the hakataramea pass was another recommendation from bob, the guy we stayed with at the buller gorge. a quiet gravel road leading through one of the most beautiful areas of the south island.

i found a wonderful spot for the night directly at the hakataramea river. since these were my last days in new zealand i was happy to experience all that makes it such a great country for cycling like here in mackenzie country.

the pass itself is not that high. so the crossing of several fords was the most challenging part. i went further on gravel and over the mackenzies pass before i came out at burke’s pass village, where i passed with jens, laurence, sarah and churo about four weeks earlier. from then it felt like the trip was coming to an end as i only retraced my steps on known territory back towards christchurch.

on top of the pass the sight was reduced to 30 meters and the drizzle was now a proper downpour. the downhill part was quite tricky. sometimes the gravel gave way to sheer rock with muddy patches on top which were slippery and more than once i was rather sliding downhill.  i was chilled through and through after the descent and the last kilometers were dragging on until i stopped at a campsite as i was in dear need of a hot shower.

and over some of the original bridges from the rail line.

there is an informal camping just next to that bridge with a river flowing beneath it providing water and inviting the dusty cyclist for a swim. early next morning i was on my way again to ranfurly where i would leave the rail trail towards danseys pass.

the next day we said goodbye at the railway station where jens and laurence hopped on board the taieri gorge railway to get towards the otago railtrail. the two of them would continue to the westcoast whereas i would take a more direct route back to christchurch.

i followed an invitation from maria and david whom i met at amberley a couple of weeks earlier. their house is a bit outside of dunedin and overlooking the ocean. here i had two wonderful rest days and started refreshed towards the central otago railtrail.

the south island has a lot of scenic places but didn’t score with beaches so far. but the caitlins have that as well like here at tautuku bay.

we ended our day at papatowai. several times we got the recommendation to stop at the lost gypsy. a tinkerer who’s living in his green bus putting together little machines which can be wind by hand and make all sorts of funny moves or noises. here the bicycle related item in the front yard.

the next day we visited the purakaunui falls, which need a little bit of rain to look pretty, and cycled past the caitlins lake to owaka and then out to nugget point before stopping at the kaka point campsite for the night. the next day we had a long stretch on the highway one from balclutha to lake waihola and it was about time then to turn off to taieri mouth and continue on the less frequented coastal route until we reached dunedin after a very long day of cycling.

after the decision to go all the way to the south, leaving out milford sound was another change i made. we had another long day of cycling until we stopped at the clifden suspension bridge campsite. the district of southland has a list on their homepage with spots for freedom camping. like the one at the aparima bridge reserve near thornbury where we stay the next night. after we pitched our tents we lay in the shallow water of the river and let the current wash away the dust from the road and later had a glass of wine with our dinner and went to bed rather late.

we only passed through invercargill as jens and laurence wanted to get to bluff, the southern end of state highway one. as they have been already at cape reinga, the very northern end of the road. we stayed at the bluff campground, a nice district run campsite with honesty system which is rare for such a place with all the amenities. we stayed an extra day as it was raining and our legs needed a rest day before retracing our steps to invercargill. we all had some things to organize and to do some shopping. and as we’d all seen the movie “the world’s fastest indian” with anthony hopkins playing burt munro, we had a look at the original motorbike and the replica which was used while filming.

we stopped at the mavora lakes in the evening. it was busy as it was the day before waitangi day, the annual celebration of the treaty signed in 1840. i had no plan to visit the very south part of the island but changed my mind as i had still enough time and continued to travel with laurence and jens to southland.

it is still the same old engine which propels the screws of the earnslaw which has its 100 year anniversairy this year. the operator offers guided cycle tours and there is a bike storage in the bow.

the bicycle is included in the ticket and still the price is quiet dear for the crossing. but it was well worth it to get to the start of the von river road.

the next day i got a lift to the start of the rob roy’s glacier track. past waterfalls…

until the viewpoint at the end of the track with the glacier which once filled the whole valley.

the next day i finally had a rest day while the others moved on to a nearby camping place to do some rock climbing . over the crown range, one of the highest sealed roads in new zealand, and with a stop in arrowtown i continued to queenstown the following day.

the inland route is a much better option to travel south then highway one. not only is there less traffic but the scenery has more to offer. like here around the rakaia gorge.

there are plenty of opportunities to pitch a tent for a night. most picnic areas have a basic toilet and there is always a river nearby to get water. a heavy storm passed while i stayed at a rest area near alford forest and the next morning there was snow lying on the side of the road and on top of mount somers.

on saturday i arrived in geraldine in time for the farmers market. most products seemed a bit overpriced but the live music made for a good atmosphere. at the supermarket i met laurence from wales, jens from switzerland, sarah and churo from spain. after having lunch together i joined their group and it was fun to travel with such a big group. we had a long day of cycling until we found a place for the night which suited everybody at the opuha river crossing. over burkes pass we continued to lake tekapo and when we turned into the canal route, the heavy side winds now became a proper tailwind which pushed us towards lake pukaki where we found a wonderful camp spot where we had our dinner after a very short swim in the rather cold water.

and all the time we had this view of mount cook.

the next morning, still with a tailwind, the 30 kilometers to omarama where flying by. but from there the wind turned again until the climb started towards the lindis pass. a rather barren but beautiful area.

jens and i met again on the pass and started the descent. we found a nice spot at the lindis river and enjoyed a swim in the evening. we left some signs on the side of the road, a bicycle tube wrapped around the guardrail and signs with rocks and branches in case any of the others might see it. laurence passed that point somewhere in the evening but didn’t see it while sarah and churo made it over the pass the next day. we eventually met again in wanaka.