2000 Biking New Zealand

Day 07, 14 December 2000, Thursday
Haast – Fox Glacier; 123km av unknown because odo gave up ghost, Ivory Towers, $44

The west coast of the south island receives 5 metres of rain each year. On average it rains every second day. So…we were not too surprised, but nonetheless disappointed, that the rain which fell all night continued on and off for the bulk of the day. Nor that it was somewhat windy and rather chilly.

An enquiry to the author of a local cycle guide about rain and rain gear had elicited this amusing response:

It depends on which way you plan to go. If it is up the West Coast then I recommend a full ocean diving suit with heavy boots and helmet. If it is up the East Coast, a wet suit with a snorkel and flippers should do!! Er, just joking about that!

We pumped our tyres at Haast Junction then crossed the Haast River on a long windy bridge – the wind in our faces despite all my planning. The prevailing winds are westerly, off the Tasman Sea – hence our decision to cycle from south to north (which, in theory, should have put the wind just behind our left shoulders for most of the route). We subsequently found out that during the summer months the wind quite often blows from the north (which, in practice, put the wind in our faces!). Perhaps after all the rather garbled email I received in response to a query about the wind, was spot on:

Your email has been forwarded to me for comment.

Climatalogical averages give the prevailing winds, and December is late spring, early summer....At that time of the year the average pattern is for a continuous procession of ridges and troughs (some containing fronts and lows) to cross the South Island and for Highs to cross the North Island. This makes for winds to be mainly going in the sequence : Northeast then northwest then southwest or southerly. Since the wind sequence is “To the left” or counter clockwise, so should your trip around the country be counter clockwise. Try and start wherever is in tandem with favourable conditions. Conditions change so fast here that you won’t keep up, but when unfavourable conditions arrive they don’t last long (so you can wait them out).

Later in summer the sea breezes are the dominant wind for the North Island and they end each day making a heat low over the central high country, and there is then a clock wise (to the right) spin in the coastal winds. So an argument can be made for you to take a figure eight around the country, to the right over the north and to the left over the south.

When you come down it ,the wind you get here changes almost daily so who cares about climatology of prevailing winds...You’d be better off making plans based of a good idea of what’s expected for the next few days.

Weather Ambassador for METSERVICE

The road on which we spent the day was flat initially and relatively straight through rain forest with trees and moss and ferns. The whisper gentle rain soon wet us through. At which point we belatedly put on our raincoats – an action which somehow confirmed that it was raining.

We had read that there were three tough climbs to Knight’s Point. I had planned anyway to walk these to husband (where does this word originate?) my resources for the long day, but actually had little choice in the matter. By the time we reached the Point we were cold and wet – and tired already. We finished our remaining breakfast Sizzlers there, used the public loo, and set off once more planning to rest again at the 50km mark.

We had tomato soup and garlic bread at the Paringa Lake Tearooms – delicious and the highlight of our day. And found it really hard to leave the warmth and comfort of the place – daunted by the still remaining 70km. Despite the fact that Charl had changed into dry clothes here we set off again still cold and damp / wet respectively.

At one point soon after this I was almost in tears and told Charl I could not possibly make Fox Glacier. He strategically said we should keep going to the next place and then see – which made sense as we were literally in the middle of nowhere. By the time we reached the ‘next place’, the tomato soup had kicked in and I was feeling stronger – so perhaps I had just hit the BONK (a new term I learned that cyclists use to describe feeling exhausted and leaden – usually as a result of too little fuel intake). I had also by then thought through all the implications of giving up. How I would view myself; how hitching a ride for example, assuming it possible, would lead to further hitching; what would happen about my magazine article especially in light of the fact that David had spent two days photographing us; what I would tell my friends; what I would I do about future challenges set etc. So on we struggled…

It finally stopped raining about 40km from Fox Glacier which helped a lot. Unfortunately my odometer had succumbed to the rain and we could not keep track of distances covered and still to go. Which made me feel very vulnerable for some reason.

We were getting really desperate and thought we had further to go than we actually had when we saw the turnoff to Fox Glacier ie the glacier itself. And I began to hope fervently that I had remembered correctly about the town being close to the glacier. And suddenly down a steepish hill there it was. With the Ivory Towers hostel easily spotted on the right as we came into the dorp – feeling truly shattered.

On today’s route we again met all three German cyclists – our dinner companion from last night and the couple Charl had spoken to in Wanaka. All three of them passing us with ease. We also saw several cyclists headed in the opposite direction including two on ‘lying-down’ bicycles. A car stopped just ahead of us at one point, the driver saying she had cycled this route four years back and run out of water and did we want any? And a South African travelling with a Mauritian friend stopped to greet Charl having recognised the flag.

When we arrived at Ivory Towers Chad who works there offered to drive us to the glacier in the morning – this after I said there was no way I was cycling back to it. He then warned us that it was better anyway not to take our bikes and park them there as the parrots eat them! And proceeded to tell us how the teenage parrots operating in groups rip soft tissue from parked cars etc. Not sure whether he was pulling our leg(s) or not. And we thought Africa had its problems!

The creases below my butt are chafed sore from cycling in wet trousers. I hope Prep shaving cream does the trick before we have to mount our bikes again. We have several long days ahead of us – but a short one tomorrow, thank goodness.

We showered fast and dined relatively well on steak and salad at the popular pub next door.

Best moment of the day? Charl set a field of cattle running curiously alongside us by whistling at them (usually whole herds dash off at our approach and turn back to look accusingly at us with white faces on brown bodies). And Charl saw a plover couple successfully defending their chick against a marauding eagle!