Travelling in the Southern Lakes

Finally I'm on the road with all of my stuff packed into Ervin and Melba, complete with spare wheels and tires, mounted on back. I made some great friends and had a great time in Christchurch and it wasn't easy to leave but I need to see some of the rest of New Zealand. I have plans to go back through Christchurch and also to meet some of my friends in some different places so life is good. I headed south and west for the Southern Lakes and the big mountains known as the Southern Alps.  Tasha told me her favorite was Lake Ohau so I decided to stop there the first night.  It was a little windy but beautiful and I enjoyed a great walk around the shore. 

The next day I drove over to Albert Town close to Wanaka which I had been told was beautiful. It turned out to be mountain bike heaven with multiple tracks leaving directly from the campground. I rode my bike along the shore to Wanaka to check out the town and get a bike map and some information. 

It turns out there is a an area known as the Sticky Forest between Wanaka and this part of the Lake with lots of nicely manicured trails. I was cruising down Venus when I found this Christmas Tree. 

This is the view of Lake Wanaka from the top of the Sticky Forest.

The next day I rode a sweet single track known as Dean's Bank which leaves from the campground and goes along the other side of the river. It is another nicely manicured and moderate single track that was a lot of fun to ride. I have figured out that I probably don't need to be on too many of the expert tracks unless I want to push a lot. That isn't beneath me but isn't as much fun; my number one objective is to not get hurt. About 2/3 of the way around the track I made a u-turn onto some two track and headed back out towards the lake. I wanted to add some distance and get some more of the incredible views. The following picture is a nice shot of the Sticky Forest from across the Lake. 

Another nice view across Lake Wanaka, looking west into the Southern Alps.

This next shot is looking back along the two track to the east, you can see some of the single track to the right. When I was coming back to Deans Bank I went a little too far along the Lake and came back in to the trail at the bottom of the hill. Sweet, I got to climb some nice easy switchbacks to the top before heading back and re-ride a part of the trail. This is one of those trails you could ride every  day and still have fun.

I grudgingly left Wanaka after a couple of days and headed for Queenstown. I would like to spend more time and will, but I need to get over to Fiordlands for a tour that is paid for. I also need to get back up to Christchurch to pick up part and get the last kinks out of the van. Once I leave there again I'll be moving much more slowly. The problem is, everywhere is so nice that I could stay for a long while. In Queenstown I decided to let the bike rest for a day and hike to the top of Ben Lamond. You can ride the Gondola up and ascend from there but that didn't sound right to me so I added an hour on each end to hike from town, actually a kilometer or so out of town and uphill.  The first part of the track goes through forest and many of these mushrooms are growing there. 

This is a shot of Ben Lamond in the distance. 

I was getting pretty tired at the top, my legs were sore from riding hard two days in a row. I'm sure my body wishes it wasn't attached to this brain that just wants to go go go. I wasn't commited  to going to the top but I kept getting incentives from other people along the way. Everyone is so friendly here and it has been great meeting and talking to people from all over the world. 

This is the view to the north from almost on top. 

Finally, I made it and still smiling. The view is Lake Wakatipu with the Crown Range in the background. Queenstown is right on the lake and hidden behind me in this shot. On the way up, I saw a mountain goat and wondered if it was a common sight. On the way down I saw many more so it wasn't a rare sighting.  This guy bleated at me for taking his photo but was far enough away that I wasn't too worried. 

I took a day off after my hike which was a good thing considering I could barely move when I woke up. I did get on the bike and pedal around town and for a few kilometers around the lake but at least it was mostly flat. 

The next day I decided to tackle the Lake Moke Circuit which goes around Ben Lamond. The guy in the bike shop said I should go anti-clockwise becaue then you get a sweet piece of single track at the end instead of 2 kilometers of expert track. The guide book says something like "more advanced riders can go anti-closckwise around the circuit ...."   Me, being a glutton for punishment, decided that sounded like a good idea. I rode up to the start of the moonlight track and then mostly took my bike for a long uphill hike.

The view back to Arthur's Point

You can see the track traversing the hill above, it is very narrow and right on the edge.

FInally found some easy two track that, for the most part was not too steep. It was definitely nice having the bike for the downhill as it was a 33 Km day. 

I can finally see Lake Moke in the distance and am thinking "swim" as it is a very warm day, probably 28 or 29C which is low to mid-80s for those of us who think in Fahrenheit. It sounds nice and is but there is a hole in the ozone layer in this part of the world and the sun can be very intense. 

Getting closer to Lake Moke

Ah, finally time for a swim. The water wasn't as cold as I expected and was very refreshing. After a noce long break and some lunch I got back on the bike, just a couple more kilometers to that sweet single track. I was hoping it would be downhill but no. Not up much either but pedaling was required, I think I had my usual headwind. I finally got to Gold Digger, a moderate rated single track. I rode most of it but was tired and have rusty skills. Plus my pedals are sticky and hard to release and, my bike is just a little too big, and ........ I have lots of excuses. The bottom line is I'm not a great mountain biker but I do have a lot of fun and do some cool things.  I had to ride the road 7 kilometers back into Queenstown and stopped in the Irish Pub to check on the superbowl.  Poor Peyton, I ws forced to drink a beer for him. I had a good meal while I was there and then pedaled the kilometer or so uphill back to camp. 

I'm going to end for now although I have more stuff. I'll try to post more often (yeah right) so they don't get too long. 

Cheers!