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Touring with Byercycles
New Zealand 2000
 
                    For a few years we had been promising ourselves a special Millennium Tour to remember forever. Somewhere that we could go on our own and organise ourselves. New Zealand was the obvious answer, English speaking with a western culture. Well known for it’s spectacular snow capped mountains, lakes and fiords. Small enough to have towns and cities within one days cycling distance. 
       
      (Christine Byers)
       
                  Our flights were booked in January with Singapore Airlines. It was planned to stay for five weeks so it was important to choose fairly economical forms of accommodation. Camping  was ruled out because we don’t like to carry to much equipment on the bikes and we were aware that the South Island is known to have large amounts of rain each year. The New Zealand Youth Hostels Association was very helpful. We planned our route and booked double rooms in the hostels by E. mail, two months before we were due to depart. It was our intention to use the trains again to link up the selected areas of the country that we wanted to see. The hostel agency booked all our trains, the inter island ferry and even a coach trip to the Milford Sound for us. Membership of the YHA entitled us to large discounts on all of these tickets. At the towns where we stayed that did not have a hostel we used hotels or motels, all accommodation in New Zealand was very cheap when compared to England.
                  We landed in Christchurch on Tuesday the thirty first of October and cycled to the city Youth Hostel, our flight had taken twenty six hours so a lazy day was needed to recover from  the jet lag. Christchurch was lovely, one of the best cities in New Zealand. It was only a short walk into the centre from the hostel, at the main square we boarded an old restored tram to be taken on a circular tour. A very pleasant lady driver gave a brief talk about the history of the city and pointed out places of interest on the way round. On our return we stood on the square and  listened to the Wizard of Christchurch. At certain times of the day the square is a little bit like speakers corner in Hyde Park London. There were several characters standing on their soap boxes, delivering their views and opinions of life and world affairs. The Wizard was probably the most controversial, his chosen subject for the day appeared to be; "The overbearing dominance of women in today's society." All spoken very tongue in cheek, with the aim of inciting his audience to react to his chauvinism. However roars of laughter from the gathering of people around him, were the only reactions that were forthcoming to his highly amusing oratory.
   
The Wizard.   Christchurch tram.  

                  It took nearly all the next day to travel by train to Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island. New Zealand trains travel only slightly faster than those in Vietnam, but they are a lot more comfortable. It was easy to fall asleep on the train just counting sheep, there were millions of them grazing in the fields as we past. From Invercargill we started our cycle ride north to Te Anau and the Fiordland. That morning the air felt quite cold, it was a little bit frosty and we could see our breath vaporising as we cycled away from the hostel in bright sunshine. State Highway 6 was busier than we had expected during the morning rush hour period. The single carriageway road was very wide, with nearly a metre of tarmac at the edge then a white line. This tarmac strip at the edge of the road was a welcome feature on many roads throughout New Zealand. It proved to be a real bonus for cyclists allowing us to ride safely inside the line, away from the speeding traffic. After a few miles we turned off the busy highway and proceeded along a quieter route to Tuatapere, where we stopped for one night at the Waiau Hotel. On the day we arrived the proprietor of the hotel had travelled to Invercargill to receive an award for running the best hotel in the southern area. The following morning he suffered a great deal of embarrassment and received a lot of stick from his staff, after he overslept and failed to arise in time, to cook breakfast for his guests. Possom Lodge is a back packers hostel in the small town of Manipouri it overlooks a lake with the same name. The views from the hostel windows of the lake and the mountains beyond are quite stunning. Manipouri is fifty miles from Tuatapere and fifteen miles to Te Anau we enjoyed our one night visit and the ride around the mountains to Te Anau the next day.
Evening time at Lake Manapouri.
                     Our accommodation at Te Anau was very impressive, it was a completely new, purpose built youth hostel, that had only been open for a few months. By mid morning we had booked ourselves in and deposited our belongings. While eating lunch at The Moose Restaurant over looking Lake Te Anau we planned a boat cruise to visit the Glowworm Caves that were on the far side and towards the north end of the lake. The thirty five minute boat trip was a very relaxing ride, and then it was time  to enter the cave and walk a short distance to a punt style boat, that was very similar to those used at the Speedwell Lead Mine in Derbyshire, that we had visited a long time ago. A guide pushed us along a stream through a limestone passage in complete darkness. After a while we left that boat and walked for a short distance past a whirlpool and a waterfall until we reached a second boat. Then we were slowly propelled along the underground stream into a cavern of silence or the Glowworm Grotto it's real name. It had been explained before entering the caves, that it was most important to maintain complete silence and not to use any lights. The glowworms are stuck to the roof of the cavern and have the appearance of thousands of shining Christmas tree lights they are actually the larvae of small flies that produce the light to attract flying insects. When the insects get close they adhere to the sticky silk thread that hangs from the larvae, (a very cunning plan). The insects are then hauled in to be devoured. The lights can be turned off, if disturbed by  unusual noise or light. It was a really weird and eerie experience, to be sitting in that boat, in the dark, especially when we stopped to allow another boat that could not be seen, glide silently past.
                  To reach Milford Sound it is necessary to travel seventy miles along the very scenic and mountainous State Highway 94 from Te Anau. Ten miles from the boat terminal you pass through the Homer Tunnel. I have seen Milford Sound described in the travel brochures as the eighth wonder of the world. Although this may well be an overstatement, there is no doubting its  popularity. Each morning during the holiday season dozens of coaches filled with tourists, many from Japan and Australia, leave the hotels in Te Anau and Queenstown to drive down to the boats, then return in the afternoon. While planning our tour we had read about the tunnel and the danger to cyclists of the coaches on the road, we decided that we would much rather be sitting on a coach  than laying in the road under the wheels of one. So we had booked our day trip to Milford in  advance. The driver of the coach that stopped for us on Monday morning, was quick to explain  that it would not have been possible to cycle, as it was forbidden along the road during November  because of the danger of avalanches. We sat at the front close to the driver and had told him that 
   
The Milford Wanderer.   The entrance to Milford Sound.  
we were touring New Zealand on bicycles. Like most other people who have only ever used motorised forms of transport throughout their lives, he found this concept totally alien. Unable to understand why we would normally prefer to be cycling out on the open road, gaining a real feeling for this beautiful rugged country. Instead of sitting on his bus listening to the informative and sometimes amusing commentary, that he repeated daily to his passengers. The drive took two and  a half hours, with stops for urgent needs and photographs, the car and coach parks were filling  rapidly as our coach emptied at the boat terminal.
                     Milford Sound is an important area of the Fiordland National Park, surrounded by rain forests, it is a narrow fiord around nine and a half miles long, said to have been formed by glaciers thousands of years ago. Mountains and sheer rock faces rise straight from the waters edge, while high water falls cascade down the mountain sides. Fiordland Travel Company operate several large boats that cruise for two hours out to the Tasman sea and then back again. The boats  have restaurants, wide decks and good viewing areas. During the journey the boats will move in  close to the sides to allow their passengers to photograph the seals and penguins that play on the rocks at the waters edge. On occasions a porpoise will jump from the water. The Milford Wanderer a smaller more traditional vessel was one of the original boats to sail on the fiord.
                     Queenstown sits snugly by the side of Lake Wakatipu in an area known as The Southern Lakes. The town is 105 miles from Te Anau, to far for us to cycle in one day. At the south end of the Frankton Arm, which is a section of Lake Wakatipu is the small village of  Kingston, a shorter 72 mile ride. Once away from the main towns the roads in New Zealand can be very quiet, with long uninhabited stretches. If we came across a pub or a cafe, we soon learnt to take advantage of these amenities, as it could sometimes be another forty miles to the next  watering hole. We left Te Anau and stopped first for lunch at Mossburn, we then stopped again for  afternoon tea at Garston. While we were eating, we picked up a brochure with a picture on the front of the Kingston Flyer, a lovely old steam train that was due to stop at Fairlight station, which fortunately was only five miles further along the SH6 on our route. It would have been easy to miss  
   
The Kingston Flyer.   Fairlight station.  
the station that consisted of one building, positioned some way from the road on open ground, at the end of the single track line. It was just as if we were waiting for a train in a cowboy movie, if bandits had ridden down from the mountains on horseback to hold it up, it would not have been surprising. Full marks were awarded for punctuality, it arrived spot on time at 4-15pm ready to transport us on a magical train ride through the mountains for the final eight miles of the days journey to Kingston. A nice lady who kindly served us with tea and biscuits in her splendid buffet car, explained that the line was in real danger of being closed down. That afternoon there were four passengers on board that train, it is hardly surprising that the owners Tranz Rail are suffering  heavy financial operating losses and may regretfully be forced to shut the line and sell off the rolling stock.
             For people whose interest extend to other forms of steam transport, there is another attraction that is certain to delight the enthusiast. From her birth at Queenstown, The Steam Ship Earnslaw cruises along the lake to the Walter Peak Country Farm several times a day during the summer season. Also known as "The Lady Of The Lake" her decks are adorned with gleaming brass and polished wood. Below deck in the engine room it is possible to watch the hard working stokers continuously shovelling one ton of coal per hour to maintain the boats average speed of thirteen knots, you can also see the various engine parts in full working motion. When the ship was built in 1912 it was used to supply the remote farming communities and sheep stations, it carried livestock, passengers and all kinds of freight. After the roads and infrastructure were improved its importance as a trading vessel declined. Today it is primarily used as a pleasure boat for the many tourists and foreign visitors who descend on Queenstown from all over the world.
The Lady of the Lake – TSS Earnslaw.
                 The only main road in and out of Queenstown is State Highway 6 and it was necessary to retrace our previous days ride as far as Frankton. This road was very busy as we left early in the morning, but it became quieter once the daily exodus of cars and coaches had past by. Our destination was Wanaka, shortly after Frankton we had a choice of highways. The shorter harder route crosses the Crown Range along one of the highest roads in New Zealand passing through Cardrono. It involves some challenging climb's that peak at 1200 metres above sea level. We chose the second and flatter option and stayed with the SH6 through Cromwell, in return for our cowardice we had added an extra twenty miles to the days the ride. After enjoying one night stays at  Wanaka and Makarora, we prepared ourselves to tackle the Haast pass. Travelling in the direction that we were going it proved to be a disappointing climb, the gradient was slow and cycling was  fairly easy, we were soon at the summit. It is a much more daunting climb coming up the pass from the other direction, as we were to observe on our twelve mile fast decent, down long sections of road with steep gradients, that snaked around hair pin bends, through superb mountain scenery  mid afternoon we had reached the Haast Highway Youth Hostel on the west coast, where we were nearly eaten alive by sand flies.
                 Between the towns of Fox Glacier and Franz Josef the mountains reach out to touch the sea. Only fifteen miles separate the towns, but there are three stiff climbs to overcome as the road dips sharply down to the coast and then ascends up the steep mountain sides once more. It is very true that the economy of both towns depends largely on attracting visitors to the glacier. Like all good tourists who visit the south island we paid our call during the afternoon to the glacier  face at Franz Josef but declined the opportunity to actually walk on the ice. Our tour continued the  next day along the west coast to Ross where we rested at the Historic Empire Hotel, then onto Greymouth. The scenery for the whole of this 600 mile ride from Invercargill had been simply  wonderful. Very similar in places to the Scottish Highlands. A really superb train ride that started at  Greymouth, took us over a range of mountains known as the Southern Alps, back to Christchurch. Another train journey the following day took us north along the scenic east coast route to the  small seaside resort of Kaikoura. After that we cycled for the next two days to Picton a lovely little  coastal town that is also the Inter Island Ferry Terminal. At noon the next day we boarded the  ferry and crossed the Cook Strait to the nations capital Wellington. Inter Island Ferries are roll on  roll off ships of the same design and size as the ones that cross our English Channel.  
   
  Picton.  
                      Wellington is sometimes called the windy city, for reasons that became obvious as soon as we stepped ashore and began to ride our bikes. There are many high rise buildings in the city and the wind blasted through the gaps like a hurricane, making our bikes very difficult to steer. Big Western style cities are all very much alike. We much prefer the countryside and small towns,  way from congested streets and crowds of people. A morning was spent looking around the newly  built Te Papa museum, which was well worth the time. Then the afternoon was taken up with a  cable car ride high into the hills that overlook the city and harbour. To escape all the traffic that  makes cycling difficult through city suburbs we left Wellington by train the next morning for  Palmerston North fifty miles inland on the North Island. There were only three cycling day’s left until we completed our planned tour. The second of these days was probably our hardest days  riding. Our route on this day passed close to the Mount Ruapehu an active volcano that was  blowing it’s top during 1995 and 96. On Saturday the 25th of November we arrived at Turangi  hostel. Turangi is a town that is close to the southern shore of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand that is situated in the centre of the North Island.
   
Wellington cable car.   On the way to Raetihi.  

                  Before we left England we had been in contact with two of our old cycling friends Eddy and Pippa Toal who had emigrated to New Zealand five years previously. On the last  Saturday of November every year since 1977 the largest cycle event in New Zealand takes place. The Taupo Challenge is a non competitive cycle ride around a 160 kilometre circuit of Lake Taupo. Cyclists will train and race all through the year to gain enough fitness to complete this  annual classic, 3500 people entered the event in the year 2000. Our friends Eddy and Pippa  travelled to Taupo to take part, the weather on the day was fairly grim, it was cold, with low cloud on the mountains, rain and drizzle. While they were successfully completing the Taupo  Challenge, we were riding the final stage of our planned tour from Raetihi to Turangi. The presence of low cloud was a great shame, as it destroyed an opportunity to see the three volcanos  that we passed during the days ride. Throughout the rest of our tour, the weather had been really kind to us, that day was the only one that we had experienced any significant rainfall. We had arranged with our friends to meet at Turangi which is twenty five miles from Taupo on the opposite side of the lake, so that we could spend the final week of our holiday in their  company. They picked us up at Turangi with their car on Sunday morning and took us back to  Taupo on the northern shore of the lake. We travelled with them the next day to Thames, a pleasant town which is closer to Auckland on the Coromandel peninsular. Our touring was now being done in a motor car, on Tuesday they drove us back to their home at Weymouth on the outer  fringes of the Auckland suburbs. It would not have been right to leave New Zealand without   visiting the centre of its largest city. This we did by travelling on public transport, it took one and a  half hours by bus to get from Weymouth to the city centre. Now we had not only used our bikes, but all other forms of transport that had been available, while we had been in New Zealand. One million people live in Auckland, that is one third of the countries population. We had a ride around the harbour on a little steamboat, a look around the shops, and then returned by bus to Eddy’s house. The last two days were spent out in the countryside cycling with our friends, which we enjoy more than walking around large cities. New Zealand is a lovely country; very clean with a lot to offer it’s visitors. Accommodation is plentiful and easy to find, food and eating out  

  
   
  Ross, Historic Empire Hotel.  
     
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