Punakaiki to Murchison

Note:
Apologies for this lengthy War and Peace like missive! Much to remember and lack of time and mobile data for a while.

Sat 28 June…
Leaving Punakaiki we stopped at the Truman Track which took us along the path through a subtropical forest of podocarp trees, nīkau palms, and towering Northern Rata. (Rata are a cunning tree that starts life as an epiphyte on its host tree and sends down aerial roots which eventually entomb its host). The track opened out into a band of coastal flax, which initially concealed a surprise small cove, beach and waterfall. The beach was beautiful and very atmospheric, with waves crashing against rocks, and breaking at the top of the beach.

The coast road north hugged the sea providing great views: we tried not to get too distracted and plummet over the edge. The linger of clouds in the trees and sea spray added to the feeling of riding through the fictional Isla Nublar of Jurassic Park.

At Irimahuwhero Lookout we met a couple from Christchurch on a long weekend break. We really enjoy these friendly meetings, learning about local people, their thoughts and insight. They helpfully told us about the wet weather up north where we were heading. Rainfall of 150-200mm had caused rivers to burst and severe local flooding, causing several road closures due to land slips, collapsed roads, and damaged bridges. At the same lookout, we also met Ken, who was on a day-trip driving down the coast. An easy going and chatty gent, we riffed on biking, his love of tramping (hiking), and the outdoors.

Blue skies and sun accompanied us as we turned inland. Coming the other way was another fellow traveller! Skyler, a cycle tourer and Canadian teacher from Ontario (he lives 25 hours north of Toronto!). His 5-week tour on his summer break started in the North Isle and he was heading to Bluff on the far south coast. An experienced traveller, Skyler has visited 31 of 50 US states and cycled the length of Canada, west to east! He recently had a failed brake, a fall on his bike resulting in cuts and grazes to his arms, and needed a replacement wheel. He seemed so relaxed about this, in good spirits and not at all fazed. He also recommended his experience of ‘Warmshowers’ (a world community of resident cycle tourers who host other fellow cyclists) - something we’re looking to try.

Reaching the small hamlet of Charleston we grabbed a coffee and bumped into Ken again on his way home to Westport. He gave us some tips about back routes to Westport and asked us where we were staying. When we replied that our aim was to pitch at the campsite he kindly said we could stay with him and gave us his address! It was lovely to meet someone like Ken who was a like minded person with similar interests and who also enjoyed meeting new people.

We chose to take the longer off-road Kawatiri Coastal Trail from Charleston to Westport. This trail was initially interesting, and by a river, through woods - not too troubling. It then developed into a twisty track through dense bush for miles, ‘wiggly woo’, back and forth, switchback and bend, up and down: definitely not direct and a bit hard on our laden bikes. Progress was very slow and we joked we had been down sections of the path before and were going in circles as it all looked the same! Eventually the ‘Heart of Darkness’ section, as Amanda coined it, ended and we rode out into arable fields with cattle and down to the sea. All the while, the heavens greyed and weather turned wet from ‘mizzle’ to drizzle, then full blown hard rain. In darkness and with heads down we ploughed along a wet road for the last 10 miles into Westport - so delighted to have a welcoming dry house to head to and friendly welcome by Ken. Thanks to him, a luxurious night in his spare room.

Arriving at Ken’s we parked bikes in his garage and decanted wet waterproofs. Ken showed us around his lovely house (us leaving wet footprints) that he had refurbished himself.

Before settling we nipped out to a local pub for tea and had a good hearty meal and allowed ourselves a drink too.

Chatting to Ken that evening we learnt about his interesting life. First a bit of a bad boy in his youth (his words) he entered the military and became a tailor. Later he got into boat building, which led to upholstering boats as bespoke orders for clients with money to spend! He told us about his love of tramping and showed us photos of many of the NZ Great Walks. He also motorbikes and his latest project is a camper van build! A man of many talents and skills he really inspired us!

Sun 29 June…
After a great nights sleep, we bade Ken farewell. He said for us to get in touch when we reach Picton where he lives, which was lovely and we hope to meet him for a coffee.

The next section of our route followed the Buller gorge, aiming for Berlins campground. The river meandered through a wooded valley, narrowing at points as the river cut through the steep slopes. We passed the T-Rex tree (dinosaur, not Marc Bolan’s band) and outside the campground found a huge sculpture of a sandfly (NZ’s version of the Scottish midge).

We met Dean the owner who offered us a deal on a cabin, better than a tent pitch on a chilly damp evening. Chatting to Dean his face lit up as he recalled following his heart and being convinced to buy a push bike by a French lady and cycle from Croatia, via Montenegro, to Greece. After 11 years running the campsite he’d like to travel again, saying the business rates in NZ are getting too high, it was too hard to run a profit, and he wanted to sell the business. What next for Dean, who knows but we wished him well.

Mon 30 June…
Awake eat and with no tent to pack away, we breakfasted and hit the road. Today we followed the Buller River for the majority of the day winding through tree covered hillsides. It was a day of many hills (14 climbs) and Amanda’s knee suffered, nagging her most of the day. We clocked 42 miles as we pulled into Murchiston mid-afternoon.

Before cycling a mile or so out of town to the campsite, we visited the Post Office where Robin the helpful and friendly ex-pat postmaster helped us navigate the process of international post. After popping to the supermarket for our evening dinner, we cycled to the Riverside Camp where the lovely lady said we could camp under the outside sheltered seating area, right by the shared kitchen and toilet. Little luxuries! In our sleeping bags we could hear the sound of the river running by and had a very peaceful sleep!Leggi altro