See diary!

Day 1

Cyclist standing beside his bike in sunshine

Bike leaning against a bench with a beach and coastline beyond

Wetlands and a wooden walkway in sunshine

Day 2

Bike on the side of a gravel road with a lake and foresty beyond

Road going downhill with blue sky above

Bike resting against a gate on a gravel cycleway

A wide river with rocks in sunshine

A tarpaulin stretched out tied to a fence and a upturned bicycle

Day 3

View from the top of a dam, river below and electricity power lines on the side

Day 4

Bike on a gravel track with rocks around and cloudy sky

Many warning signs beside a narrow tarmac road with hills beyond

Bike resting against a gate with hills around and a winding track in the distance

Bike resting against a fence with a gate beside and hills beyond

Mountain road descending into a valley with blue skies above

Bike resting beside a gravel track with fields and then hills beyond

Day 5

Bike against a wall with lake and hills beyond

Day 6

Bike against a wall with lake and buildings beyond and cloud cloaked mountains in the background

Steam ferry on a blue lake with sunny mountains behind

Grand white building with red roof and smart gardens, trees then mountains behind

Lake view mountains beyond

Evening lake view with bright dramatic cloud formations

Possum illuminated in a torch beam

Day 7

Lake view with cloudy mountains behind

Bike resting with sunny lake behind

Gravel road beside lake with blue skies

Cyclist with bike on gravel road with lake behind

Gravel road stretching off into a valley

Cyclist with bike in tussock grass with mountains behind

Straight gravel road through tussock with mountains behind

Bike resting with small lake and trees beyond

A tarpaulin and bike in wooded area

A lake and valley stretching into the distance

Day 8

Straight gravel cycle path between two fields with blue skies

Days 9 & 10

A nice couple of days in Kingston, Bannockburn and Cromwell with my partner before dropped off at Ahuriri River campsite for the rest of the trip.

Day 11

Cycle path descending into farmland with cloudy mountains beyond

Sheep on a gravel path with blue sky

Narrow gravel track beside a blue lake

Bike resting in front of blue lake with blue sky

Dam and river beyond viewed from above with mountains

Straight gravel track between two rows of trees

Bus in a field with vines behind

Day 12

River stretching up a gorge in sunshine

Bike beside a gravel road with hills beyond

Farmland and mountains

Mountain road descending

Day 13

Gravel road with bike and blue sky

Bike beside railway sign and junction with blue sky

Tussock and trees with clouds and blue sky

Bike on gravel track with narrow wooden bridge

Bike in front of a small dark railway tunnel entrance

Cyclist holding bike in front of a cream and red coloured station building

Gravel track stretching into distance across flat plains with cloudy skies

Campsite with a train carriage and seating outside

Day 14

Highway stretching into distance over undulating hills

Bike beside harbour with hills beyond

Smiling cyclist with bike outside house

A full and busy 2 weeks. Definitely challenging. I struggled with big tough hot days towards the start and scared myself a bit with hgihway traffic between Roxburgh and Alex. Slowing down, enjoying it and having a relaxing time with my partner reinvigorated me. The last 4 days were especially good; varied, still some challenges like Dansey’s Pass and the hot ride to Kurow, with some added history interest along the rail trail. Definitely know some of these places a lot better now. The chance social encounters were also particularly enjoyable.

Tough but rewarding. Always good to not be afraid of changing plans and adapting as the situation evolves. The trip was a success because I got out there and did it. Certainly learnt a lot in the process and appreciating that now makes it all the richer.