Day 12- Hokitika to Ross then relocate to the “Bach” 35 kms

4 Mar

Today was another early start with me having breakfast at the bakery rather than in the hotel room

It was coffee and muesli with fruit.

We were off at 7.10 a little late due to Ellio being unable to locate the key to the room where our bikes were stored overnight.

The ride to Ross was fairly flat and we made good time to get to Ross by about 10.15 am. The country along the route was coastal with some low countryside farms with dairy farms.

There were a few river crossings along the way which had interesting bridges.

After the ride we boarded the van to travel to the “Bach” with a stop at Hokitika for a hot cross bun Ann’s coffee, and at Greymouth where we needed to do some food shopping.

After picking up supplies it was on to the “Bach” . The route to this was on good roads and is about 60 kms. Arriving we were greeted by a wonderful sight of the accomodation for the next few nights. Chris showed us around the various engineering feats he has achieved including a hydro power system which supplements the solar system and a water supply system which comes from the local creek.

After a shower we had a bbq dinner of lamb and venison and white bait patties with all ingredients supplied by a local farmer (Miguel who is an immigrant from Spain)

We were also joined by a couple of Chris’s friends for dinner. One, Ray is a teacher and has done rides with Chris and Geoff who has kindly offered to drive Ellio back to Christchurch.

As it was Ellio’s last we duly celebrated his time with us.

To be frank, I was looking forward to a night of sleep.