Couple a days at Hokatiki town, reset, then south to Ross, under a bridge ,
by a nice river stealth camp…….we were camped in really thick forest, and real
late that evening two other bike riders looking to camp, the bloke was 5m away
and didn't see us, did a camo job at the entrance…. So its the 7/1/2015 this
morning, rode 90kllms to lake Mapourika, a doc camp, classic NZ lake, with a
backdrop of mountain, temp in lake was nice had a nice end of day swim…..met
Sander and Thea, from Netherlands shouted us a cold beer…gold,
goodbye lake, So its glacier time this morning ,we intend to do the main
tourist walk for Franz Jozef and Fox glaciers meet Sanden and co in Franz
Jozef and they offer us to mind the bikes later in the day so Claudia and i
could do the glacier walk together that worked out well, S sanden had a for sale
sign on the bikes of course ;-)…..so , fantastic landscape on the way to the
tail of the glacier…..massive river basin, with years of rock cut out of the
mountain, sculpted into smooth rounds….anyhow your walking on a fault line, this
place is created by two techtonic plates, moving into and past each
other…….like all of this scenery you just have to see it for real…..the
glacier has retreated heaps the last few years so not a lot of glacier to be
seen…..unless we do another hike or a plane , I'm happy. Ride to just south of
fox glacier…pull up halfway up a pass into a wild camp….
Fox Glacier bicycle trail is a nice cut through some beautiful
rainforest……so much moss, its all over everything, to walk in it is like a
spongy mattress suppose that's what they harvest peat moss from…fragile intense,
environment…..fox has retreated as well…exposed rock that the ice has sliced up
the last few hundred thousand years.
leave late evening to Bruce Bay....90klms a great ride wild camp on the beach....sandflies are extreme, one of the cons on some of the west coast.....escape sandfly attack, then off to Haast, meet Mingh from Taiwan, a IT Developer, and J.C fron France/Corsica on bicycle tour at, lake.........?
camp at Haast town, with Mingh, and a a heap of traveller's...Matt/UK and Matt from L.A....York
Late start to The Haast Pass, a challenging ride through a mountain pass and gorge, heavy rains at time...a really hard ride , we missed the mountain views but riding through that country in the rain and mist is an experience......we got warned by crew how dangerous it was.....and how many souls ended their days down the gorge, well the way some people drive ....that going to happen, real stressed about Claudia doing the hard days like these, she is so tuff man.were damp tired and cold, and rest halfway up, in the rain and the roaring gorge a car pulls up a gorgeous lady and friend pull up and offer us a big slab of chocolate...we except the gift, "thank you chocolate fairies" ,reach a docs camp, Conners flat.....manage to cook up a great meal in the wild weather....hey that's life on the road on a bike.......
