Today’s distance is slightly shorter than yesterday, but with a little fatigue remaining in my legs, I expected it to be just as hard. So I rose early, breakfasted and got on the road. Once again the wind was in my favour, and I had soon reached the coast, were the sea was perhaps unusually placid.

The road undulated along the coast through farmlands. At least the scenery was a little more varied than yesterday, and there were a few small settlements along the way. At Colac Bay the pub looked inviting so I stopped for lunch, and was served the biggest burger I’ve ever seen.

Soon after I passed through Riverton where I stopped briefly to buy a sports drink. The shopkeeper raised a wry smile when he remarked that it was a hot day for cycling, as I stood before him wearing gilet, arm and leg warmers with my cycling kit.

After a short break I set out on the final 30 kms leg to Invercargill. This is a very busy stretch of road, and particularly uninviting was the regular smell of farm effluent carried on the wind.  By now I was feeling quite saddle sore after two long days on the road, and the final kms were distinctly uncomfortable, but I arrived in Invercargill at about 4:30pm and booked in to a central backpacker.

The Speights Ale House is right next door, so after a quick shower I enjoyed the roast of the day – a nice change from pub meals served with “chuppies”.

Tomorrow I had planned a short return dash to Bluff, just the bike without all the panniers and gear. But the weather may intervene yet again as rain is forecast. We shall see.

Looking back at the Waiau River mouth...