March 22, 2022
The longest day: Fox Glacier to Haast
I'm almost - not quite, luckily for this journal - lost for words. Today's ride is just brilliant.
We are travelling through South Westland, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage area of outstanding natural beauty. Westland is also New Zealand's wettest region, with annual rainfall at coastal level between 2000mm and 3000mm.
Yet, we have been riding in sunshine since the tour started. And, when the sun's out, we can see a painter's hand at work here. On our left, the palette of rich greens in the bush and grass paddocks. On our right, when we reach the coast, the deep cerise of the sky drops into the lighter blue of the Tasman Sea, today benignly sending small breakers inshore.
This morning, Bruce and I and a few others take the option of a shuttle to Fox Glacier, thus avoiding 20km of mostly uphill. Its going to be a long enough day. Fox is a tinier village than even Franz Josef, though both owe their existence to NZ's most famous glaciers. But it serves as just our departure point today - no time for sightseeing.
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Conditions are perfect as we meander ever so slightly downwards in the direction of the coast. We're also blessed with a tail wind and very few vehicles. So that's. . . gravity, wind, weather, traffic and scenery on our side. What more could we ask for?
Bruce and I sometimes ride alone and at other times hang on to the tail end of a train passing through - though I tend to fall off pretty quickly.
We reach the coast at the auspiciously named Bruce Bay. Now, I have no photographic evidence of this as no one from NZ Land Transport thought to arrange for a sign in the middle of the bay. But take my word for it, this is Bruce's bay.
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2 years ago
2 years ago
The road, State Highway 6, turns inland here and it's not too long before we stop for lunch at a salmon farm café. There's a satisfying 60+km showing up on my Garmin so this break is well-earned.
Back on the bikes, we cross the Paringa River and continue on the highway. There's some climbing involved but nothing I can't manage. Our surroundings continue to impress. Bruce has some mechanical issues so we pull over at Knights Point lookout so he can have his gearing checked out. It's a steepish climb to here but I'm pleased to learn that this is the start of the final ascent before our destination, Haast.
The Undulation family turn up one final time today but I'm not fazed. I have my distance record in sight.
Haast is reached by an infamously long, single-lane bridge which is currently undergoing maintenance work. We tail-enders pull up at the stop light, only to find the rest of the group (ie, the fast ones) waiting too. Back at Fox, the electronic board had warned of 30 minute delays on the Haast bridge but it turns out to be only a short wait for us. Once the light turns green and the waiting vehicles have started to cross, it is a fitting end to the day that this now very tight-knit bunch of riders is able to finish a very long ride together.
Today's ride: 120 km (75 miles)
Total: 577 km (358 miles)
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