Before leaving Barbs place to head south, we bought a Jaguar. It wasn't our plan to buy a car, but when a friend of Barbs had a car he wan't to 'get rid of' for $750, we couldn't resist. We crammed the bikes in the enormous trunk and sped off, comfortably, perched in luxurious leather seats with the polite British hum of the 6 cyclinder engine in our ears. She was called Queenie and she was ours. We sped south to Kaikoura then west through Lewis Pass to cross to the west coast. We stayed a night in a basic campground located in a grassy valley with steep sided green mountains diving into the valley around us. The next morning we rose as early as our mental clocks allowed and set off on a 4 hour hike to Lake Daniels. The walk was marvelous; long enough to fill our need for excercise and mountain air, not too long to give Laura a sore back. To the west coast we sped on, down to where Frans Joseph and Fox Glacier greet the sea air. We spent a day hiking up to the two glaciers, sitting in awe of the massive rivers of jagged ice slowly inching down the severe rock gorges cut by the glaciers themselves, clutching at the rock and ripping out chunks and debris along the way. I told Laura that to appreciate the monsters I had to BECOME one! So with all my little brain power I imagined myself as a frozen river of ice tearing enormous boulders from a mountain side with the shear power of my weight and severity!
We drove south and east to Queenstown and often stopped for 30 minute nature walks, drinking up New Zealand's bizarre and fascinating plant life. Queenstown is NZ's Whistler Village. The town is crawling with foreigners, pockets filled with NZ's cheaper currency, wide eyed and salivating at the adventure tourism Queenstown has to offer. River Rafting, Paragliding, Sky Diving, Hang Gliding, Speed Boating (up and down rivers,) Bungee Jumping, you name it and Queenstown's got it. We stayed at a campsite and walked into to check our email. What had drawn us to Queenstown was it's prime location for heading off to do hikes. After doing some research we drove 2 hours along Lake Wakitipu, over three river crossings (which turned out to be a bit of water trickling over some rocks,) and arriving at the Greenstone/Caples Track Trailhead. Since Laura was a wee bit pregnant we didn't want that she carry much, just some snacks and the camera in a little day pack. This meant that we couldn't do the whole 5 day loop so we opted for just 2 nights on the trail walking as far as we could in 1 1/2 days and then returning the same way we walked in. The great thing about multi-day treks in New Zealand is that they all have Huts to sleep in. And by Hut they don't mean shack, more like Cabin or in some cases Chalet. Without the burden of carrying a tent or sleeping pads, we pranced along the trail at a good pregnant womans clip, enjoying the quiet beautiful forest. The trail wound it's way up along a river through forest, then crossed the river and moved through a tall grassy valley, then climbed up among mossy rocks, over bubbling creeks, and through trees draped with old man's beard. The hike and huts were both so lovely we were wishing we could stay and have the baby in New Zealand and tramp around for the next 6 months! But alas, our mothers and fathers would surely disown us if we were to do such a wicked thing.
Our last horrah on bikes was the Central Otago Rail Trail. The trail runs where a railroad once was, winding through Central Otago, a dry grassy hill country with towering steep dusty mountains as a backdrop. The trail is 150 km long with a few 'towns' to pass through on the way. It's funny that some of these towns are even printed on the map, they are barely a cafe and maybe if your lucky a little convenience store with some ice cream. We loved the trail, our bikes - not so much. The sometimes rough gravel caused a few flats to the bald rear tire of my racing bike. By never fear - we carry patches galore! So, baaa-ing to the HOT-looking sheep we passed by, feeling our way through the black of 300 foot long tunnels, and bumping our way over old railway bridges we managed to complete the trail in 3 days. Packing our bikes into the trunk once more we felt good that we had dragged along for the journey.
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