Since I took a bus to Geraldine from Queenstown following my adventure ending in the helicopter evacuation, I had about 200 miles less riding to get to Christchurch compared with my original plan. And so, I’ve been going slower – riding about 40 miles every other day and staying a couple days in small towns along the way.
The riding has been pretty easy with fairly flat terrain. While in Mount Somers, I spent my non-travel day doing a short ride up to the Stour Track, a popular mountain bike trail starting about 8 miles north of Mount Somers, where agates are common.
The Stour Track is beautiful, with a wide river cutting through dramatic hills. The weather was nice and I encountered a Boy Scout troop hiking back from camping over the weekend. That brought back many memories of being a Boy Scout myself. I’m pretty sure those kids get training about what to do with rising rivers! Along the track, I came to a small water crossing and then another, and the knot in my gut told me that I’d had enough of water crossings for the time being and so I turned back and rode home!
The next day was a flawless Fall day with crisp dry air and not a cloud in the sky. The winds were light and it was probably the best weather I’ve seen in New Zealand since we arrived in January. It reminded me of Colorado. I left my little cabin and took to the road with joy in the lovely weather. It’s amazing how good weather can change your perspective.
The weather forecast for the following day was exactly the opposite. The temperature was going to dip 30 degrees to 38, and heavy rain was forecast. My initial plan had been to stay one night at a basic campsite at Rakaia Gorge, but the forecast of rain prompted me to add another night to my stay in Glentunnel and push on a few more miles to there.
The weather forecast proved accurate, or at least accurate enough. Heavy rain and wind pounded the roof of my hut starting about 4AM and I was SO happy to not be camping. The night before, I chatted with a couple guys occupying the cabin next to mine. Five days previous, they were traveling by 4WD to go deer hunting a few hundred feet higher in elevation than where I had been stranded, and had gotten stuck in snow drifts a couple feet high and had to shovel an escape route, getting frostbite on their fingers in the process. Same storm that got me.
Fall is certainly here. The temperature was 38 F (3C) last night and it’s about the same tomorrow. Leaves are starting to turn, and it seems like good timing to head to warmer climes.
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