Life is Great

We got off to a slow start yesterday. First, we woke up early to catch a bus to Westport. We arrived to the rundown miners town early afternoon and decided to get some food at the grocery and head on our way. We made it about 7km out of town when Mally got a flat... she only had old tubes so we had to patch up some holes... we decided that it was a good time to break out lunch. The weather turned hot and humid and it took a while for the tube patches to dry, but at last, we were back on the road... ahh... to be moving at last. Then, the not so smooth road turned to deep gravel (oh dear). No worries, we had all day and weren't in a hurry so we hopped off our bikes and began to walk. The gravel ended shortly up the road so we hopped back on and began to get into our pedalling groove when we saw more gravel ahead. Back off the bikes we went and again began to walk... this time we couldn't see the paved road ahead so we just trodded along and were happy that we didn't have anywhere to be anytime soon. We turned a bend and again saw the nice paved road ahead (yay!). Finally, we were on the move. The day had gotten a bit hotter and the humidity was still high. There were no climbs outlined in our cycling book, but the roads was full of undulating hills. All around us we could see nothing but green trees, shrubs, and plants. Everything was green... and hot... and we began pedalling uphill without a downhill in sight (this surely warranted a bump in a topography map... I guess I shouldn't assume that no map means flat road).

I was beginning to think that we may be in for a long day when all of a sudden the road turned around a bend and headed downhill. The wind swept pass my face and made me forget about the heat beating down. We were zooming downhill and all the memories of trudging along slowly uphill with heavy panniers were forgotten. Then, we went around a bend and the lush green bush opened up for our first glimpse of the ocean - WOW!! Magnificent cliffs leading down to barren beaches with rocky crags sticking out of the water and waves thrashing agains the shore. What a powerful sight. I was suddenly on top of the world and reminded how wonderful it is to be alive.

The day kept getting better. We soon arrived to "Market Day" along the beach. People were selling homemade kabobs, vegetable patties, and fresh lemonade. All the surrounding people had come out of the woodwork to play on the beech, build statues out of driftwood, cook food, and enjoy the day. What a great stop to find along the deserted west coast road. We took a break, fueled up, and continued on our way towards Punakaiki, home of the Pancake Rocks. We arrived in Punakaiki just when Mally's rear tire decided to deflate again. So we stopped off at the tavern along the road to give it another fix, fill up on water, and relax a bit. Then we headed up to the Pancake Rocks which were only a short uphill ride away. A beautiful path leads to the Rocks which are giant crags sticking out of the ocean with stripes of layers (hence... pancake). They were magnificent.

Although we had only made it about 58km, we decided to call it a day. Punakaiki was a slendid location and we may have had to go many kilometers to find another place to stay. So we set up our tent a short walk from the beach, threw all our dirty clothes in the laundry, and enjoyed some supper. Afterwards, we walked out to the beach and enjoyed skipping rocks into the magnificent waves. We then walked back to the tavern up the street to relax and of course, for me to get some ice cream... is there a better way to end such a wonderful day?

After sleeping to the sounds of the ocean and waking up to chirping birds, we were off to an early start this morning. The roads continued to wind up and down, but we were also continually blessed with magnificant views of the ocean. While the north shore was serene, lush, and beautifully blue, the west coast has more of a powerful feeling to it. The waves are alive, the rocks are rugged, and the wind is strong. I can't think of a better way to start the day than biking along the west coast of New Zealand.