Day 22: Fox Glacier to Lake Paringa

From the really wet night in Fox Glacier I spent until 11am working on the bike to make sure that all was ok - like changing the brake pads at the front and getting some oil on it and sorting out a few other things - drying the tent etc. Nice to have clean clothes again .

Knew it was quite a short day with just 69km down to Lake Paringa. A number o f hills along the way and met quite a few cyclists usually in twos or threes going the other way. I was trying to work out whether to continue on to the Hasst but as it was over another 50km to get there and having stopped a lot along the way taking piccies of the stunning scenery that wasn't an option as had left too late.

Met a german couple who were cycling in my direction and we passed each other a number of times along the way. Seemed to take a long time to get to Bruce Bay but I think that was due to the fact that I had left late but could feel my mussel around my knees starting to kick in.

I stopped just outside of Mahitahi to have some lunch and that was my definite downfall - it was a Salmon Farm and had the most gorgeous soup with lots of their local salmon appearing in it. Unfortunately when I hopped back on the bike it was obvious that that was not going to work for me having filled me up too much - still lovely to have had but meant that by the time I had hit Lake Paringa I was ready to stop even though it was only around 70km.

Lake Paringa was beautiful but talk about sandfly city - horrible but lovely people who were staying and met up with this french lass 'Olivia' who was also cycling on her own- the other direction.She seemed to have all my gear plus a whole trailer. How she was getting up the hills I don't understand! Must have great low gears unlike mine. Was really impressed with all she had done- arrived in NZ bought the bike and panniers off Trade Me and then hired the trailer offa local bike shop so there you she obviously had it sorted.

Day 23: Lake Paringa to Makarora

192 km - 55 km = 137km total that day

So this was the most incredible day that I have yet experienced. Whether it was the fact that I couldn't wait to get out of the sandfly city that I had found myself in at Lake Paringa but I was non the road by 8:40am and feeling in great form which made a big change to how I felt the day before. This feeling was to stay with me for the whole day to such an extent that even by the end of it when I had managed to clock up a whopping amount of km I still felt I could carry on cycling - would have gone all the way to Wanaka had the time been with me but decided that 6:30pm was not a good time to decide to continue on to Wanaka form Makarora where I had decided to make my stop having passed by two of the DOC campsites.

The cycling from Lake Paringa was with a few notable hills on the way - the first being a steep climb to Knights Point where I stopped and took some more shots before coasting downhill and then doing the old up and down until I reached Haast where I pulled around midday. Walked into the DOC office and had a good chat to the woman in the centre about how far I should travel that day and if the weather was going to kick in which it was predicted to tdo the following day then getting over the Hasst would be a good idea.

I had originally settled on just getting to Pleasant Point but when I arrived there at 4:30pm after having stopped for lunch at the cafe in Hasst also gettinga few supplies and meeting a lovely Australian family who chatted with me and took piccie of my website on my bike to follow my journey, I aksed this bus driver about the distance and he wasn't sure but then finding myself getting attacked by sandflies once again I felt that this was not a place I wanted to stay and as the weather was good it was better to move on.

So the big climb through the pass started and I found myself having to once again push the bike up a fair bit of it but I didn't mind the workout giving my bum some time out and showing me some amazing views. It was a definite steep continuous climb though but not the horrendous experience I had thought it might be which I was really pleased about.

I stopped a number of times just to get some more water and to give my heart time to calm down again. No one offered to give me a lift but hey I didn't care I was really enjoying it. By the time I realised I had reached the pass itself and was on top pretty much on the flat top I was loving it and made it to the end of the pass before it all started turning into a massive downhill road of ecstacy by 5:30pm.

At this point I felt great and a huge sense of achievement and soo pleaesd that I had carried on and not stopped where I had originally planned for. I continued passed Cameron Flat the other DOC campsite that I had thought about staying in and onto the wee township of Makaroa where there was a great lodge. By this time it was 6:30pm and although I felt so fit and very able to continue down to Wanaka it was the time that put me off goint any further and I must have clocked up loads of kms anyway.

Walked into the lodge to be greeted by the bus driver I had met at Pleasant Point and he was surprised to see me there already. Booked into the dorm for the night as felt I had definitely worked hard for a night on a real bed - the first since leaving Christchurch a few days back now. Turned out my dorm was actually a chalet that I shared with a dutch woman called Petra - lovely person whom I got on really well with.