Day 17- The Bach to Kaikoura

7 Mar

Today we were up and about at 7.00am with breakfast then it was tidy up the Bach time ahead of moving on to our next destination.

We had the place “Spick and Span” in no time at all and it was good to get moss the temp was about minus 1 with a mild frost.

After doing a tree planting ceremony to mark the Wheeliebinners visit to this wonderful location we were off on the drive to Kaikoura . The first stop was a visit to a location where the university is studying the movement along the NZ fault line then a visit to a pretty viewpoint near spring junction.

After this it was on to Hanmar Springs where we had coffee and I had a lovely cake. Hanmar Springs is definitely worth another visit it was very pretty.

The trip took us over the Lewis Pass which is one of the main crossings by road from east to west.

After coffees it was on further through hilly country which was a lot dryer on the east side of the mountain ranges. Along the way we met up with a group of riders doing the TA on sealed roads raising money for the prostate cancer cause. It was great to meet the Bikes for Blokes guys which had a lady as part of the group. They are aiming to raise 400,000NZD for the cause which is wonderful achievement.

The rest of the drive was through hilly country which made me think of the work that the Bikes for Blokes riders were going through!

We arrived at Kaikoura at about 3.00 pm then it was time to change into riding gear for a ride around Kaikoura.

All of us apart from Ian and Phil went in the Kaikoura ride which was shorten due to time but it was very good taking in a brief ride through Kaikoura and out through a pine forest then a golf course after climbing a shortish hill. I got a bit lost on the ride which was a bit frustrating but managed to find the others to do the return trip back to the hotel.

After showering we then went out to a pub for dinner where I had fish and chips which were good followed by a child’s meal chocolate sundae… all yummy!

After doing the NZ census forms it was off to bed at around 9.30 pm for the night to ready ourselves for the last day of riding on the tour…. Sad really but all good things unfortunately come to an end. On a bright note Phil presented Chris with his own Wheeliebinners uniform being a cycling top and socks… he was suitably impressed and will wear the uniform tomorrow.