South Island New Zealand by bike.

The last time we did a trip like this back in Australia, we ended up with a write-up in the local paper. Over here, we barely raise an eyebrow. Cyclists are everywhere — all ages, all types of bikes, and from all over the world.

A slower start this morning — legs feeling the last few days — but still on the road by   8 am . Cool, clear and calm, although the  wind-sculpted trees along the road  suggest that’s not always the case. Looks like the kind of place where it can  blow the dog off a chain  when it gets going.

After a couple of weeks on the road — unshaven, hair getting longer — we’re now well and truly into the  touring groove . No road too long. No hill too steep. We’ve also settled into a rhythm: 6 hours riding, 6 hours on the peripherals (eating, drinking, charging devices), and 12 hours sleeping. It seems to work.

A warm night in the tent and we woke to a   dark, overcast morning . True to West Coast form, the cloud eventually burnt off and it turned into another   magnificent autumn day

We’re learning that a   “sunny” forecast on the West Coast   is a relative term. It generally means rain overnight, clearing around lunchtime — which is exactly what we got, along with a slightly delayed start thanks to some very tempting café food. Somewhere along this stretch we officially left the  South Pacific  behind and picked up the  Tasman Sea  — although we didn’t actually see it until about  18 km down the road . The first section runs between  coastal dunes on the left and low forest on the right . Some of the trees are quite sculpted, probably from the prevailing  south-westerly winds  — which, conveniently, is also our direction of travel. This was also the first proper  flat riding  we’ve seen since the Canterbury Plains. We made good time early, averaging over  22 km/h  before stopping at  Ship Creek . Beautiful spot — driftwood scattered across the beach, and not much else apart from the odd bi...

The forecast of   50 mm of overnight rain   turned out to be spot on. ‘Heavy rain and wind hammered the campsite through the night, leaving everything thoroughly soaked. Fortunately, the same forecast suggested the rain would ease around  8 am , and for once the weather gods delivered. It cleared just enough for us to pack up camp and get moving. We didn’t hang around. The  midges were fierce , which provided plenty of motivation to get on the bikes as quickly as possible.

Leaving  Wānaka , we detoured onto  State Highway 6 via Albert Town , following the Clutha River. There’s a large free camp there which, in hindsight, might have been worth exploring a bit more. Instead, after a quick  cappuccino and toastie , we pushed on. The road took us south along the western side of  Lake Hāwea  for about 25 kilometres, with a fair bit of up and down along the way. This whole area brought back memories of  Cliffy Just and our primary school geography lessons  — classic  U-shaped valleys carved by glaciers . It’s easy to see it here. Back in the day, both  Lakes Hāwea and Wānaka were buried under ice to depths of around 4,000 feet . After following the lake, we crossed a narrow neck of land which brought us back onto the eastern side of  Lake Wānaka . That small change in direction also brought a  15-knot headwind straight onto our noses . The scenery was still fantastic, which helped. After a lunch stop in the...