2000 Biking New Zealand

Day 12, 19 December 2000, Tuesday
Murchison – St Arnaud; 58km av unknown, Yellow House YHA, $46

We cycled today – a truly hellish day – in a burgeoning bludgeoning heat. On a day so hot the tar melted and in places like treacle impeded our progress. Where it bubbled up between the gravel the New Zealanders use to seal their roads, it snapped, crackled and popped beneath our tyres. A cacophony to accompany slowed forward motion. On a day when our legs were leaden and our hearts heavy.

We slept long in our room at Kiwi Park. And arose sleep-sodden and slow. Packed and cycled into town – past a store offering ‘Groceries Gardening Hardware Drapery Fishing’ and a small butchery with an ‘Open’ sign on the pavement – to the pub on the main road for a much-needed breakfast. Red tables and benches under green umbrellas. The tables separated by old-fashioned bath tubs on feet, painted fire-engine red and filled with flowering plants.

We had asked the Kiwi Park owner’s wife what the road to St Arnaud was like. Her reply: “Flattish, with some ups and downs”. As an afterthought, she added “St Arnaud is much higher than Murchison though, so it must be uphill”. We decided then that both those who cycle a lot and those who never cycle give bad advice to those who cycle a little.

We cycled the 20-odd km to Owen River and the Owen River Tavern – where we stopped for liquid refreshment and a session under the garden tap. Then back into the sun slathered in 30 percent suntan lotion which did not during the course of a long day prevent the sun biting into our flesh.

The SH6 is considerably busier here, so we were really grateful for the shoulder on which we cycled most of the way. Now and then, typically round a blind curve, the shoulder would disappear. Now and then, typically round a blind curve, a mad truck driver with an articulated truck taking the curve too fast and too sharp would scare the life out of me. Now and then, typically round a blind curve, I would throw all Libertarian thought to the winds and think seriously about promoting legislation to fine/arrest/whatever those who are ‘potentially’ dangerous – ie I would forget the whole victimless crime debate!

The scenery was somewhat different today. Mountainous still and lush. But gone are the rain forests; replaced by other natural forest – incredibly dense up and over steep-sided hills. Also some commercial forestry. Also farms. Including bee farms – boxes sitting in green green fields.

Early on today we saw a sad and poignant cross on the roadside with a tiny basket attached to the crossbar containing flowers and a little teddy bear. And sheep huddled against a bluff out of the merciless sun. Who got so anxious at our presence they actually forsook their sanctuary and baah-ed away when we stopped to admire and photograph them.

We lunched briefly at the Kawatiri turnoff onto SH63 and St Arnaud. Paddled barefoot in a shallow river there and ate our biscuits. And felt sorry for ourselves.

Then, with only 25km to go, the day just got longer and longer and more and more unpleasant. We climbed and twisted and finally found ourselves on a straight, seemingly-endless stretch of road. Seemingly downhill too to our initial excitement, but in fact a long straining gentle and deceptive climb. A lesson in trusting one’s thighs not eyes. With, amidst agricultural fields, an airfield on the left with a windsock filled by the wind caressing our right shoulders and, on the right, a lone farmer ploughing – slow plumes of dust defining his slow to and fro-ing. We also ran out of water and got progressively more thirsty, but lacked the energy to climb down to the river we were following to top up our bottles.

So we only arrived in St Arnaud after 6pm, tired, irritable and thirsty. And still had shopping to do and cooking to do and washing to do and preparing for a long day tomorrow to do.

Not a fun day at all at all.