end of the revolutions

… and so the revolutions have stopped …

… at least for now … and I thought some ‘top-trumps’ type statistics, more thorts and a little perspective might be in order, just to round this adventure off and to respond to some of the questions I’ve been getting of late.

top trumps

it’s difficult to know what to include for top trumps … they’re harder to make than they seem! Here’s my best shot …

… and the organisers of Tour Aotearoa asked us to complete a wrap-up questionnaire; here’re my responses :

HF TA Questionnaire 20160403

further thorts

I’ve been doing some more of that thinking stuff since returning to Wellington, trying to decide if anything has changed, or if it’s just business as usual. here’s where i got to :

THORT 01 – this blog thing :

i have to say i got the shock of my life when i realised how many people were reading this blog. it started out as a means to sort-of ‘publicise’ the fund-raising aspect of this adventure, then grew into something like a ‘how-to’ record when i realised just how little i knew about the world of proper cycling. then, once i started on the tour it was a way of trying to give the generous people who had pledged some entertainment and some idea of how much of their ‘per km’ pledge they’d committed themselves to! I bet there were a few out there thinking they’d save a few pennies more than once or twice … and if there weren’t, let me tell you there probably should have been!!

BUT, after not very long at all, writing the blog became very surprisingly quite personal, and quite a necessary thing for me to be able to calm my mind and order my thoughts through the exhaustion at the end of each day. So when I got to Wellington halfway through I got my first true appreciation of the blog from ‘the other side’, and just how much the satellite link could pinpoint my location … and often activities. I can tell you that some of you were quite right when you guessed I was having a pee-stop, or when I took a corner a bit too fast!

I hope the blogs weren’t too weird, but unfortunately that is sort-of just my mind most of the time (and these days most of the time unspoken because the weirdness has got me in trouble a few times too many!)… so if you end up quickly crossing the road the next time we pass each other, I won’t be offended!

 

THORT 02 – focusing on the basics :

i now realise how much i have enjoyed clearing out all of the unnecessary worries we fill our minds with day-to-day, and simply focusing on making sure the basics are covered : nutrition, hydration, hygiene and rest. The important ‘fifth element’ for me is to remember to be confident in my decisions, or in my ability to find a solution … and that often all I need to do is give it a bit more time and not stress when a solution doesn’t immediately present itself.

But just on the basics, I’ve had a think about what I consume in my week-day life and my weekend life, to see just how much more fuel i needed for this cycling adventure even than my normal fairly active weekends. here’re the results … i couldn’t always get all these items, but this was about the amount i ate every day :

 

THORT 03 – recovering economies :

after reviewing what i ate it dawned on me that the economies of the ivory coast must have been struggling somewhat for a month, as my normal chocolate addiction had been greatly reduced. it turns out chocolate isn’t what my body shouts for when it really needs either instant energy or is pre-empting a big-day-out. quite surprising!

Not to worry, though : the fortuitous timing of easter being at the end of the tour meant that i have more than compensated the global cocoa-bean-growing economies, and have luckily got rid of my unsightly six-pack … this was my first time to have a proper six-pack, and i was jolly glad to see it go as i was feeling this growing social responsibility to have to maintain it, which i knew would impinge on my future confectionery consumption … and we couldn’t have that!!!

 

THORT 04 – what the best bit was :

this has been a very popular question so far, and i’m finding it the hardest to answer. in a month of a thousand new experiences, how can one possibly choose a single moment over all the others?? so here’s a few :

:  the best bit was getting to the end and just wanting to keep on going. Especially when i had recently been passed by several people who started later than me, all of whom said some variation on “i just can’t wait to get this finished now; this is getting boring”. i’m so glad i never reached a stage when it felt tedious, and i’m actually struggling to understand how they could have felt that! There was so much variety of landscape, track-type, people, weather and all sorts that i couldn’t say i was stuck in the duldrums for very long for any of the stages.

:  the best bit was meeting the people from wave one who i kept a rough pace with, especially over the latter half of the adventure. the cameraderie, smiles, understanding nods, familiar expressions of pain and tiredness and just the fact that on the whole they were a really great bunch kept me going and kept me smiling.

:  the best bit was the rain on the west coast and the rain through the haast pass. though this made for very cold and sometimes frustrating progress, these wild places are just made all-the-more spectacular when you’re covered in mud and are fighting the weather too, and the waterfalls are roaring.

:  the best bit was the timber trail on the north island. we’d just come from the centre-point of the island, marked unceremoniously with a concrete lump, and climbed quite a way, to then have a whole afternoon of swooshing down these windy tracks through thick forest and over gorgeous gorges. Fellow riders’ Grant and Carol’s words were ringing in my ears to start with, saying ‘speed is your friend on switchbacks’, and though i didn’t believe them on the waikato river trails, i was starting to get into it good’n’proper!

:  the best bit was meeting up with a whole bunch of great people in the middle of the ride on my one evening in wellington. it was fantastic to see so many familiar faces after such a tough start to the tour, and i was only sorry i couldn’t have spent more time talking with everyone.

:  the best bit was coming away with a feeling of somehow better ‘knowing’ the land on which i currently live. i’ve felt and sweated the rises, whizzed or gingerly crawled down the drops, smelt the weather coming, smashed into hard and soft things, slid down squidgy and sharp things, bounced over juddery things, joined in with the birdsong with my uke,  shouted ‘good morning’ to the cows, sheep and some startled humans, danced with the rain to keep the blood flowing, sung out loud with the warm tailwinds, and screamed “is that the best you’ve got?!” (and then a little late “that’s quite enough now!”) at the chilly headwinds. i like new zealand … new zealand can be home for a little while longer!

 

… and there’s a whole bunch more best bits too!

 

THORT 05 – what’s next :

“what’s next?” is probably the number one question to date! Tour Aotearoa 2016 has been a massive adventure for me and I didn’t see it coming, so I’m expecting the next thing could be anything at all! But as it’s about the 13th mid-life crisis i’ve had … and i’ve still not quite reached ‘mid-life’ … i’m starting to wonder whether this is just a whole-life in crisis … whatever it is, i highly recommend it! i’m currently scheming a winter full of snowy mountain activities, and am still hoping for a serious mountain expedition to south america (Patagonia? Bolivia?) in 2017. For the time-being i’m enjoying carrying out some aesthetic experiments on my house (risky!), and getting stuck into life back in wellington.

But “what’s next?” is an exciting question for me just now for several reasons, and I feel refreshed and re-set to be a proper ‘henry’ once again :

tenei au! tenei au!

te hapai nei; te tiri nei; te poupou nei!

i toku reo; i toku mana; i toku ihi!

he mapihi maurea!

kia mau! kia ita!

haumi e! hui e! taiki e!

 

THORT 06 – Kaibosh Food Rescue :

I’ve saved the most important thort until last : thanks so much all of you for joining me on this tour aotearoa, for your cheery comments and for your incredible pledges to donate to Kaibosh Food Rescue. According to Kaibosh’s website, the pledge total of

$4,114.00

… translates to providing more than …

6,705 meals for the needy in Wellington

so give yourselves and each other a massive pat on the back … oh hey! why not a whopping smooch on the cheek too!!

And if you’re still wanting to donate, click here to go to the give-a-little page.

Thanks again, everyone, and I look forward to catching up with you all very soon!  hf

the journey home

from day 29 (20/03/2016) onwards I’ve been making my slow wat home, trying out different transport on the way to see how it fits. I had an excellent restorative time in dunedin with Mike and Ali, including my first spectation of a fencing (terrifying but pretty cool!) up in an attic of an old building. it made me wonder how many other interesting things go on in the attics all around us, all the time?!

dunedin also has some amazing graffiti…

… a fantastic university library that was bustling but somehow still very peaceful …

… some beautiful landscapes nearby such as the silver peaks …

… and is a great place to have 15+ hour sleeps!
next was a car journey up the east coast to christchurch, and despite it being very picturesque and that I’ve always enjoyed driving, I was surprised how bored I got driving. sitting enclosed in the cockpit of the car I felt very disconnected from my surroundings: I couldn’t feel the chill or the warmth of the air, couldn’t smell the countryside or sea air, didn’t have the challenge of an uphill, nor the freedom of flying on the downhills, couldn’t hear the birdsong, no longer felt inclined to stop to investigate random things I passed, and couldn’t wave and bellow “good morning!” to smiling locals. in fact, everyone I passed no longer smiled!
I did stop at the moeraki boulders though – rocks that have grown in the coastal soils in a similar way to pearls, and then roll out onto the beach as the soil erodes.

I also stopped to check out the extravagant castle at riverstone built on a whim of a dairy farmer’s wife (feeling less concerned about the “hard-done-by” dairy farmers these days!)…

… and rushed over to help this motorcyclist slumped over their bike, and then felt quite silly.

arriving in christchurch reminded me of what the guy who set up the Hinewai reserve on akaroa said : “a car infested swamp!” and he’s dead-right. way too many vehicles for the roads and eat too few signposts to guide the unwitting – I think I made about 612 circuits through the city before reaching my destination, a lot of the time trapped in a one way system while I wished I has my bike so I could get off and walk to where I wanted to go!
again, there are some wonderful murals in chch, some super old buildings worth keeping and some very inappropriate old buildings that should probably be just removed … contentious?!

in chch I got to catch up with my excellent friends Kate, Carl, Maia, Sophia and Ariana, before heading north to Picton on the scenic railway. the highlights included going through a town called Nonoti (so named as a local official was asked to name it but humbly said “no; not I!” and they took him literally!), a pod of dolphin doing backflips off the coast as we came into kaikoura, and an open-air carriage that reminded me of third class train travel in India – magic!  and now onto the Bluebridge ferry, to test the difference from the inter-islander. nearly home!  hf

RAKIURA HO!

DAYS 27 & 28 (18 & 19/03/2016)

after reaching Bluff I felt (1) I needed some rest, (2) I wouldn’t get there very often in life so should make the most of it, and (3) I wanted to keep going. so I jumped on the ferry to Rakiura (Stewart Island) and holed up in a bed’n’breakfast for two nights of comfort!

the b&b was called Glendaruel which rather ominously means “valley of blood” and was run by a charming lady called raylene who had no “om” in her at all. it was primo!
I had planned to try and rush round one of the big walks while I was on the island, but just wandering into town I stopped to talk to so many islanders that I lost about 2 hours, and was enjoying the day much more for it! the best was a man named Ken McAnairney, who locally is called ‘Mr 3-names’ (being Ken, Mac and Ernie!) and is a leading protester for the shark cage diving causing so many problems for locals.
so instead I spent the day walking the short walks in and around Oban and enjoying the sights – very rewarding.





Stewart Islanders are very entrepreneurial – they’ll even try to sell you your own “location”.

personally my location came free, is always with me and I call it “here”, though it’s true I don’t always know where that is. buying a location just sounds weird … and risky – what if you got it wrong and ended up with “there”, or even worse, “over there”??!
the second day was a trip to ulva island which is a bird sanctuary. I went with a group of extreme twitchers (who by the way don’t like the term ‘twitcher’ and prefer ‘birder’) and I got caught up in their enthusiasm – it was ace! we saw heaps of rare species including a morepork owl in the daytime. my pictures of the birds were terrible (all too speedy), but I did get one of the waters.

I also saw 2 kiwi in the thick forest : they were playing Bon Jovi at top volume and building a shelter and picnic table … human kiwis, of course.
i was nervous about catching the ferry back and cycling to invercargill, but as soon as I started pedaling the 30km or so I caught myself with the biggest grin on my face … this cycle-touring lark might be addictive! I deposited my spot tracker (no more satellite stalking!) and checked out the monument to Burt Munro – looks nothing LIKE Anthony Hopkins! hf

donations – oooo!

Now that I’ve finally made it the 3000km from Cape Reinga to Bluff, I am most exhausted and exalted all at the same time to look down the list on my pledges page and see the fantastic pledges you have all made, currently totalling :

$4,114.00 buck-a-roonies for Kaibosh Food Rescue!!

I think I’ve worked out the Give-a-Little page for us all to make our donations … here’s a link BUT if it doesn’t work please tell me sharpish and I’ll fix it up!

http://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/recyclingkai

… and now it’s over to you, my lovely people! I think it’s all pretty self-explanatory and you can remain ‘incognito’ if you wish!

Thanks heaps for all the support and for coming along with me on this adventure. I’m going to tell you about my last few days up to Day 30 shortly … and some final “thorts” … and then I shall leave you all alone … until the next time!!  hf

pledges update – even more, and where to

Kia ora! since touching the pole at Stirling point I’ve received two more pledges that have tipped the balance for kaibosh well over the $4k mark – just incredible! thanks so much to Hadleigh and Kate P – wicked! have a look at my pledges page to see where we’re at.
And now we’re there and I have been trying to set up the give-a-little page but have failed on my little phone. So please bear with me and I’ll get it sorted when I can get to a real computer, and then I’ll send us all the link for the donations to “happen”!
you’ve all been very patient, and your pledges have definitely spurred me on thus far! I’ll let you know how the full 30 days have gone too, including stewart island. cheers for now!  hf

Checkpoint 30 : Stirling Point, Bluff

 

DAY 26 (17/03/2016)

WHAT? COULD IT BE?! THE FINAL CHECKPOINT???!!!
well indeed it might be, but it doesn’t feel like it should be! this may be a rambling post so bear with me!
hot cross buns could just be Jesus’ best invention … well that and everlasting love. but they’re great cycle food – delicious!

they’ve also apparently been a big problem for the trackers, as riders buy them and strap them over the top of their gear, then the satellite can’t read their location … this may have military applications!
I’ve enjoyed watching the phases of the moon over this month more closely than ever before. coming into winton last night I saw we are slowly coming to a full moon … almost the same as when we started.

leaving winton this morning, though, wasn’t ideal for dawdling as the air was freezing and the hay stacks frosty – a clear calm night after an antarctic southerly.


invercargill soon appeared and they’ve developed a really lovely track round the estuary, with lots of well thought out bench placements and rest spots.

I think this is what the section of the “around the mountains” track we did (through the stations) was lacking – it was just endless straight track with no points of rest for the body or the eye … classic urban design faux-pas as well : leaves you feeling exposed and tired far sooner.
invercargill had had some storms where the sea had been partying hard … and regurgitated flotsam and jetsam all over the estuary track, so we were diverted onto the highway earlier than planned.

… but this meant I got to pass the Clifton cafe – a very lively and funny bunch of women doing a roaring trade in delicious baking.

And so I edged towards Bluff …


… and Stirling point beyond …

… and made it to checkpoint 30 for lunchtime, and the official end of this event, in 25.5 days including 2.5 days’ (necessary) rest – WHOOP WHOOP WOOHOOO!
And there ain’t no way I could have done this without all your support – a total team effort!
I was hoping for a brass band and at least a little bunting … but I guess I was a little early.
so we have one official shot for the album with a very well traveled ukulele …

… and one testosterone-fuelled shot … roar! … but feeling a bit puny upstairs!!

there’s also the anchor chain leading to Stewart island (I think as the Maori legend, where the south island is the canoe from which the north island was fished up from by Maui, and stewart island is the anchor stone?), signs of an extreme taste for shellfish and some stunning views of the Foveaux strait from the high point … up maybe the steepest hill in nz – ouch!




after a drifty afternoon with a beer and a walk, I bid farewell to some excellent riding companions Grant and Carol who among other awesome wave 1 people (such as Jill and Gordon, Bob, Emily, Hewell, Dirk and more) I’d been keeping a rough pace with the whole way, and boarded the ferry for stewart island.


And now it’s all a bit weird! I’m staying at a very relaxed and cosy b&b with incredible views of the sea and forest, surrounded by native birdlife, and tapping my foot thinking I need to be rushing somewhere, and doing my laundry and getting my bags prepped and going over tomorrow’s route and checking over flash for maintenance and setting my alarm … but no … just sit a bit … and enjoy stewart island! and I’m going to have a think about this big cycle, and what i am these days, and how to get home, and I’ll let you know! but i am craving a sofa, watching some movies and getting stuck into some architecture again … but there again winter’s closer and I can hear the mountains yodeling … cheers everyone!! hf

The TA instructions say : “Stirling Point, the final destination for this ride, was named after Captain William Stirling, an early settler who established one of the first whaling stations in the Bluff area in 1836. The point, famous for its signpost and spectacular tracks, such as the Foveaux Walkway around its perimeter, marks the southern terminus of State Highway 1 and your Tour. Though the town of Bluff, Stirling Point’s locale, sits further north than Stewart Island, it is considered by many to represent the southern tip of New Zealand. A photo of the yellow Stirling Point signs has long been mandatory for travelling cyclists. Well done, you’ve made history.”

bugs!

I’ve been inadvertently carrying out a survey of nz bugs on this tour. this is less a scientific study and more an impact resistance analysis. I think it’s ground-breaking work. overall conclusions include :
:  there are a lot of bugs in nz, not paying attention to where they’re going.
:  some bugs have real density, and when they hit you in the centre of the chest at 30kmh they can knock the breath from you – THUNK!
:  butterflies are suicidal – they sit on bushes waiting for you to come along then flap in squadrons as fast as they can into your path. they seem to aim for the mouth more often than not, and are a bit fluffy going down the throat … but hey it’s all extra calories!

:  bumble bees can be aggressive (not what Disney would have us believe!).
:  lake Rotoroa sandflies consider insect repellent a tasty garnish – “I say, tarquin! you must come and try this one – at least 40% DEET. just divine! do bring all the others too.”
:  and lastly, cicadas enjoy riding on your back.  hf

pledges update – you beauties!

well all you amazing people – two more pledges have swelled our total for kaibosh food rescue to $3,714.00 megabucks! thanks loads to sam p, and jody, heather and the boys.
This is just fantastic, and with (hopefully, but sadly) just one more day of cycling left the we will have together achieved way more than I ever hoped to – wunderbar!!  hf

Checkpoint 29 : A Southland Local

 

DAY 25 (16/03/2016)
I had a slow start today with a walk by the mavora lakes – chilly but lovely, the mushrooms were pretty good and the wildlife friendly.



the middle of the day up until mossburn was, sadly for me, just monotonous. it was the combination of my inappropriate choice of bicycle, a steady unrelenting cold headwind, long straight never-ending roads that were just gravelly enough so I couldn’t take my eyes off it and enjoy the views, and just being really tired from the day before. this would be a lovely route for proper ‘riders’, but not for unskilled cyclists like me! sorry no piccies.
i arrived in mossburn, had three toasted sandwiches, a large milkshake and two coffees, felt a bit better, started towards winton and was suddenly hit hard by all my emotions! I pulled over and just shut down for a bit. at times like these I’ve been finding the mental battle of this event far harder than the physical. it’s not like I’m leading or have illusions that I’m achieving anything ground-breaking, but for a not particularly manly-man (and i’m comfortable in my sissyness!) this tour has been super tough and often has taken everything I have and a whole heap more than I ever thought I had – mental and physical – to keep going.
but I pulled myself together and got back on the road … after all, the sun had come out : titiro atu tou kanohi ki Tai Rawhiti, ana tera whiti o te ra; kite ataata ka hinga ki muri ki a koe (turn your face towards the sun, and your shadows will fall behind you).
while in the mossburn store, no fewer than three coach loads of Koreans came swooshing in for the toilets and at the same time cleaned them out of soft toy sheep – here’s the frenzy, it was bedlam and the shopkeeper (also Korean but a naturalised southlander) looked dazed :

in a quiet moment I got a picture of my southlander while he was restocking the sheep.

shortly after my little roadside “quiet-time” these amazing friends showed up :

because this tour is totally unsupported, ali and Mike just happened to be passing and just happened to pull over to throw away some delicious strawberries and fresh coffee and a hot cross bun … well – it would be a shame to waste them!
mike pointed this out on my wheel … strong spokes that don’t break : good; strong spokes that tear a wheel rim apart : not good! just over 100km to go … fingers’ crossed and I’m not looking at it again!

mike and ali’s happy landing gave me just the pick-me-up I needed to get me to winton by sundown, over some more hills (that shouldn’t have been there according to Google elevation charts – we must have words!). And winton had all I could desire – bed, pies, tui beer (“pride of the south” that got a general murmur of approval from the locals when I ordered) another fine local southlander called Muscles with excellent sideboards, and a hot shower – I felt my feet again for the first time in 1.5 days! hf

The TA instructions say : “Māori chiefs Rākaihautū and Tamatea first arrived in Murihiku – or ‘the tail end’, as they called the Southland region, around 1,000 years ago. The Takitimu Mountains are said to be the upturned hull of Tamatea’s waka, which was wrecked in Te Waewae Bay. The region proved a harsh environment, but still it attracted first moa hunters, then sealers, whalers and finally farmers. The gold boom in Otago saw a small overflow into the region, but the fields at Orepuki and Waikaia never amounted to much. It was the ‘white boom’ of first sheep and then dairy that has really consolidated the essence of this region, with other claims to fame including Burt Munro, who set world motorcycle speed records on his Indian motorcycle in the 1960s and 70s, and the famed Southland cheese rolls – go to any café, and you should find them on the menu. Meet a random local and ask to take a photo of them.”

Checkpoint 28 : Queenstown

 

DAY 24 (15/03/2016)
arrow bikes in arrow town saved me – yet another awesome bike shop run by very patient, understanding and generous people! my rear wheel was badly buckled from the other day, and so the brake was a bit on right over the crown range and the tyre was rubbing into the frame – not ideal! my yellow bottle cage also sheared off – punk is tough after all … must be the H1.2 treatment (sorry – construction gag)!

a few tweaks from arrow bikes and I was on my way on the fun track to Queenstown, including the old s
shotover bridge where … I think … modern bungee was invented?


I’d like to remark on the mountains around Queenstown : they really are remarkably remarkable … I wonder how they got their name?!

Queenstown is a strange contrived place, trying to be a French-Swiss alpine town but over designed to have so much character that I feel it has ended up with none. there’s no doubt the surroundings are just incredible, but the town itself feels like a film set, complete with zombie tourists drifting about gawking at absolutely everything! I needed to get out and so jumped on the Earnslaw towards my pre-arranged accommodation.


lake wakatipu is quite something, super deep and cold, and over 80kms long. it also drains to a river from the middle rather than from one end … I’m not sure I know another lake that does that?
so I’d had a big day and was heading for the Mount nicholas station to sleep in their sheep-shearing shed … and then I got a phone call leading to an accommodation malfunction. Mt nicholas said they’d double booked, and so there was no room for me. I explained I was already on the ferry, and they said they were sure I’d be able to take it back to Queenstown (this would of course be at my cost!). slightly taken aback at this, I asked if there was a chance I could pitch my tent behind the shed; I’d be gone before dawn. “no” he said; “it’s against our policy.” and there it was – the magic word ‘policy’ telling me everything I needed to know about this man : he didn’t want to help despite it being their mistake, and there was no reason for not helping other than him being obtuse! he probably didn’t even know why the policy was created!! I thanked him for nothing and considered my predicament. just so you know, the ferry drops you at the end of a gravel road that is public, but is surrounded by private land owned by the stations. this land extends to something like 30,000 hectares (who actually needs that much land to themselves?!), and the owners’ “policies” extend with it. the next place I could camp was 58kms down the road.
and so I went on and didn’t return on the ferry, despite being quite tired and feeling I’d already had a full day. the track was really quite rough for a bike like mine, and my legs were spent so I walked a good deal of it. I pulled into the mavora lakes camp ground at about 8pm … a 16 hour day!
I’m actually really glad this happened as it has highlighted to me just how awesome everyone else has been on this tour – all sorts of people going out of their way for all sorts of reasons, and often for no reason at all – and it’s easy to start taking that for granted. I don’t think Mr Policy is unusual as a personality type, but what’s great about nz is that he is by far in the minority.
anyway, the route to mavora lakes is beautiful and the side trip to the campsite was definitely worth it – a great place to live for the night, and the great thing is that I was totally over-prepared(as usual!) and had buckets of food – I broke new eating records before sleeping so solidly! hf

The TA instructions say : “Sitting on the windswept shores of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is New Zealand’s mecca for adventure tourism and receives over 2 million tourists every year. It tends to be a bit crowded during the summer season, which might Make finding a bed difficult. Take a photo of whatever you want in Queenstown – something to remind you of just how crazy the place is!”