Saturday 17 January 2015

Wanaka - Lake Hayes (Arrow town) - Eyre Mountain Range (Mavora Lakes) - Te Anau

Cycle the back road to Queenstown….the Crown Range rd and Pass, via Cardona, climb to 1075m, highest sealed pass in N.Z, cracker decent into Queenstown. Camp at Lake Hayes. Into Queenstown, a S.W gale has set in. A classic old steam powered, coal fuelled ship, the TSS Earnslaw, to Walter Peak, on the other side of lake Wakatipu, an old high country sheep/cattle station.start cycling at 5pm… and the goal is Mavora Lakes Doc camp…59klms away…sun setting  we are climbing a steep pass sun setting into the valley below, 15 klms before camp, so wild camp in the Eyre Mountain Range,  just before nightfall. this place is stunning, no tourists vans or  a cars  all day…..wont be telling any of those trip advisor sites, because once discovered by the hordes of O.S tourist looking for the next “……” its gone……………that's why i love cycling…your low footprint you see the madness of the world. Cars seem out of place…..they really don't belong on our planet.
Wake up with the birds, find ourselves in a awesome space,  the Eyre mountain range,“in the middle of nowhere” Pack up camp early and feedbag at Mavora Lakes, another set for Lord of the Rings. really great ride, till the afternoon, when the sealed rd turned to loose pebble , gale side wind , and rain…last 20k into Te Anau….punishing, especially for Claudia who lost  her bike  3 times, she had  a spat, and a cry and kicked the bike….. deleted scenes behind the post card..:-) We go soft and get a cabin……. reset, tramped little of the day one of the Keppler track. Met a few touring cyclists from Canada, Malaysia, and crossed tracks with Minh, and Keyfan from Taiwan again…….
we are waiting for the front to pass to do a day at Milford Sound.
As a Maori legend has it Milford  Fiord is gods final masterpiece………


























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