TOURING TAKE TWO: CYCLING WITH SHEEP AND BAD CRICKETERS

Welcome back! Either you've been occasionally checking this blog even after the European Adventure concluded (if so, I feel sorry for you!), or more likely you have heard that I'm well and truly back on the bike.

And so I introduce:

Touring Take Two: Cycling with Sheep and Bad Cricketers

Right now I am in a motel in Kaitaia in Northland, some 310km north of Auckland. I caught the bus here from Auckland today, having been there for the wedding of my good friends Monique Hearnden and Nick Browne. (Monique of the Mission Heights 'Parri Pedals for Parkinson's Fan Club' fame...see comments at Day 23: 2000kms = Civic Reception).

If I learnt one thing today (on top of the fact that there even IS 300km of land north of Auckland - hands up who honestly knew that was the case?!), it was that Northland, as this area is officially known, is incredibly hilly. Mountainous even. My schedule gives me seven days to get back to Auckland, and I have a feeling that I will need every hour of each of those seven days to do it. The only bonus (and it is a big one) is that this part of the world is STUNNING.

Anyway tomorrow, Tuesday 8th January, I will depart the northernmost point of 'New Zulland', Cape Reinga, bound for the southernmost point, Bluff. Actually, if you want me to get all technical on you, Cape Reinga and Bluff are not the northernmost OR southernmost points of the country: that would be Surville Cliffs and Slope Point respectively, although neither are easily accessible on sealed roads so I ruled them out early on in planning (i.e. a couple of hours ago...). Surville Cliffs is 3km further north than Cape Reinga, and 30km further East, while Slope Point, 5km further south than Bluff, is not connected even with unsealed roads, meaning you have to hike, and it is apparently not even accessible to the public. So do you forgive me for (technically) cheating you out of 8kms?

For those interested, my rough plan is outlined below. However, with no SatNav Dan (and, in fact, no companions at all this time!) this itinerary is going to change more often than my underwear, I think. So maybe once or twice on the trip... ;)

#	Date	From	To	Distance (kms)	Cumulative Distance (kms)
0	Jan-07	Auckland	Kaitaia	-	-
1	8	Cape Reinga	Kaitaia	111.07	111.07
2	9	Kaitaia	Whangaroa	75.33	186.40
3	10	Whangaroa	Paihia	63.28	249.68
4	11	Paihia	Paihia	0.00	249.68
5	12	Paihia	Whangarei	78.92	328.60
6	13	Whangarei	Wellsford	84.26	412.86
7	14	Wellsford	Orewa	49.80	462.66
8	15	Orewa	Auckland	47.96	510.62
9	16	Auckland	Auckland	0.00	510.62
10	17	Auckland	Auckland	0.00	510.62
11	18	Auckland	Auckland	0.00	510.62
12	19	Auckland	Ellerslie	23.12	533.74
13	20	Ellerslie	Miranda	93.49	627.23
14	21	Miranda	Athenree	91.31	718.54
15	22	Athenree	Mount Maunganui	58.40	776.94
16	23	Mount Maunganui	Rotorua	71.09	848.03
17	24	Rotorua	Rotorua	0.00	848.03
18	25	Rotorua	Taupo	101.72	949.75
19	26	Taupo	Taupo	0.00	949.75
20	27	Taupo	National Park Village	113.65	1063.40
21	28	National Park Village	National Park Village	0.00	1063.40
22	29	National Park Village	John Coull Campsite (Whanganui River)	44.50	1107.90
23	30	John Coull Campsite (Whanganui River)	Tieke Campsite (Whanganui River)	27.50	1135.40
24	31	Tieke Campsite (Whanganui River)	Wanganui	97.06	1232.46
25	Feb-01	Wanganui	Wanganui	0.00	1232.46
26	2	Wanganui	Himitangi	76.06	1308.52
27	3	Himitangi	Wellington	139.42	1447.94
28	4	Wellington	Wellington	0.00	1447.94
29	5	Wellington	Wellington	0.00	1447.94
30	6	Wellington	Mouteka	0.00	1447.94
31	7	Mouteka	Takaka	0.00	1447.94
32	8	Takaka	Picton	0.00	1447.94
33	9	Picton	Blenheim	58.65	1506.59
34	10	Blenheim	Kaikoura	132.37	1638.96
35	11	Kaikoura	Greta Valley	107.47	1746.43
36	12	Greta Valley	Springfield	126.94	1873.37
37	13	Springfield	Arthurs Pass	86.82	1960.19
38	14	Arthurs Pass	Hokitika	120.00	2080.19
39	15	Hokitika	Franz Josef Glacier	140.00	2220.19
40	16	Franz Josef Glacier	Fox Glacier	50.00	2270.19
41	17	Fox Glacier	Haast	121.00	2391.19
42	18	Haast	Haast	0.00	2391.19
43	19	Haast	Makarora	79.00	2470.19
44	20	Makarora	Wanaka	64.00	2534.19
45	21	Wanaka	Queenstown	69.00	2603.19
46	22	Queenstown	Queenstown	0.00	2603.19
47	23	Queenstown	Queenstown	0.00	2603.19
48	24	Queenstown	Lumsden	65.00	2668.19
49	25	Lumsden	Invercargill	96.00	2764.19
50	26	Invercargill	Invercargill via Bluff	60.00	2824.19
51	27	Invercargill	Christchurch	0.00	2824.19
52	28	Christchurch	Christchurch	-	-
53	Mar-01	Christchurch	Sydney	-	-