Day 17 -Wellington to Canvasstown

Today was another early start so we could catch the ferry across Cook Strait to Picton.

So we were up at about 5.30am. I had an interrupted night of sleep firstly due to a guy in the room we had at the Youth Hostel who said insisted on reorganising his luggage for a couple of hours whilst we were trying to sleep….also I was probably a bit over tired which somehow makes sleeping difficult for me.

The weather in Wellington was cool but clear with temperatures around 14 degrees.

After breakfast at the Youth Hostel we made our way to the ferry as we had to be there by 7.15 am .

We boarded with our bikes and they were in the car storage areas on the ship. I guess there were about 20 bikes and riders including ourselves. Interesting that most were international riders from places like the UK and we even met a guy from Brazil.

The sailing time on the ferry was about 8.30 am and it took about 3 hours. The ferry was quite comfortable and we managed to get coffee and snacks .

The scenery of the coast line and the Cook Strait was quite stunning and we were reminded regularly that “we got a good day “to do the crossing.

Anyway we arrived at Picton at around 11.00 am and getting off was quite easy.

The plan was to meet John and Ian our 2 mates from last years NZ trip in Picton for lunch. They had driven from Christchurch to meet us but were delayed due to roadworks along the route.

We ordered lunch just as Ian and John arrived which was great timing and after a hello and bite of lunch we sorted out bikes for the trip ahead.Traveling on the South Island is going to be somewhat easier with Ian driving a car as our support vehicle which means no bags on the bike!!!!

What a relief!!!!

So after sorting all this out we began our 40 + km ride to Canvastown.

The ride started on sealed road then went on a track. I was not comfortable on the track so Steve and I did most of the ride on the road whilst Chris and John did most of the ride on the track. It worked well for us all this way.

The scenery along the route was quite stunning really and I took a number of pictures which hopefully gives some idea of what we saw. Steve and I arrived at the meeting point at Havelock to wait for Chris and John. Fortunately the ice cream shop was open for us to enjoy a delicious ice cream whilst waiting for the others.

It is interesting that Havelock has produced 2 quite outstanding NZ scientists. One was Ernest Rutherford and William Pickering. Rutherford was famous in the field of atomic and nuclear physics whilst Pickering was famous as an aerospace engineer helping with the development of rocket engines.

The ride from Havelock through to Canvastown was quite pleasant and we got into our Houston about 6.00 pm.

It was a good day for us all in what is very striking scenery.

The hotel we are staying at tonight is a traditional old style pub with a great host who has gone out of her way to help us enjoy the stay. They organised our washing, provided a lovely meal and breakfast…. All great for us to enjoy the trip.

I want to say at this juncture that although you may read my blog and believe that I am not entirely enjoying the ride… you are wrong in believing this!

I am having a great time seeing a lovely country and doing it in the company of some great mates. For me the most important part of this is the way you respond the daily challenges that are presented to you and the exhilaration to get when you meet and exceed the challenges presented.

Today’s pictures are as follows:

Route maps in Wellington and from Picton to Canvastown

Several shots of the scenery along the ride including the timber loading facility

Our pub for the night