Te Waipounamu is one of two official names for the South Island of New Zealand. Along with the other, more well known name, it was gazetted by the NZ Geographic Board as recently as 2013. Up until then, presumably, The Mainland, as it's colloquially known throughout the country,  could have called itself whatever it fancied.

Whatever name it chooses to go by, this part of the country is staggeringly beautiful. And so is the traditional Māori name Te Waipounamu, which means Waters of Greenstone. Pounamu (or jade, or greenstone) is found only on the West Coast of Te Waipounamu and is of great spiritual significance to Māori.

I'm a great fan of appropriate place names. It has to be said that when Aotearoa was claimed for England by Captain James Cook when he landed in 1769, he and his men did a great disservice by beginning the tradition of renaming much of the country after imperial warmongers, royalty and petty gentry. Picton, my home, was named after Sir Thomas Picton, an undoubtedly brave Welsh general who fought in the Napoleonic wars under the Duke of Wellington who called him "a rough, foul-mouthed devil as ever lived". In later life as governor of Trinidad, he was involved in slave trading and was even convicted of torture. Really?

Waitohi, its Māori name, comes from the river running through the town that was sacred to its people. But Picton it remains. Sigh. 

Digression over.

In a little over 24 hours Bruce and I will be embarking on a ride covering most of the length of Te Waipounamu, specifically from Nelson to Queenstown.

Bruce will have to lose his Tour Leader title and be prepared to take direction from others because this is a supported group tour - our first. Not everyone's cup of tea on CycleBlaze, I guess, but I expect this to be THE most challenging ride I have ever attempted. 

To say that I'm apprehensive about my ability to stay with the group and to tackle the mountain passes on the itinerary would be a wild understatement. I've already had to learn how to be a roadie, coping with cleats and tight lycra. Bunch riding , well , let's see how it goes.

And of course we will be touring through one of the most beautiful regions of New Zealand/Aotearoa.  Perhaps I'm a little bit excited . . .

Heart

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Dawn HunterGreat shot of the athlete! You may be even skinnier after this experience methinks! Have an awesome experience - enjoy it as much as is possible!! 🙄
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2 years ago

Robyn RichardsTo Dawn HunterJust after this pic, Dawn, I got caught in my clip-ins and fell off my stationary bike. Not an auspicious start to my road cycling career!
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2 years ago

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