New Zealand Week 1 & 2

We plunged into our bicycle tour full of expectations. We expected good weather. Early summer New Zealand, North Island, these things meant good weather to us. Instead we found ourselves cycling through all-of-a-sudden torrential downpours, ever-changing wacky winds, and even a 100 kph wind storm that marooned us at our campsite for 2 days. For some reason we expected less hills and our wee legs have suffered at the hands of these unexpected devils. We expected less traffic. For a country with a population of 4 1/2 million there are a lot of the buggers on the road! We expected more cyclist - I guess we are the only nutters who do this kind of thing! And finally we expected to cover some ground...rather quickly. On our last bike trip we averaged over 95 km per day and so far our average is 55 km and we have only cycled 8 out of 14 days! It hasn't helped us that I was ill with a mysterious body rash and mild fever and Laura is quite obviously pregnant. I guess moving slow is just the way we roll. What we never expected was such a hospitable nation. Kiwis are good people. More that a time or two have we had our ears talked off, had gifts pushed into our arms, been given heaps of advice, and warned "be careful, kiwis drive fast!" And nothing could be more truthful.

It has been most pleasant slipping back into the simplicity of travelling together - living out of our tent, cooking meals crouched over our wee little stove, reading to one another, and getting heaps of sleep! The little one is becoming quite active. Little thumps and squirms make it clear that it is not interested in being left out of the adventure. One day i would like to mention is the day we took a ferry from the beautiful town of Russel to the largest island in the "Bay of Islands," named Urupukapuka. We hiked from the island's dock our campsite, made camp and then set out on a tramp. It took us 4 1/2 hours to complete the trail around Urupukapuka. The views from the bluffs and hill tops were magnificent! Returning to our campsite we lay down for a little nap. We awoke 2 hours later starving hungry! That evening as we lay in bed I felt the little one for the first time with my hand on Laura's tummy.