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Ride South Island NZ – Reflections from 1,548 Kilometres

1,548 kilometres 93 hours 54 minutes riding 11,722 metres of climbing Average speed: 16.7 km/h Looking back, those numbers tell part of the story. But not all of it. The Journey The ride took us across the full range of what New Zealand’s South Island has to offer. From the wide, open  Canterbury Plains , into the foothills and on to the high country of the  Mackenzie Basin . Over the passes —  Burke’s, Lindis, Haast and the Crown Range  — and into the lakes around Queenstown and Wānaka. Then across to the  West Coast , where the landscape changes completely. Temperate rainforest, wild coastline, waterfalls after heavy rain, and long stretches of road that feel a long way from anywhere. From there we turned inland again through river valleys and farmland, before finishing in the sheltered waters of the  Marlborough Sounds . Every day felt different. The Conditions We were lucky. Very lucky. Finishing  a week ahead of schedule  and averaging  ...
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Day 22 – The Finish: Sounds, Super Domestiques and the Ferry North

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Part 1 – The Last Ride (South Island) A very exciting day. Our  final ride on the South Island , and we were joined by  two super domestiques… and their mum . Of all the towns we’ve passed through,  Havelock  is the one I’d return to first. A marina full of big, expensive boats, a small working fishing fleet, a good pub, and a 4 Square that delivers hot snacks and iced coffee pre-ride. And the scenery — exceptional.
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Day 21 – Over the Last Hills to Havelock

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The   weather gods returned   today. We woke to calm, overcast conditions which, in typical fashion, burnt off to leave another  warm, sunny day  — pretty much perfect for cycling. This was marked as a  “red day”  in our original itinerary. It didn’t feel like one Top of the last climb
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Day 20 – Rutherford Country and a Few Wrong Turns

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In my eyes, one of New Zealand’s most famous exports is  Ernest Rutherford , Nobel laureate and   1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson . And today, we rode through his backyard. We passed his  first school in Foxhill , his  birthplace at Brightwater , and rolled along  Rutherford Road in Nelson . In the coming days we’ll also head toward  Havelock , where his father once ran a flax mill. Not a bad bit of history to ride through.
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Day 19 – A Hard Day to Wakefield

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The rain arrived right on schedule at   6 am   and stuck around until about   1 pm . At breakfast in Murchison there were a few cyclists debating whether to ride or sit the day out. We didn’t have that luxury.
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Day 18 – Fog, Gorges and Single-Lane Bridges

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We rolled out into a   thick fog , which probably wasn’t ideal, but with decent front and rear lights set to daylight mode, we felt reasonably visible.
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Day 17 – Into the Home Stretch

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We’ve now booked our flights home for early next week — about   a week ahead of schedule . After mapping out the remaining days, it feels like we’ve moved into the final phase of the trip. Just a matter of getting the kilometres done, with the added bonus of a couple of spare days to  visit friends and sample a bit of Marlborough wine . Not a bad way to finish.
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