Alps2Ocean - a self guided tour in the South Island New Zealand
Our first and last blog post for 2019 - we promise to do better in 2020!
Date: 2019 December 27th to 2020 January 1st
Alps 2 Ocean official website: https://www.alps2ocean.com/
Map of route
2019 Dec 27 - Day 0 False start (Twizel to Lake Pukaki return)
We were off to a false start this morning as the helicopter flying over the tasman (river) was prevented from flying due to high winds and low cloud cover. We postponed the start of the tour by a day and cycled to Lake Pukaki instead.
Highlights
- Our second cycle ride since leaving France in July (seriously) had us wondering if we were cut out for the days ahead.
- A much needed muffin break 10 kilometres in provided the much (not) needed sustenance for the 45 min cycle back.
- Neither of us had ever seen lakes fed by glaciers, surrounded by mountains, and water was a beautiful blue colour (apparently due to glacial flour).
- Jd coined a new term for a phenomenon he had witnessed over the last few years: ‘over-weathering: the process by which Emma reads too much into the weather forecasts for the days ahead, including visiting multiple different meteorological sources for the same locations’. In this single instance, it turned that Emma’s prediction of poor weather at Mt Cook for the day was correct.
GPS Route
Day 1 Mt Cook Village to Twizel
The weather wasa great this morning, as we took a van transfer from Twizel to the Mt Cook Village, and cycled 6 kilometres to the Mt Cook Aiport. Our bikes were loaded into a crate, and shuttled across the Tasman (river) via helicopter (ridiculous, we know). We soon followed the bikes before commencing our journey on the other side of the Tasman through the Mt Cook National Park.
A few photos for Emma, and a few too many photos for Jaidev, we cycled a very bumpy and rocky 12 kilometres to ‘Jollies Carpark’. Emma felt she was killing it, until a well placed rock got the better of her and her bike. She was down! And (luckily) her elbow took the brunt of the fall. A quick unclip by Jaidev, providing some expert medical care (‘you should drink some water’), and we were back moving.
The next 40 kilometres along Lake Pukaki were hard going, through a logging track, but the views were worth it. We enjoyed lunch by the lupins (and the bees), looking back over Lake Pukaki and Mt Cook.
We passed the Tekapo B Power Station (JD: amazing!, Em: not so much), and we were soon back at where we were yesterday on Lake Pukaki.
Highlights
- Trail riding together was an interesting experience - fun at times, but also hard work!
- The helicopter (while a short ride) was a great way to see the Mt Cook National Park from the air.
- 80 kilometres of scenic riding was something special.
- The weather today was fantastic - sunny but cool.