Ice ice baby...

Hari Hari to Franz Josef
63km
Slept late this morning (after our late night in Hokitika watching the tennis final) so only on the road at 8:48. Made it less than 5min down the road before being distracted by the display commemorating Guy Menzie's ignominious arrival at Harihari after his ground-breaking (literally) solo flight from Oz in 1931. Who knew?
The weather was more like what was forecast on Sunday for today, rather than what was forecast yesterday. Following so far..? Dry, cloudy, humid, warm... Reasonable for cycling, great for some atmospheric mountain photos. Particularly from high on the Mount Hercules ridge. Although this is less than 200m high, the ups and downs of the day added up to 941m in ascent, albeit mostly fairly gradual. My concentration lapsed on one climb, and we were passed by a truck & trailer on a blind bend, solid yellow line, traffic coming the other way; scary! Normally if I can't see round a corner or over a brow I move out to prevent anything trying to pass... Upsets some drivers but keeps us all safe.
Reached Whataroa, exactly halfway, in time for a very early lunch, and ended up taking a very long break as we chatted with other customers. First was Martin, a German cycling North, mainly on highway. Initially we showed him some easy, off highway alternatives toward Hokitika we'd already covered, then got on to dissuading him from riding North from Wellington via J'ville then on to SH1. Strongly recommended the Remutaka rail trail and Wairarapa instead, even though he's heading for Taranaki. He also asked about the Forgotten Highway, at which another patron chips in. She's French, touring NZ on a small Honda bike (175, I think), having bought it on arrival, and she's ridden that road on it. As they finish their meals (and conversations) and leave, it moves on to a couple from Kent, doing a tour on a hired motorbike... Maybe not 'only in New Zealand' but rare to make such easy connections elsewhere!
From there it's only a couple of hours to Franz Josef. 500m or so from the town centre, we're off on a track for a 1km off-highway experience, the only one today. Our accommodation is on the street the track opens onto, but at the far end... We have an ensuite double unit, but it's set up for backpackers, with two communal kitchens and lounges. It's all a bit tired-looking, but spotless and well maintained; my guess is it's one of the original FJ motels, displaced down-market by the newer developments. It also appears to have special magnetism to Germans! All of course speak fluent English, and I realise by overhearing that I can still make sense of the language, though unable to respond in kind. This establishment has decided to differentiate by offering 'free' additions such as a spa pool, breakfast and free soup in the evening. We decide to cook in tonight so adjourn to the Four Square to buy pasta, smoked chicken, pesto sauce, and the obligatory bottle of wine.

Comments

  1. The Palmers Go KiwiJanuary 31, 2023 at 9:36 PM

    Wonderful stuff - keep it up! Thoroughly enjoying the blog - you should become a travel writer!

    ReplyDelete

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