Christchurch has some great cycleways and I was aware that you could leave the city and head north along protected paths. That’s fantastic, not that the traffic in Christchurch is bad at all.
So, I followed the signs and turns for kilometres until I was in Rangiora at lunch time. There I met Barbara from Germany who was heading in the opposite direction – isn’t everyone? We swapped stories over a quick lunch at a Turkish place.
A bit earlier, I had bumped into an English couple – Eric and Carrie, cycling in the same direction as me (for a change). We had a chat and expected to see each other again on the way north.
The Hurunui Heartland Trail continued north but from here, it was mainly on roads and local gravel roads. As usual, the headwinds grew stronger by the minute. I hadn’t seen any camping spots in Amberley but there were a couple at Amberley Beach. What could possibly go wrong ?
By the time I got there, the wind was howling, the beach was gravelly and uninviting and the campground looked run down and unpatronised. Time to look for the next one !
This time, I found the campsite in Amberley and rode the four or five kms inland. There’s something about getting off the bike at the end of the day. It’s a good relaxed feeling, but when you have to get back on again and ride up even the slightest hill, everything hurts.
Thats what happened. The campsite was really nice, and I again bumped into Eric and Carrie and talked over dinner at the camp kitchen.