Wanaka, Queenstown, and Milford Sound...etc.

Hi all, long time no post. Sorry about that. Anyway, since our first broken spoke and our bus ride over Haast Pass to the nearest bike shop in Wanaka, we've had lots of adventures and lots of beautiful riding. It almost made up for not getting to ride Haast Pass :(

Wanaka was a great place to take a few days off the bikes. We went to Puzzling World! Luc won the maze... AND had to come back for Torrey to help her find her way out! We also ran into John and Mikaela in Wanaka (they were eating ice cream of course) and got to have a farewell lunch. John is leaving New Zealand in two days! Mikaela has a lot more time left, so maybe we can team up with her again.

The ride from Wanaka to Queenstown took us over the Crown Saddle, the highest highway in New Zealand (about 1100 meters). Going up was grueling and dusty, but the view on top was well worth it. We were able to see Queenstown from 50 kms away! Going down was breathtaking. We rode through Queenstown to a DOC campsite 10 kms away. The next morning, as we were eating breakfast, a Safari of the Rings guided tour van pulled up next to us. Curious, Torrey asked what scene they were pointing out, and learned that the scene where Frodo encounters Olifants was shot 10 minutes from where we slept! It actually looked familiar. After checking it out, we hurried to Queenstown to catch the Earnslaw steamship across the lake to Walter Peak.

Most tourists onboard the Earnslaw stayed at Walter Peak for a barbecue and then took the ferry right back to Queenstown. We were the only ones to continue on down the 70 km gravel road towards Te Anau! We rode a veeerrryyy long 50 kms to Mavora Lakes that afternoon. It took us 5 or 6 hours and boy, were we dirty. So we washed off in the frigid water before settling into our camp for the night. The next day took us to Te Anau.

We stationed ourselves at a nice Holiday Park with free bag storage for our journey into Fiordland. The first day of riding towards Milford Sound brought us some rain, but also some sun, as well as some mystical mountain views. At the very end of the day, another spoke broke on Luc's bike! Frustrated, we decided to set up camp where we were and hitchhike into our destination the next day. A friendly Australian picked us up and dropped us at Milford. The ride there was fantastic, with waterfalls everywhere. Passing through the 2 km Homer Tunnel was a highlight. Milford Sound was impressive as well, despite the mist and low visibility. After a hot chocolate at the cafe we hitched a ride back to our campsite with two nice Swiss people. We spent the night reading and the rain never stopped. Both of us finished our books - Mr. Tucket for Luc (recommended by 14 year olds everywhere, and Nick Sinex), and Farewell to Arms for Torrey, a real tearjerker.

Today we tried to ride back to Te Anau, but another spoke broke! Aaagghhh! So we got some help from two more friendly Australians in a motor home. We are slowly recovering from our ordeal through the use of hot showers, hot food, and chocolate bars. The owner of the holiday park was even kind enough to rent us a cabin for the price of a tent site! He must have taken pity on our soggy cycling souls.

Miss you guys, lots of love from both of us.