Blenheim

Erika--

Safely arrived. We left Rangiora last Sunday and made it to Blenheim on Tuesday. We came out to our new WWOOF hosts house yesterday (Wednesday the 31st). So we made it! We figure that we probably did somewhere around 400 kilometers. Uncharacteristically, I haven't exactly calculated it but it's over 350 from Christchurch to Blenheim the way we came and we added some extra in along the way. Can you believe we would be capable of so much? What is that, like 250 miles or something? I'm impressed with us.

Our last few days at Fons and Ellis' was fun. We picked various crops in the greenhouses (did KR say that they call them tunnel houses here? They do.) In the afternoons, we rode to a different destination every day. One day we went out to a new town a developer is creating called Pegasus. Just creating from the ground up. The plans are completely amazing. They made a lagoon with a bridge over it and there will be an underwater nightclub in it. The town itself will be mostly pedestrian. It's a really interesting project and we wished that our architect father were there to explore it with us.

On Saturday, I went with Ellis to the farmer's market in Lyttelton. It's a beautiful town on a harbor and I had fun selling veges in the market. Since Ellis didn't need my help first thing, she let me off on the way and I hiked a bridle path from a gondola area near New Brighton over the hill to Lyttelton. There were some great views and I really enjoyed the early morning walk but it was definitely a climb.

After a great service at the Anglican church in Rangiora on Sunday, we took off. We had really enjoyed getting to know Fons and Ellis and our predictable schedule at their house. It was sad to leave them. This is where we spent each night (in our little tent) along the way:

Sunday--Waipara River
Monday--over Weka Pass and bad headwind so short day to Waikari
Tuesday--long day to Rotherham
Wednesday--Mt. Lyford Lodge (this was our one month anniversary of being gone and it was a fantastic day. A sweet lady invited us in for coffee at her house, some great guys were staying at the lodge and we had loads of fun with them and we ate a celebratory meal out. We've eaten lots of porridge, rice and pb&j sandwiched recently so any change is exciting!)
Thursday--Kaikourra (For anyone looking this stuff up, it looks like we went a tremendous way through mountains. In fact, someone invited us in for a drink at their house, we ended up helping out a little in their woolshed for the afternoon and they gave us a lift into town.)
Friday--we cycled around Kaikourra, seeing seals and hiking as well.
Saturday--Waipapa Bay (we had a tailwind and could have done much more but it started raining so we called it a day)
Sunday--Waimau River
Monday--Seddon (Kristen had a puncture in her tire about 1 kilometer outside of town and we dreaded figuring out how to fix it--just knew it would take so long. Fortunately, our neighbor in the campground was proficient and helped us out, even helped me adjust my shifter that's been a little off. Sometimes I can't even believe the kindness of God.)
Tuesday--Blenheim. (we made it over a pass 30 kms or so against a horrible headwind.)
We averaged somewhere around 35 kms a day and it's getting a lot easier. It was shocking to notice that we have some muscle definition.

We have probably never thought about the weather so much. Everything affects us. We notice stuff that we'd otherwise never pay attention to and know about what the weather will be depending on how the wind is blowing. It's kind of bizarre.

Honestly, we've travelled by train, plane, bus, taxi, boat, you name it and have loved it all but this is really one of the coolest ways to travel ever. It has put us in the right place or maybe the right pace to see more of interest and meet more people than anything else. We've loved the small towns we've been in, the incredible scenery we've passed by and through, the kindness of strangers everywhere we've been, the seals we've nearly tripped on because we eat and take breaks in odd places and yelling at the thousands of sheep we pass. OK, we all know that that's me and not Kristen. Still, I'm sure she thinks it's funny every time.

We're at a new host now. They have a vineyard and lots of gardens and once again, we're looking forward to learning something new! You will, of course, be hearing about it. Eventually. Pictures to come.