WALTER WAS AT IT AGAIN |
|
On February 17, 2010 I
took off from
Washington on
a four-week
trip to New Zealand, mainly for an extended bike ride, but also
for some hiking and boating.
I arrived in
On the day with the longest ride I pedaled 113 km; they included several important climbs that added up to 1,630 meters. All climbs during the four weeks combined totaled 12,800 meters. The steepest was at 17%. On my bicycle I carried two panniers and gear, which weighed altogether 19 kg. The effort made me lose 5.5 kg, which without difficulty I am in the process of recovering.
Below are excerpts from my diary, covering three days of the trip. |
Auckland on
February 19 where
I was joined by Reggie the next day. 
On the first leg of the
trip, we cycled from Auckland south to Wellington via Hamilton,
Rotorua, Lake Taupo, National Park, Wanganui, and Levin. The
second leg, after crossing Cook Strait to the South Island, took
us from Picton along the north coast of the island to the
Farwell Spit and back. (Reggie who cut his trip short by one
week, left after Takaka). 
I
cycled for 19 days covering a total distance of 1,550 km. Two
days I spent in Auckland, and I hiked on three days. Twice I
went on boat trip: on the Whanganui River and along the coast of
the Tasman Bay. I also took a scenic twelve-hour train ride
from Wellington to Auckland before returning home.