New Zealand

26/03/08
Well folks, with mixed emotion, I find myself writing the blog post I’ve been dreading for a few months now. Yup, it’s official. I’m definitely leaving this beautiful country after having explored its many nooks and crannies by two wheels for a long time. After my last cycle trip yesterday to Waiheke Island, I knew that it was time to start sorting all the gear out and packing it back up into the respective containers. I’ve been fairly careful with my purchases on the road, so essentially, I’m leaving with pretty much the same amount of gear as I arrived with in this country so long ago. However, that doesn’t mean that it will all fit into the baggage the way it is intended to. However, all work and no play make Stevey a dull boy, so I did take a couple rest breaks and watched King Kong finally. After all, it’s another Peter Jackson flick, so it’s somewhat Kiwi in that regard. Anyway, read on for more info on my day of playing Tetris with my gear 🙂

25/03/08
Hi folks, and welcome to the almost-last post from New Zealand! This post will be a bit longer than yesterday’s, because I actually got off my butt and did something for the day. In fact, my plan had been to do an overnight trip, but as you will learn, circumstances conspired against me and it turned into just a day trip. But it was definitely a good one. I ended up grabbing a ferry to a place called Waiheke Island. It’s a mere 19km off the coast of Auckland, but in terms of pace and scenery, it’s literally a world away. I had stripped my bike down to the basics, and was travelling with just a day pack rather than the trailer. What a treat. Also, I didn’t have the rack on the back of the bike either, so I felt quite free pedalling along. Of course, I had the annoyance of a pack on my back, but compared to hauling 60+ lbs. behind you, it was pretty relaxing. Read on for the complete details of the day.

24/03/08
Hey Gang! Well, I’m here to report that I’ve taken an entire day off, for the first time in a long time. Well, okay, it wasn’t a complete day off I suppose. I did laundry, I went to the movies, and I even did some shopping for NZ stuff that I wanted to take home. I also had a nice meal once again at the Friesen’s house. All in all, a red letter day. I tried to sleep in, but after 4 months on the road, and getting up early everyday, it just wasn’t possible. I was awake by 8:20am and was showered, dressed, and ready to face the day by 9am. Oh well. At least it gave me a chance to start getting organized for my return journey. I’d tell you to read on for more details, but there really aren’t too many. The movie was ‘Run Fat Boy Run’; I bought 3 CDs and a coffee table book. I played some Olympics on the Wii. That was about it. I also booked a hostel in San Francisco close to Union Square, and looked into my day trip to Waiheke Island for tomorrow. That’s it that’s all, nothing more to report 🙂

23/03/08
No, that’s not a typo in my title. I mean to spell it like that. Why? Well, because I spent the better part of today in the Luckie Strike cave system on a caving expedition being led mostly by me! Of course, if you’ve been following along in my stories, you were already aware that I had planned on caving today, so this will come as no surprise to you. If you haven’t been following along, well then shame on you 🙂 After a good night of sleep at the Kiwitown Holiday Park, I was picked up my Emma from Absolute Adventures and whisked off to their cave system for a day of fun. From there, it was back to the train station for the final leg of my journey back to Auckland, and where I started my grand bike tour over three months ago. It was a bittersweet moment, and had some sense of finality to it. To read more about the caving and the final trip to Auckland, read on. Sorry, no maps of course, as the GPS remains dead. [No blog picture until I convert the pics from CD to my USB key, probably not till I get home]

22/03/08
Good morning all. I’m blogging to you from the rails between Wellington and Otorohanga. That will be my destination on the day, as tomorrow, I’m gong caving all day in that region, and luckily, the train line stops pretty close to where I need to be. It’s the second last day of my trip, and the skies are overcast, with rain looking likely at some point. Too bad I’m camping tonight, isn’t it? Luckily, tomorrow night, I’ll be back in Auckland, so I’ll be able to dry the tent out and anything else if need be. Most of the scenery I’m passing through today is a repeat for me, so it’s unlikely that I’ll take too many pictures, although I do have to find a suitable one to go with this post, so I’ll see what I can do over the next 9 hours. Yup, that’s how long I’ll be on the silver tracks today. It’s a pretty significant chunk of the trip back to Auckland. Tomorrow I’ll be left with a mere 3 hour journey to the heart of Auckland. Read on for a few more thoughts on this ‘training’ day. Hee hee, ‘training’. Get it? Clever, don’t you think?