Perhaps it was that I wanted to drag out the last 2 days coming to my departure point. Or maybe it was that the rain and cold was pointing out that staying put for a couple days was a good idea. In any case, from a distance perspective I could have easily ridden faster and gotten to Christchurch days earlier. But for what? I enjoyed reading in bed, staying in small towns, listening to rain patter on the roofs of cabins I stayed in.
The day I left Glentunnel, I woke to temperatures that made news in NZ. Snow had fallen in places that typically don’t get it. There were advisories to lower thermostats in South Island to reduce the risk of rolling blackouts due to the unseasonably cold temperatures.
But I had to get going, so I bundled up and hit the road. The wind was a quartering tail wind, and I charted a more direct route than the official route suggested, accompanied by pelting rain, sleet and hail. Yuck!
Arriving in Rolleston, I was too early to check into my motel, so I went to a coffee shop and huddled around a Flat White watching my bike outside the window getting rained on. A fruit tarte with a side of cream followed. A couple of groups of people chatted with me about what I was doing there, which passed the time agreeably.
For dinner, I went to the Rolly Inn, 5 minutes walk from my motel, and chatted with the manager for a bit before being invited over to the locals/regulars table, a motley if agreeable group of about 10 people including the retired town policeman, the owner of the local garage, a worker for Air NewZealand, a farmer, and others. There was no lack of conversation and it was fun to be included.
The following day I rode the last miles to Christchurch, where I would begin plans for boxing up the bike and getting to the airport, as well as spending a few days exploring. The weather is improving these next couple days and so I hope to get around and explore.
On my way into Christchurch I got to pass some more precisely trimmed windbreaks that continue to amaze and amuse me. I’m not sure exactly why the Kiwis spend so much energy trimming windbreaks, but the below video shows you HOW they do it. It seems like a habit taken from the English, but scaled for New Zealand.
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