between the Crusaders (Christchurch) against the Hurricanes (Wellington) in Motueka. The town was already dressed in black/red and black/yellow, because they never had such a big match before. Of course I am going to watch the game. Unfortunately, the Crusaders win the match, but it is still good fun and all of Motueka loved it!

On Saturday I arrive on the ferry in Wellington and Marco is there - thinking he has to pick up a friend of mine. Surprise, surprise!

Now I am back in Wellington...................

Cheers,
Anita

For pictures : http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/AnitasTourDeAotearoa/Greymouth%20to%20Wellington/