Category: New Zealand

When we set off to do our four-day Cape Palliser loop, my plan was to use the train to again get us through the Remutaka Mountains and back to Upper Hutt on our 4th evening. But then I realized that rather than stressing ourselves to make sure we got to Featherston before the last afternoon…

Our second morning awaking at Putangirua Pinnacles was warmer than the first (53F), but the steady breeze flowing out of the canyon (the Breath of the Dead?!) made it feel colder than that. The overall forecast had the wind blowing perpendicular to the canyon, so it’s been interesting to learn how the local topography (or…

For breakfast we brought out our insulating foam mat to sit on at the picnic table, something we haven’t used in months, partly because it hasn’t been this cold, but mostly because we rarely use picnic tables in New Zealand; at holiday parks we eat in the kitchen in normal chairs, and at DOC sites…

Yesterday in Featherston we were briefly on SH2, the main trunk connecting the population centers of the eastern half of the North Island. We then branched off onto SH53, which “dead ends” at Martinborough. Obviously the road doesn’t end, but the State Highway designation does, and today we proceed south on narrowing twigs of the…

Even though we fast-forwarded ourselves off the South Island by taking the train from Christchurch to Picton, it would still be a tight and stressful effort to ride from Wellington and get to Hobbiton in time. Or more-precisely, getting to Hobbiton on time would require us to ride the most-direct route possible, which 1) wouldn’t…