Sunday, 22 November
As yesterday started with a challenging upward ascent and ended in a challenging upward ascent, dad and I both appreciated it when the four Kiwi guys we met on the trail at Lake Ohau offered (for the second day) to carry our bags for us to our next spot (they were biking and driving their cars along as they went to carry their gear). We (I?) declined their offer yesterday, but we decided to take them up on it today. That meant a lighter bike and faster ride!
Today's morning ride brought us - in absolutely perfect, warm sunny weather with an ever so slight breeze, over the Benmore dam, the Aviemore dam and along side the Waitaki dam - all hydroelectric dams built into in the Waitaki River. All impressive structures.
We biked along much of Lake Aviemore on mostly flat and downhill roads. A great leisure ride, and we took our time stopping along the way to enjoy the great places we encountered.
The Waitaki Dam below.
Below is the little town of Kurow. Cute little place - this town, and some of the other towns on our trail - was formed because that's where people working on the dams stayed. Kurow has a couple hotels, cafes and shops, and a nice (free) museum that made for a nice visit to learn a bit of the local history.
Ate lunch in the sun here! Below, dad savors his new favorite desert...
Just 10km down the road from Kurow as we made our way toward Duntroon, we came to a winery called Pasquale (owned by an Italian guy). We spent a good hour and a half here tasting many good wines, desert wines, even limoncello! The one that came out on top? Dad and I both agreed it's definitely the 2010 Pinot Noir - same as the Gibbston Valley Brennan Wines favorite. 2010 was a good year for Central Otago!
Of course had to have a coffee and a dessert to share after the wine... ;)
From here we rode on perfectly flat pavement 10km or so further til we came to a Maori rock art site called Takiroa. Here there are small red ochre and charcoal paintings of things that look like European sailing ships and animals.
As this sign explains, no one really knows what these pictures mean or why they were painted here.
Funny thing: I was just reading the Phnom Penh Post this afternoon and one of the featured articles was about newly discovered Cambodian rock art near Phnom Kulen (which is near Siem Reap). From the pic they show in the article, it looks the same as this Maori rock art. Hmmm...?
Just a short ride further to the Duntroon Domain campsite - quite literally just a rugby field with one little building with kitchen, showers and toilets and no one (save for the caretakers, Bill and Florence) there. When we got there our bags were waiting for us (thanks to the guys), and Bill greeted dad with a beer (I think he was eager to have another human being to talk to way out there!). They told us we could just sleep in the bedrooms in the shelter space so we didn't have to set up the tent. That was nice!
We ended up sleeping in this common area (me on the couch and dad on his mat) because the rooms were so smelly and the mattresses really disgusting... haha. Other than that, all the other amenities were sufficient! :)
Karen, thank you so much for inviting me to join you on the last two weeks of your amazing trip. I would call it your once-in-a-lifetime trip, but I think I know better by now! It was truly amazing scenery, a challenge for me to keep up, and very satisfying "wins" at the top of every hill! It was humbling to be asked by you to join you, and a true gift to be able to journey with you, be challenged by you, enjoy time with you in that beautiful country, meeting some of your new friends and enjoying their incredible hospitality! Thank you Peter, Fiona, Lindsay, Allison, and Julie! I will always treasure these memories!
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