At the hostel this morning, I met two tourers Ramon from Argentina and Vincent from Belgium They’re doing the Rainbow Road like me today. They were off before me, but I met them at the coffee shop soon after.
I had a few things to get so we thought we’d be aiming for the same destination today and said farewell for now.
I took Jack’s Pass which I’d ridden before on a mountain bike with no luggage, and wasn’t particularly looking forward to it today. It turned out fine but tough with a few judicious ‘photo’ stops to catch my breath.
On the way, I caught up with Eric and Carrie – a young english couple whom I met riding out of Christchurch, at the campground in Amberley, and the pub in Culverden. We rode together for the rest of the day. I really enjoyed the company. They’re both super nice people.
By the time we got to Lake Tennyson after 45kms, we were all ready to camp. The lake is breathtaking. We met a hiker who said he didn’t really like walking that much. Regardless, he was walking from Bluff at the bottom of the south island home to Hamilton in the north island. A more laid back person, I’ve never met.
The wind soon got up and cooled things down. Later, it made cooking difficult.
Late in the day, two pairs of cyclists arrived. One guy is a Scotsman, and he rides his bike in a kilt. That’s a novel approach out here in the middle of NZ.
