Cromwell to Arrowtown

Friday, 14 November

I had such a lovely day today - one of my favorites on the road!

Began with breakfast at the backpackers and then headed to Old Cromwell - a small section of Cromwell that has been restored from the old mining days in the 1800's. Many of the building have been relocated or rebuilt near their original location (which is now covered by the river). What exists today is a little dirt pedestrian-only road of perhaps 12 quaint little shops selling an array of mostly locally-made artisan goods - art, coffee and pastries, soaps, etc.

I parked my bike and wandered around for the morning, which was sunny and not freezing!

I loved the watercolor paintings in one of the galleries. As I was considering making my first investment in what I will call "wall art" (my walls are and have always been completely bare...), and deciding which painting(s) to buy, the artist herself walked in the gallery (with her four dogs). She travels around NZ in her camper van and paints scenes with a palate of earthy colors as she remembers them. The paintings are not of specific places, but what I love about them is that they remind ME of places where I biked that have been impressed in my mind. Now I get to see them daily on my walls and share them with friends. :)

After the art gallery, I walked next door to the cafe for a cup of coffee. I sat outside at the table and enjoyed chatting with a woman from Christchurch area (who is a professional bird photographer -  that's her standing in the picture below photographing a bird).

Around 11:30 I got on the bike and took a trail along the river out of town as recommended to me by a shop owner. It was so beautiful (albeit, meant for mountain bikes without panniers in most cases...!) and a nice way to avoid the highway for a few extra kilometers.

Back on the highway I rode through the Kawarau Gorge, through which the turquoise blue Kawarau River runs.

Not long after I left town and ate lunch, I came across Wild Earth winery and it seemed like a nice place to stop for a little wine tasting (and it was).

Later in the day I passed through the Gibbston Valley - an area known for it's Pinot Noir (more than 70% of the grapes grown here are Pinot Noir). Fun fact - it's latitude is 45 degrees south which makes it the southernmost place in the world where grapes are grown to make wine! Central Otago, not Chile or Argentina!

At Gibbston Valley I came across a cheesery, which made a perfect mid-afternoon snack stop. Now THIS is my kind of bike touring. ;)

After leaving the cheesery the wind looked strong and the sky looked gray enough to rain, but the weather held out, the wind was really not bad at all, and the air temp was comfortable. From Gibbston Valley to Arrowtown the ride was really really nice - I rode along the Queenstown track the whole way, over a couple bridges, past the original bungy jumping site, and along the beautiful gorge. 

I arrived in Arrowtown to the home of Fiona and Peter, good family friends of Julie's family. Julie's mom, Alison (who is so amazing and has been looking after me with text messages and check-in emails from Rangiora since I started weeks ago!! - THANK YOU Alison!!) connected me with them and they so graciously offered to let me stay with them. They've been incredible. Really, such fun, interesting and generous people - I've so enjoyed spending time with them and learning about all the amazing things they have been/are doing.  I feel very blessed and very taken care of! :)