Anyway started from this great DOC campsite (stands for Department of Conservation if you don't know the reference and I can honestly say that every camping site that belongs to DOC has been superb apart from the free one which was a bit of a knoblbly field and didn't feel so safe.
Anyway this was a long day cycling in fact 115 km - to date the longest cycle yet. I was honoured by a glorious day which meant that I stopped rather a lot to take piccies and most importantly to to collect some more information on women in this area. I spent over an hour in a tiny wee place called Ross which is connected to Hokitika because of its gold mining past - a past that still continues today but unfortunately not in the way it used to be. Before I ran about that let me say how welcome the lady at the wee museum made me feel and she soon showed me to the right collections to find what I was searching for. There are a couple of women here that would be worth looking into further and both with interesting stories to tell. Her museum colleague was going to do some further investigation to see what they could bring up locally also so that was great and I went around taking lots of piccies.
We also spoke about the gold mining and the museum lady told me that the gold mining was still going on but modern methods are a far cry from the individual miners who roamed NZ fossiking for gold and taking small bits that helped them get by. Nowadays its the large machines owned by essentially a businessman who has nothing to do with the locals rape the land-that is the only way as harsh as it sounds that I can use to put across the horrendous scarring that is going on just outside Ross. She told me to look at what was going on on my way out and to see why the locals are so upset and yet powerless to do anything about it. All this going on in some of the most previously unspoilt natural bush we have. We have learnt nothing and the continuous placcards with the ever smiling businessman John Key kept reminding me of the New Zealand that I continuously struggled to comprehend.
After the mixed emotions of leaving Ross behind I made my way south through what I can only describe as some of the most spectacular sceney to date. Immediately I say now to skip the rest of NZ and head to the West Coast for full gorgeous beaches, ever growing mountains capped with snow as you gently make your way across rolling roads through the rugged landscape that cries out "Just you try and make something so beautiful"....I swear I spent most of the time on the cycle completely in awe.
I fell in love with a town that consisted of two buildings - a pub and a cafe - all you need to survive I feel. The former closed the other my stop for a cup of tea and a lovely fruit scone and a chat with the owner. It was like cowboy/bushman heaven and inside two guys sitting down looked up and one of them laughed and said - you're doing alright I passed you by in Ross and you've caught up with me!!
With the seats covered in the different species that had been shot by the owners over the twenty years that they were there I laughed at all the antics on display - with many a pointed placard set up to delve into the disastifactions that I had been feeling since returning to NZ - I had felt like I had found my home here in the minds of the Westies? My favourite placard added to my photo album below.
So the day was to move on and I clocked up 100km before the sore legts started kicking in and managed another 15km before the temptation of a DOC campsite by a river 15km from what was going to be my final destination (Franz Joseph) won me over - especially as lovely English couple pulled up behind me in their camper as I was negotiating with myself to invite me to dine with them on the grounds that they had offered a glass of wine only to realise they had drunk it the night before!!
With the kindness of the offer and the promise of a lovely evening chatting with new friends I found a spot for my tent on top of the bank over lookingg the river whilst a number of camprs over the evening appeared and disappeared and stayed.....
Turns out that Mike and Biddy are from Exeter and Mike had just completed a five month cycle through the USA - - Biddy had met him in NZ and together they were touring NZ in the campervan. I was in awe of Mike's adventure with bear stories and other fascinating tales. I would love to cycle through the states but I fear after the bear encounters I would want to do that with someon else with me - we just have a few birds that come out to play - like my friendly weka last night that was trying to make off with the rest of the pasta I had made in my wee pot.
And so endeth one of the most satisfying cycling days over number of hills but forever heading towards the mountains and the glaciers.
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