Author Archives: bob

Why We Love Whangarei

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A short note to glorify a wonderful little town that we have enjoyed living in the last three summers (since we’re “down under” that would be roughly December through April).

So nice to wake up on Saturday morning, grab a quick “wake up” cup of coffee and head out to the Farmers Market.  Once there a “flat white” to further caffinate and then buy our weekly goods: artisan cheese, local butchered skirt steak for Sunday BBQ, and whatever vegetables and fruits look good.  We know most of the vendors by now, so pleasantries are exchanged and as we know a lot of the locals as well, we chat folks up while we’re selecting our produce for the week.

Then back to Charisma, but wait!  This week is the craft fair on the bridge.  We stop there for an authentic Cornish Pastie and another coffee which gives us an excuse to sit down and enjoy listening to Andy – who sang at our wedding – entertain all the craft fair goers.  His huge pit bull-like doggie lays happily snoozing on her bed at his feet and his guitar case is open for a donation or two.  His voice and guitar work are so lovely I really don’t know why he isn’t famous, but he’s very happy singing at these local events.

Walking across the bridge, we check out the crafts – always some fun stuff to look at – then 10 minutes more and we’re back to Charisma.

Once back, we can hear music on the other side of the river from where we’re docked.  Hmmm, another event?  We decide to walk down-river the other way to the south bridge and then up to where the music is coming from.  Half an hour later, we’re at the event.  It’s a celebration of the People of the South Pacific.  There’s lots of singing, dancing, drumming and fun!  We hang there for a while then decide to continue the “loop” back to Charisma as we have stuff to do.

On the way back what do we hear, but more music.  This time we’re in luck (again)!  There’s a Dixieland band playing in a gazebo right along the dock at the main marina and there’s an ice cream shop next store!!

So, ice cream in hand, we grab a nearby park bench and sit and enjoy some good Dixieland, sunshine and people-watching.

Ice cream finished, it’s time to go back to Charisma.  Today’s score: Farmer’s market, Andy’s music, craft fair, South Pacific fair, ice cream and Dixieland band combined with a beautiful blue sky warm day, all walking/no car and it’s not even noon yet.  Yeah, that’s why we like Whangarei.

Boat Work

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So, vacation is definitely over.  We’re back in Whangarei and working on Charisma.

Friday we got the reconditioned fuel injectors back – yes, they found one had a leak and hopefully fixed it this time – and I reinstalled them.  The engine works, so we’re good there.

Ann polished a bunch more of the stainless steel.  A thankless job if there ever was one.

Today, we scrubbed the cockpit teak.  It had turned that silver/grey teak color that some folks like.  We, however, prefer the honey color of freshly oiled teak, which after a good four hours of scrubbing, bleaching and oiling we now have attained once again.  It will take another coat of oil in a day or so, then a coat every month until we’re back at sea in which case entropy will take over and in six months we’ll have a grey/silver look again.  Ahhhh, boat work never ends.

We also put up new artwork on the starboard side of the main cabin.  The port side has three prints that we bought in Fiji a year ago.  In Dunedin a couple weeks ago we found some hand colored woodcuts of New Zealand birds that mirror the Fiji prints quite nicely and the combination has now been properly framed and mounted in the main cabin.  Very nice!

We had our Sunday night BBQ with all the folks around here on the dock.  Very nice.  Tomorrow (Monday) we hope to find out what day this week (hopefully) we’ll haul out to see how the bottom paint is holding up.  Probably a bunch of barnacles to scape off, but it also gives us a chance to set up some scaffolds along the side which make polishing the hull and the final varnishing of the toe-rails easier.  We also had our two anchors and all the chain re-galvanized (look it up) and it will be easier to load back on Charisma when we’re in the yard.

Lots to do – about a month to do it in, then we head east back toward the States.  Our course will be dictated by wind/weather, but generally east to Tahiti then north to Hawaii and finally a great circle route to Washington State.  More detail on why that route later – but your hint is: it’s dependent on trade winds which have a pretty constant direction during the non-cyclonic months of the year.

Fishing and Hiking

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That’s how we ended the last four days of the trip.  Some days we hiked together and others I fly fished and Ann took her new GPS and went for a 20 kilometer or so hike.  Fun was had by all.  Here are the results:

We spent one morning driving out to Milford Sound since it's considered a "must see" down in Fjordland...

...then in the afternoon hiked Key Summit...

...which was another hike we did last year that was worth a second go. Three hour round trip and you get great views from the top.

 

On the way back north, we stopped for two nights at a wonderful lodge at Lake Ohau.

I caught and released a bunch of small rainbows here (none were big enough to warrant a photo though).

Out of Twizel, Ann hiked Fraser Creek (a couple miles west of town)...

...while I, yes, went fishing again. But no catching...

...but, oh what a gorgeous day! I felt a little better later in the day when we stopped at the local hunting/fishing shop and they said the fishing had gone dead in March after a good Jan/Feb. It's all about timing, eh?

 

More fishing - this time out of Clyde on the Clutha River...

...while Ann went upriver for a hike...

 

...and captured this beautiful view.

And, we'll end the photos of the trip with this shot on the swing backyard of our cabin in Clyde.

What a lovely trip.  Three weeks in the South Island.  I’d go back tomorrow, but we’ve got work to do to get ready of the next leg of the adventure – sailing all the way back across the Pacific to get Charisma back on the west coast.

Queenstown And Adjacent Glenorchy

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We pulled into Queenstown for the night and asked the desk manager at the hostel what we should do.  He asked if we’d ever been to Glenorchy.  We said, “No”, nor had we really even heard of it.  His response, “You must go there.  It’s only a 45 minute drive”.  So we did.  Take a look and you’ll see why.

We just stayed the night at Queenstown. Here's the view from our hostel.

Hmm, we're not even there yet, but this is looking promising.

 

OK, this is definitely looking good.

Even though it was a cloudy day, the scenery was fantastic. The town? Oh, it just had a couple cafes and a couple hostels, but it was all about the scenery.

 

Spectacular!

 

Highway along Wakitipu Lake.

 

And what did we do at the end of the road? Hike, of course. This is where the four-day Routeburn Trail across to Milburn Sound starts.

Colorful forest mushrooms.

And a trail selfie to complete the day.

 

Hiking To Rob Roy Glacier

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We did this hike outside of Wanaka last year and it was so beautiful we decided to do it again.  It didn’t disappoint.

Entering the glacial valley you'd swear you somehow got magically transported to Scotland. This is the view from the parking area at the end of the road where the trail starts.

 

It's about a three hour round trip to the glacier if you don't stop to take pictures and ogle the scenery - impossible!

The trail starts along a mountain river...

...pretty quickly climbs through a sub-alpine forest...

 

...then above tree line to the glacial waterfalls...

 

...and then to the glacier itself.

It's so huge. The sight, sounds of waterfalls, rockfall, avalanches are so overwhelming to the senses there's only one thing one can do...

...take a glacial nap!

On the way down a gentle green valley and meandering mountain river welcomes us back.

Everyone Loves A Train ride (by Ann)

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After four days on mountain bikes we decided to take a train ride. The Taieri River Gorge Train to Dunedin. Bob loves trains and was really hoping to do the ride from Christchurch to Greymouth across Arthur’s Pass but it wasn’t fitting into our schedule. We asked other cyclists about the Taieri train and they all encouraged us to go.

I love watching spectacular scenery going by. Bob does the driving because he worries about other crazy tourists forgetting which side of the road to be on, so he misses out on a lot of the stunning views. He was like a kid in a candy store… he would not give up his choice location on the “back porch” of our coach.

You can see Ann also enjoying standing outside watching the world go by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No need to say more…just enjoy the pictures! You certainly can see where the word gorge-ous comes from!

The train station is in the middle of nowhere. You drive 20 minutes over a shingle (gravel) road from the nearest pavement to get here.

 

Our train car.

Here's the gorge. In the far left you can "just" see one of the bridges that we travelled over.

 

Yow! Some of these bridges spanned some deep ravines and were barely wider than the train.

The tunnels were no wider than the bridges. You had to be careful not to stick your head out the side going into one of these. Inside, there was less than a foot of clearance on either side.

The two hour ride brought us into Dunedin along the coast where we stayed the night at a nice little Bed and Breakfast before heading back the next day. (This is the train station)

 

The station was beautifully preserved and a real throwback to another time.

Downtown Dunedin. This shot reminded us that for most of our three weeks on the South Island we didn't see any stoplights. Nothing but very small towns. And the only traffic jams were a farmer and his dogs driving their sheep across the road.

 

 

Day Four – Middlemarch Here We Come!

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Day four: A downhill glide into Middlemarch! We awoke thinking, “This is the final day…make every moment last! Please be sunny! ” We were delivered to our bicycles which were still safely under the pine tree and cycled through the Taieri River Gorge. On the trail we scared some sheep, crossed the longest bridge on the trail and soaked in the beautiful blue sky. Downhill is definitely easier than uphill. Thank God! And of course, a headwind for the last 6 km. Perfect!

More sheep!

 

Coming up the trail.

 

Stunning landscape!

 

The view just never stops.

 

On the home stretch and the sun is shinning.

 

And, we're done!!

 

So we did it. We endured, we enjoyed and we celebrated. Well kind of, hard to find any open cafes or restaurants on a Sunday night in Middlemarch. So we got “takeaway” food at the local cafe. When we told the owner we were getting on the Taieri River Gorge train to Dunedin the next day, she offered to deliver our car there for us. She did not know we were taking the train back the next day, but the Kiwis are just like that. Love it here.

Four days, almost 170 kilometers. Lots of memories. Almost too much fun 🙂

Day Three – All Downhill Now!

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Day three: We thought the rain would move through during the night, but it poured as we were delivered to our bikes.

Well, it started out cold and threatening to rain...

Really? I really did not want to start in the rain. I mentally could adjust as it came in, but a wet ride to start with!? And God must have read my mind because it just stopped! Just as we finished reattaching our panniers. Yay! No rain and down hill and a shorter day in the saddle. A lovely pedal through happy cows and sometimes loose sheep, a flat white at a local cafe, a break on the side of the road for a little rain that went through …a lovely day.

...but, it stopped raining and ended up a nice ride.

We called our host at Waipiata, 12 km before his pick up spot, and Peter got there just after we did.

108 km done, 42 km to go tomorrow.

 

What a character! Peter had us leave our bikes, laid on their side on the edge of the trail under some pine trees. We took our panniers and jumped in his car for a 20 minute ride to his family farm.

The farmhouse was a hoot...

...view out the front door...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...the living room...

 

...we quickly took over the front porch...

 

...attempting to fish again...

...ended with sitting under a tree enjoying the peaceful sound of rain on the river.

 

The real rain came in later that day. Too bad because Peter’s property is right along the beautiful Taieri River…perfect for fishing. Bob carried his fishing pole with us on the trail so did not miss trying his luck, even in the down pour. No fish but that doesn’t seem to diminish his fun.

Dinner on day three was a BBQ prepared by Peter and his partner. Grass fed steaks cooked to order, lovely salads and even ice cream. Just an example of how everyone gets in on the opportunity to provide some hospitality and make some money. Peter was a character and his farm was a lovely place to rest up for our final day.

Day Two…Do We Dare Climb On The Bikes Again?

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Day two promised rain. On top of sore rear ends. Bummer (pun intended). But we were into it now and would persevere and gain character points along the way! Thinking we might beat some of the rain if we passed on the morning coffee stop about 6 km down the road even though it was a nice treat on day one. We wanted to enjoy this trip not just endure it. But we pedaled by the crowd of bikes having coffee and pressed on excited to get to the gorge before the rains came.

You never know what you'll see around the next bend of the trail...

Rain break!

Poolburn Gorge is said to be the highlight of the trail with unsurpassed beauty and two tunnels too! We saw the first tunnel as the rain started sprinkling and made a dash for it. How cool to have to don a headlamp to peddle through a hand carved tunnel and exit into a beautiful gorge. Cycling in dark tunnels can be very disorienting! I let Bob go first. And that way I could whoop and holler as I followed behind. Of course, “eat my dust” became very personal as I followed not only Bob but a group of guys ahead of us.

Our first tunnel (and a convenient place to put on our rain gear).

Old railway bridge, now rail trail bridge.

Gorge panorama (with tunnel on left side)

The rain continued as we exited the tunnels and crossed amazing bridges but fortunately we were able to stop at a small roadside attraction, Hayes Engineering, where they had a small coffee shop with a small fireplace. Aww…warmth and a place to hide from the heavier rain. We did not wander through the “attraction” distracted by hot coffee and warm soup! And we were introduced to a South Island specialty…cheese rolls. We would never have ordered one ourselves but some generous non-cycling Kiwis shared. Yummy. Who knew that cheese rolled up in toast could be so good! Maybe it we were just stalling.

Day two also included the highest point on the track, 618 meters (2,027 feet). Pedaling into a headwind again, but no longer in the rain we reached the highest point and cheered because it’s all downhill now! The sun peeked out through the clouds and lit up the green fields as we sailed down to our day two stop, Wedderburn. This was a stop where a lodge and cabins have been built to house the cyclist but we were not able to get those accommodations. Our hosts from Naseby’s Royal Hotel drove out and picked us up. And we just left out bikes in the bike rack unlocked until the morning. “No worries, mate, everyone does it.” So we unattached the panniers from our bikes and headed to our “hotel” – one of those establishments who have benefited greatly from the Trail Ride.

Highest point. It's downhill (mostly) from here.

Our hotel for the night.

That fireplace realllllly felt good after a day riding in the rain!

Here We Go…Day One On The Trail

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We saw this last year and said; "We want to do that!

What’s the best way to see an area? On a bike! After cycling 169 km (105 miles) through beautiful farmland and meeting and enjoying the locals we can say we really know this part of New Zealand.

The beauty of the Otago Trail Ride is that the Kiwis took a railroad line that is no longer being used and managed to provide over a thousand jobs for local farmers- effectively saving many small communities who then stepped up to provide accommodations and food for the thousands of people who come to ride.

Here we go...! Only 170 kilometers to go.

Our ride was booked through Shebikeshebikes, one of several operators who help with the legwork of setting it all up. It was daunting trying to decide where to stop each day and what our food options were. We carried our lunch most days and picnicked along the way but dinner plans were very necessary as these small towns (and sometimes that word is a stretch) bring in extra staff or stay late to make sure cyclists get fed. And not all of these communities have enough beds for everyone so some savvy business folks even arrange to pick you up at the trail stop and deliver you back the next day.

Each day was a unique ride and full of new experiences. We will let the pictures tell the story but also provide a brief summary of the days.

Day one: Our journey started at a lovely little cottage aptly named Plum Creek Cottage in Clyde. Basically a small three bedroom house set up for guests. And we had it all to ourselves! It was hard to leave its many comforts, including wine and brownies as a welcome, to get on the trail. Maybe it was really fear of so many miles ahead!

After picking some plums and pears, with permission, we took off down the wild side of the Mighty Clutha River. We chose to ride the anniversary trail along the river ( the wild mountain bike side) and were rewarded with a spectacular start to our ride. It was so fun to go zipping up and down the turns in the filtered sunlight. Oh joy!

Here we go...

A beautiful start to a four day ride.

The views just never quit.

 

The day ended with the longest climb of the ride in an afternoon headwind. Why is it that there is always a headwind and never a tailwind? Contemplating this pressing question helped keep our minds off our rear ends and legs that were slowly hitting their limits.

Ice Cream Stop!

 

Pretty well maintained trail.

Sometimes the trail got a little smaller.

Lunch on the trail.

We stopped by the ShebikesHebikes headquarters that is located in Omakau, our first stop, for a minor repair on a clamp and ended up getting better handlebar settings installed on both of our bikes. And we got to put names with faces of some of the folks we had been communicating with to plan the trip. They came out with big smiles on their faces as pleased with our first day as we were!

Highly recommended. They were awesome!!