Thursday January 16, 2014

We knew we had a really big climb today after Omarama, (Lindis Pass).  The forecast was not good, possible rain and strong north westerly winds – again.  We got to Omarama in good time with no rain and a little bit of a side wind nothing too bad.  It was a nice route.

Did you know?  Waters from the three lakes, Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau, in the MacKenzie Basin, pass through a system of power stations and canals downt to the Waitaki power station.  All 8 power stations are operated from a control centre in Twizel, which ensures that as much electricity as possible is generated from the water flowing from the Southern Alps out to the sea.

We stopped at Lake Ruataniwha spillway and took these photos.  On the plaque on this turbine it said it was a spare turbine.  Does this mean that it is similar to when you build something from IKEA, I have a spare (nut) turbine, do you think it is important?

I lost it today.

We had decided last night that we should eat more regularly as both of us are losing weight, which means we are not eating enough for the riding we are doing.  Anyway we stopped in Omarama at 30 ks and had a sandwich.

When we came out of the cafe the wind had picked up and it was blowing a very stiff wind.  We cycled about 2 ks out of Town and I lost it.  Because I broke my mirror in Kikoura I have been in the lead all the time, we haven’t switched up because I need Ralf behind me telling me what traffic is coming, especially the transports and some of the cars with boats or trailers who often come too close.  Well I was finding it difficult to keep my bike in a straight line with the wind blowing me into the gravel.  Eventually I stopped and screamed at Ralf that this was crazy and I wasn’t going to do it.  This is supposed to be fun not suicidal.  Ralf’s response “Well what happens if it is the same tomorrow”.  We had a bit of an “animated discussion” about what to do next.  We circled back to the campsite and then Ralf suggested to see if we could hitch a ride over the Pass.  We went back to the café and found out there was a bus that would leave in about 30 minutes if it had room it could take us all the way into Queenstown or to Cromwell.

We hate to cheat, after all this is supposed to be a bike ride around the world not a bus ride.  We know we are taking the train a couple of times, but catching the bus over a hill should not be part of the trip.  However, saving ourselves from being blown into a transport truck or off the road, maybe?  We took the bus and are now sitting in the Holiday Park in Queenstown.

We were hoping to meet up with Adonica (she was on an exchange with Meridian a few years ago) but she is going to see her family in Auckland so we will miss her.

Queenstown is a sprawling mess of a Town which is very touristy, with lots of adventurous things to do in and around Town such as bungey jumping, jet boating, trips to Milford Sound etc.

We have decided we need a couple of days to regroup, replan the route and then carry on either Saturday or Sunday.