How Far has Mr Turner Travelled?
Distance cycled - 3,066KM
World Record - 38,143KM....
35,077 KM left to go!
Wellington was certainly a good city to celebrate a birthday and it was super to spend a day with Kat, not on the bike and not thinking too much about how much money we were spending – and of course eating lots!
Thanks for all the birthday messages of support and good will – made us both feel motivated to push on.
Once up and running and away from the busy roads around Wellington, we were eager to get back into it. Following an old rail trail to avoid the main road through the Rimutaka mountains seemed like a great plan. It didn’t disappoint. While we made slow progress – we had to fully unload and reload the bike 4 times for gates, rivers and a broken tyre – it was a great day out on a track without another soul in sight, with a sprinkling of tunnels and waterfalls too.
When we finally arrived at Featherston on day 53, and we were greeted by Colin who let us stay in his cosy backpackers for a cheap, homely stay, we were over the moon – back in the adventure.
Day 54 took us on a detour as we had an invitation to stay in close-by Greytown with a couple who had found out about us through a newpaper article. As luck would have it the wine-making region of Martinborough was only an hour or two away. I would say an afternoon spent wine tasting is an afternoon well spent. We visited the Alana Estate and met Sue who we spent a good hour chatting to and sipping wine – some which gets sent to Fortnum & Mason. We didn’t drink that much but we had a very giggly ride to John and Ann’s house with a lovely sunset as we rode the hills looking out over the vineyards carpeted in a peachy low-lying cloud.
Reasons to visit Eketahuna
1st – the campsite is surrounded by a river and the cabin we stayed in was the cheapest and biggest we have had plus it had a warm carpet.
2nd – there is giant Kiwi in town – Kat wouldn’t take a picture of me being pecked to death by it (but there is a great photo opportunity here if you have the time.)
3rd – The lady at the local supermarket sold me 2 boxes of out-of-date cheap wine for $15 (That’s about £7.50 for 6L of wine!)
Sue from the Alana Estate would have been proud of our careful tasting as we discussed the subtleties of the wine against our newly developed palate. We even considered spitting the wine into a bucket like professionals do but this urge was a response to our gag reflex more than anything. John’s advice from the night before on travelling light was obviously now straight out the window as we cycled off the next morning with 5 litres of wine sloshing around in our trailer.
Despite dragging a paddling pool of white wine, the unusually nice weather allowed us to make quick work of the Pahiatua Track, the road that climbs over the end of the Tararua mountain range to the city of Palmerston North. Here we stayed with Phil and Linda and had a super relaxed Sunday afternoon and dinner. We had a great time – like hanging out with old friends.
World Record - 38,143KM....
35,077 KM left to go!
Leaving Wellington
So now I’m 33. Lots has happened this year. I’ve got married, left my job and happy home and I find myself here on the road. Today it is cold, wet and windy – it is the North Island, New Zealand and we have just had the shortest day of the year. My last birthday seems so long ago – the prospect that we will still be cycling somewhere in the world on my next birthday boggles the mind – who knows it may even be somewhere warm! While it has its challenges, a life on the tandem with Kat, with the world beneath our pedals, is a privilege indeed.
Wellington was certainly a good city to celebrate a birthday and it was super to spend a day with Kat, not on the bike and not thinking too much about how much money we were spending – and of course eating lots!
Thanks for all the birthday messages of support and good will – made us both feel motivated to push on.
Once up and running and away from the busy roads around Wellington, we were eager to get back into it. Following an old rail trail to avoid the main road through the Rimutaka mountains seemed like a great plan. It didn’t disappoint. While we made slow progress – we had to fully unload and reload the bike 4 times for gates, rivers and a broken tyre – it was a great day out on a track without another soul in sight, with a sprinkling of tunnels and waterfalls too.
When we finally arrived at Featherston on day 53, and we were greeted by Colin who let us stay in his cosy backpackers for a cheap, homely stay, we were over the moon – back in the adventure.
Day 54 took us on a detour as we had an invitation to stay in close-by Greytown with a couple who had found out about us through a newpaper article. As luck would have it the wine-making region of Martinborough was only an hour or two away. I would say an afternoon spent wine tasting is an afternoon well spent. We visited the Alana Estate and met Sue who we spent a good hour chatting to and sipping wine – some which gets sent to Fortnum & Mason. We didn’t drink that much but we had a very giggly ride to John and Ann’s house with a lovely sunset as we rode the hills looking out over the vineyards carpeted in a peachy low-lying cloud.
Reasons to visit Eketahuna
1st – the campsite is surrounded by a river and the cabin we stayed in was the cheapest and biggest we have had plus it had a warm carpet.
2nd – there is giant Kiwi in town – Kat wouldn’t take a picture of me being pecked to death by it (but there is a great photo opportunity here if you have the time.)
3rd – The lady at the local supermarket sold me 2 boxes of out-of-date cheap wine for $15 (That’s about £7.50 for 6L of wine!)
Sue from the Alana Estate would have been proud of our careful tasting as we discussed the subtleties of the wine against our newly developed palate. We even considered spitting the wine into a bucket like professionals do but this urge was a response to our gag reflex more than anything. John’s advice from the night before on travelling light was obviously now straight out the window as we cycled off the next morning with 5 litres of wine sloshing around in our trailer.
Despite dragging a paddling pool of white wine, the unusually nice weather allowed us to make quick work of the Pahiatua Track, the road that climbs over the end of the Tararua mountain range to the city of Palmerston North. Here we stayed with Phil and Linda and had a super relaxed Sunday afternoon and dinner. We had a great time – like hanging out with old friends.
Hope you are having a fab time!
ReplyDeletethat is cool
ReplyDeleteyou traveled a long way but still got a long way to go :-(
ReplyDeleteare you having fun mr turner?
ReplyDeletemr turner are you missing us?
ReplyDeletewe wont be able to see you when you come back because we will be in year seven!:(
ReplyDelete