one of the highlights was peter mielniczek. his show being to spin plates on sticks on a rack while he tries to run a big loop around the audience before returning on stage and catching the plates before they’re falling to the ground. the stunt itself was a nice finish but it was the built-up which was hilarious.

hilby the skinny german juggling boy won the critics’ choice award while he proved to the world that you can be german and funny. here while he’s not only balancing one sword on top of the other but also spins the one on top.

there were a couple a venues besides the buskers park for some evening entertainment. one was the comedy hour at the casino with javier jarquin, the card ninja who won the critics’ choice award for best act from new zealand. the grand finale of his show was the card meets watermelon trick. he was throwing a card that hard at the fruit that he managed to make a card stick in it. he needed about twenty tries and as we were sitting to the side of the stage, some of his misses came flying towards us at incredible speed and i could understand why he asked his volunteers to wear safety glasses on stage.

there was another show on at midnight and we had an hour to kill before that. shouldn’t be too difficult in a casino, eh? well, casinos are not what i once expected. there is little entertainment in gambling, especially if you watch other people gamble and there is for sure no glamour. we managed to win a small sum at a one-armed bandit. but this machine didn’t even have a lever which was one disappointment too many. by then it was still half an hour before the show and we rather went to the bar.

asher treleaven was a good host for the midnight carnivale, which included a stunt show, a contortionist and by the time gypsy wood entered the stage with her burlesque show, the grand cafe of the casino went mad.

i am writing from wanaka and had a wonderful week travelling with four other cyclist over lake pukaki and the lindis pass. four weeks from now i’ll fly to paris and will cycle from there to berlin where i probably arrive in time for my birthday. i hope to see you there, in paris or somewhere in between!

three kilometers before little river is a  picnic area with no signs prohibiting camping which in new zealand mostly means it’s cool to camp and so i wasn’t alone as some other campers stayed the night before exploring the peninsula. a german couple invited me for breakfast the next morning. i already had mine but felt like a second one which gave me enough energy for the following ride to the hilltop. i stopped at the info center at the little river railway station on my way to get a detailed map of the area before starting the ascent. at hilltop the road splits, the main road leading downhill and along the akaroa harbour, while the summit road goes along the mountain ridge before descending towards akaroa while providing great views of the bay along its way.

the downhill towards akaroa is very steep and i wouldn’t recommend to attempt that part uphill with a loaded touring bike. akaroa itself is a pretty town where everyone’s doing creative stuff like shopping or having a coffee latte at the waterfront. it was the only french colonization attempt and some historic buildings still adorn the town.

on my way back i stopped again at the rest area close to little river. the sun was setting along the slope of the mountain while a parade of black swans was passing to their feeding place near the shore.

the next day it was finally time to head back to christchurch for the buskers festival.

15 years ago a dutch cycling couple asked the owners if they could pitch their tent on their property for the night. they agreed and even extended the invitation. a house which was built to accommodate the seasonal workers who sheered the sheep was not used anymore as the sheep are collected by truck nowadays to get their fleece taking off elsewhere. after that initial meeting with the world of cycle touring they made a little business out of it which became quiet successful especially in the early years, when the new zealand dollar was quiet affordable and around 400 cyclist spend at least one night at ‘pedaller’s rest’ in its first year. there are still a lot of cyclists in new zealand but maybe a little less than fifteen years ago and i had the whole house to myself. company would have been nice but having a whole house to myself was alright as well. in the evening the wind was getting stronger and it started to rain a little and i was getting into the mood for my first rest day in 2012. the morning on the next day would have been alright for cycling but the storm in the afternoon made ‘my’ little house even more comfortable.

there was more head wind towards kaikoura the next day. i met another kiwi and a canadian cyclist on the way and the wind finally died down in the second half of the day and all of a sudden it felt like having a massive tailwind. in kaikoura i had a chat with the canadian cyclist when i saw two familiar faces, the mother- daughter duo whom i met at bob’s place. it was the last day of their cycle journey before returning to wellington and evenually back home.

since i had only one rest day and got motivated by the challenging parts on the way, i was a couple of days ahead the ‘arriving-in-christchurch-for-the-buskers-festival’ plan. so i took it slow and hopped from beach to beach in the hurunui district which has a couple of campgrounds for only a fiver a night. especially the one at amberley beach is highly recommended. amberley beach is only five kilometers from the amberley township. so it was easy to get more supplies when i decided to stay longer.

i got some supplies and started along the coastal road until whatamango bay where i stayed the night. i knew the road to come was gonna be a tough one but it still feels damn hard everytime a heavy climb comes in the morning while your muscles are still thinking about starting their warm up program. on the climb i met to kiwis from wellington which made a short break. they just came from the ferry and were on a four day trip to the south. it is hard to imagine for me to see myself travelling for what seems to me now as such a short period of time. but when you don’t think in those terms then, while it is still being a big difference, for that very day we cycled the same road, the same climbs and later both rolled into robyn hood bay to set up camp.

because of the windy gravel road and steep climbs, this is not much of a holiday destination for the masses and the camping doesn’t need a lot of regulations. i guess the majority appreciates this and wants to keep it that way by not messing it up and leave the place as they found it. the next day started with another heavy climb but once on top it is amazing how abruptly the land changes. the cliffs give way to a plain without even the slightest hill and the road leads through the vineyards the last kilometers into blenheim.

the next day, i turned off the highway and followed the road along the kenepuru sound. most campsites were pretty crowded and too close to the road for my taste. but another not marked turnoff ended in a place which someone had used as a campspot before. there was a table with chairs, a path to a nearby stream to get water and even coat hooks on the tree next to the table. a small path led to another clearing with just enough space to park the bike and pitch a tent. from there it was only a couple of steps to the beach.

i continued to kenepuru heads almost at the end of the sealed road. i pitched the tent and left most of my stuff to start my day trip towards mount stokes. with 1200 meters in altitude the highest elevation in the area. the road soon turned into gravel and soon after that the climb started. the road leads about halfway up before the 5 hour return track starts. there’s hardly any views while climbing through the forest but once you’re on top the sounds look stunning.

there’s a plateau on top with a 360 degree view and nothing but green hills and water. back on the campground i met stefan, another german traveller, who in his kindness provided me with some fruit as i was running low on food. and i didn’t have to pay the camp fee as the  the campsite host is a cyclist too.

i got invited by my neighbours, turned out they were german as well. i guess we were both a little disappointed at first but got on well once into the conversation. this disappointment might happen once in a while as i have never seen so many germans in any foreign country so far. we made our way into the city center an hour before midnight. there was another stage at the central trafalgar square and a band playing mostly songs by ‘the doors’. i had my doubts if ‘the doors’ would be a fitting soundtrack for a new year’s eve celebration. but i have to say, it does the job very well.

the music changed sometime after the countdown and we continued dancing as long as the band played. later we met four canadian sisters who showed us a bar with yet another band. by then i was pretty drunk and… good night.

the next morning came with a slight hangover, the ones you can get rid of with a cup of coffee, a cold shower and a hearty breakfast. i kind of missed out on the cold shower and the hearty breakfast, which accounted for me still not feeling to well during the first kilometers on the bike. luckily i had some time before the serious climbing out of the tasman bay started on my way towards the marlborough sounds.

the next morning i bought sunglasses number 8 on this trip after a campervan rolled over my previous pair. in motueka i met danielle from canada. she invited me to takaka over christmas as she was house-sitting for people who would be away over the holidays. in between is the takaka hill. the climb starts with the hardest part, some hairpin bends with heavy incline,  steady in the middle part but eases in the end while it makes its way to about 700 meters.

arriving at upper takaka, heavy winds were blowing up the valley and were about to dampen my splendid mood after the wonderful climb and descent. though it wasn’t far to takaka, i turned into the hangdog climbers campground for the night.

the next day i met up with danielle again at the house where she was woofing and now house sitting over the holidays. it is looking over golden bay and has a wonderful garden with plenty of space to pitch my tent. it was great to have a kitchen at one’s disposal again and fresh veggies from the garden. so a lot of time went by while cooking or reading or simply enjoying the view. the owner had also a piano in the living room. once again a very welcome diversion.

on christmas we were invited by some friends who live even further up the hill where only people on foot, sheeps or 4WDs find their way up. the reward is a stunning view over golden bay while the sun is setting behind the wakamarama range which was keeping the rain clouds in the west. premium seats.

there are quite a few people in the area around takaka seeking alternative lifestyles, living as sustainable as possible, with own veggie garden, rainwater collection and solar power. you also see more people using bicycles in their daily lifes and some signs remind the motorists to be aware of that.

the road into the abel tasman park was still closed since the heavy rainfalls before christmas which washed out parts of the road and landslides made stretches impassable. we still went as far as we could and tried to persuade the man at the road block to let us through. the young fellow was new to the job and rather overzealous in his shiny new uniform. so we made a small trip to the rawhiti caves instead. the track was also washed out, so we had to walk up the once again dry river bed and then a small path up to the caves.

after christmas we set out further north towards the farewell spit and stopped near onekaka at a buddhist retreat. in the evening we went to the mussel inn, a small bar with outdoor area around a fire place and their own brews from the tab. it is a popular spot despite its remote location because of the quality live music events. on our way back we took a small foot path which leads through a forest past rock walls full of glow worms, sometimes around a hundred per square meter. a good night.

the next day i was on my own again, cycling back over takaka and the hill with the same name and i was pretty exhausted once i rolled into mutueka again. i still had no idea where to be for new years. i thought it would be nice to have some people around but i had such good company within the last weeks without making any plans.

we made a small trip to the next town, about an hour away, to get some groceries before we turned our attention to bob’s table tennis set. it turned out that marco and me were on the same level and it was loads of fun to play in these surroundings while the stereo was playing sly & robbie, or the new tom waits and wilco records. we continued with the table tennis the next morning until two other cyclists arrived. a mother and daughter duo. the girl riding a unicycle while the mother carried the gear for two. after a nice chat while having breakfast we had another short ride together before marco took the turnoff towards the lewis pass and i went further north towards motueka.

the next day it was raining all day long. time to do the laundry, spend some time on the internet at the library and some more messing around on the piano.

we decided to start together the next day towards westport. we were already pretty impressed with the first half of the day. and when we stopped at the pancake rocks for lunch, the sun was coming out from behind the clouds and the scenery along the coast just north of punakaiki was getting even better and needs not to fear a comparison with the great ocean road.

as the day was coming to an end, heavy dark clouds were rolling over the hills as we reached jack’s gasthof, a pizzeria slash camping ground, obviously run by a german couple. it is a good spot and it feels like camping in someone’s garden which it actually is more or less. it started to rain while we had our dinner and continued to do so for the next forty hours. so we spent the most part of the next day within our tents. which is bearable for one day but the outlook on another day spent in confinement made us crawl out of our little dry holes the next morning and rather ride through the downpour with a bed and a hot shower in a hostel to look forward to in once we reached westport.

the following day we cycled along the buller river, we met another cyclist from france who just came from bob, a kiwi cyclist who is building a campsite for cyclists on his property, our goal for that day. but again the weather had different ideas and so we stopped at the lyell d.o.c. site for the night (the department of conservation runs a bunch of camping spots around the country which offer basic facilities with no gadgets for an affordable price or even for free). the site is alright only bad with sand flies or black flies, mindless bloodsucking beast which terrorize especially the west coast during the summer months.

i stopped at lake pearson for the first night. a wonderful setting with the mountain on the opposite shore which reflected on the lake’s surface. after reaching arthur’s pass village around noon the next day i climbed another 1000 meters on foot to the avalanche peak.

i held snow in my hands for the first time this year and was for some time almost alone on the summit.

i was surprised to see a kea this high up. these nasty buggers can be quite a challenge while camping. stealing food is just the start as they don’t stop short of tents and bicycles. luckily i could park my ride in a nearby shelter and had just no milk for breakfast which they snitched from my tent’s vestibule.

the next day it was a short climb from the arthur’s pass village to the actual pass and then a steep downhill for the first few kilometers and i was glad i started the pass coming from the east. i met another group of cyclists on my way down and by now i wasn’t surprised to see one or more each day. so i might not mention all of those i meet.