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| Spot the Seals! | Cloudy Buller Gorge | Inangahua Junction One Stop Shop | Longest Swingbridge in NZ | Murchison Twilight |
After breakfast I cycled over to Tauranga Bay, about 5km from the B&B, to the seal colony (Kekuna Fur Seals). The viewpoint was on low cliffs, so the seals were quite distant, but there was a lot of activity - babies demanding milk from their mothers, adults clambering over the rocks, and two juveniles sparring in an arena of the only flat patch of sand in the rocky outcrops.
After returning to the B&B I set off in the right direction at about 10am. It was an easy 7 miles into Westport around the bay. I stopped there briefly at the information center (not much use) and supermarket for sports drink powder.
The main part of the ride was up the Buller Gorge. After a few miles the gorge became quite narrow. The clouds were very low again, cutting the views, but it was still impressive. The first 15 miles from the B&B were dry, but then it started to rain, and soon it was raining very hard. The cape is already developing pinprick leaks, and together with the wind blowing it wasn't keeping me completely dry, although I wasn't getting miserably wet. I stopped at Berlins, a cafe in the middle of nowhere, at about 27 miles, for lunch and to dry off. I was the only customer, and there was only one person serving - I'm glad it was there!
The sun came out while I was eating lunch, and that was the last serious rain of the day, although there was some light rain, with a rainbow, just before the end of the ride (not quite enough to need waterproofs). By late afternoon it was becoming warm and sunny. The gorge was now less spectacular, but still pretty. There was only one more refreshment place in the last 40 miles at Inangahua Junction, so I stopped for tea and cake at an everything-store there, although it was rather soon after lunch.
The main tourist attraction of the gorge (when the jet boats etc. are not running) is the "longest swingbridge in NZ". This was a a convenient resting point, so I paid my NZ$5 to walk across the bridge swaying high above the river. I met a cyclist from England, Robert, and we cycled the remaining 9 miles to Murchison together. He was actually touring the South Island anticlockwise, the opposite way from me, but was taking a day off in the Murchison area. We had dinner together, and compared experiences and swapped advice on routes and where to stay.
Tonight I'm staying in the Lazy Cow Backpackers. This is small and friendly (e.g. home baked muffins and tea). It is run by an English couple who got tired of the rat race and wanted a change of lifestyle, and so came to NZ and purchased the Backpackers 6 months ago.
Another fairly long day, but easier gradients than yesterday.
