​ 10/03/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 48 - Visa issues dealt with.

 

Lots of funky Mushrooms around the lake

Distance cycled: 69km from Mavora lakes to Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 19.7km/h
Moving Time: 3h31m
Elevation Ascended: 255m
Total Distance on Current trip: 3,493km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 4,914km
Money spent: $25

For whatever reason I was completely exhausted and ill rested, I struggled from the get go and although today's terrain had significantly more downhill than up I struggled; it also didn't help that the wind was against us.
Eventually spencer and I made it into the town of Te Anau where we booked into a hostel for the evening.
Soon arriving I wanted to sleep off the shitty state I was in but I got an email from the Canadian Visa office saying that I had my acceptance letter - this was great news as the Validity of my police check was going to expire tomorrow, this meant that I wouldn't have to go through the process of getting another.
I uploaded all the documents required for the Working holiday Visa I was applying for and all was going smoothly.. Too smoothly.
But when it came to paying the $100CAD fee my card was refused!!! Still exhausted and now stressed I tried every iteration possible with the details to make payment with no luck, I tried Spencer's card.. Without luck! Arrgg! Why wouldn't the Canadian government except my payment method.
I resorted to asking people in the hostel if they were Canadian to help me out using their card. Two girls from Quebec, Stefanie and Joelle were able to help me out using one of their cards. Finally it worked!
Instant relief of stress! Now all I have to todo is wait 6 weeks for my visa.
This is my last visa I'll be able to get for Canada and as I have already booked my tickets to return to NZ for tree planting here I'll use up the visa (24 months) next year.
I know this was off topic from my usual cycle touring blog but this is a huge burden levied from my shoulders.
Even better news is that Stefanie and Joelle were driving to Milford Sounds tomorrow, which is what Spencer and I were looking for as a small day trip to do a hike or two. I asked politely and they were positively happy to have us tag along.
You girls are awesome.
Time for some sleep right now!

​ 09/03/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 47 - New Zealand keeps on getting better and better.

Distance cycled: 78km from Frankton (Queenstown) to Wakatipu lakes, South Island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 14.7km/h
Moving Time: 5h13m
Elevation Ascended: 1444m
Total Distance on Current trip: 3,424km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 4,983km
Money spent: $60

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From waking up in a free camping spot with the sunrise light hitting the Barron soaring peaks behind us to cruising across Lake Wakatipu in an old steam boat and punishing our legs to climb a pass on a dirt road through scenic views unlike anywhere else in the world, today was a fine mix of what cycle touring is all about, well, except for the necessary boat trip across the lake from Queenstown.
It was cold, really cold last night and my sleeping bag that is suppose to be rated to  -5 degrees Celsius could not cope and if it wasn't for me throwing on more clothing in the early hours I certainly would have struggled with sleep; anyway, it was a beautiful morning with the birds chirping and now dressed in my winter gear we set off into Queenstown.
New World, the cheapest of all the supermarkets in the South Island is Spencer and my go to place for a decent feed as their baked good, especially muffins are unrivaled and supported with some bananas and yogurt make a complete and filling cyclist breakfast.
I also picked up some cheap clothing on special in case we encounter more frosty nights on this trip with is close to coming to an end for me as I now only have 10 days of touring here.
It took us longer than expected to fill up our food bags for the next couple of days and by the time we had made it into Queenstown we were told that the ferry across Wakatipu was unable to take bikes across the lake because of the distance needed to be cycled to reach the next available camping spot, fortunately for us and perhaps its because neither of us didn't look like sluggish cyclists we convinced the woman at the ticket office that we could make it, despite the apparently limited time.
The boat trip, although expensive at $35 one way and taking about one and a half hours was neat with 360 degree views of the mountains that surround the lake.
Disembarking for the boat at some farm that is a tourist attraction we took off down the dirt road towards Mavora lakes.
Being a road to nowhere for most vehicles there was very little traffic and judging by some bicycle tracks in the dirt I could see that there were two cyclists ahead of us. As a shot in the dark I guessed it was the Korean couple we have run into several times on the west coast - and literally when I said this we turned a sharp bend in the road and ran into them, they were pushing their bicycles up the pass where the view was like no other! Check the photos below!
I would like to say it was smooth sailing towards the lakes but although the view was incredible we were struck by a vicious headwind.
Just as night fell we made it to the DoC camping area beside the lake where red and yellow capped mushrooms flourished.
What an incredible day.

08/03/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 46 - Tackling the highest road in the country!

Distance cycled: 72km from Wanaka to just outside of Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 16.6km/h
Moving Time: 4h19m
Elevation Ascended: 1475m
Total Distance on Current trip: 3,346km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 5,061km
Money spent: $4 on an ice cream

The last two days of doing nothing but sitting on my laptop to soak up as much internet as I could, ate plenty of food and inhaled chocolate was precisely what both Spencer and I needed. We spent our time at a campsite just on the outskirts of town that offered fast internet and a hot tub with sauna, the perfect retreat for worn down cyclists and at $21 a night to camp not badly priced.
We eventually left the campsite to tackle the highest road in New Zealand between Wanaka and Queenstown that winded up to 1100 meters on a progressively steeper road before dropping down into the valley floor before Queenstown.
It was jaw dropping scenery along the way and near perfect conditions.
I'm guessing you can see that I am absolutely loving this place! It is truly spectacular and easily THE most amazing and picturesque views I have seen in all the countries I have visited over the past 10 years!

05/03/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 45– A Bloody good day.

Distance cycled: 61km from Boundary Creek to Wanaka
Average speed: 17.2km/h
Moving Time: 3h14m
Elevation Ascended: 935m
Total Distance on Current trip: 3,266km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 5,141km

With the most stunning scenery of what New Zealand has offered thus far today was simply epic! These picture depict how amazing our day was. We have now made it into Wanaka where we will be spending the next two days resting and recovering at a campsite. Something that is much needed.