I had a 48 hour birthday this year! New Zealand birthday: • discount breakfast at the cafe • danced around my hostel :) • absolutely gorgeous ride (and ridiculous winds) around an estuary. the way the sun was setting the water looked peach and in contrast to the vivid green grasses, it was one of my favorite rides. It was a slice of heaven. • facial • dinner with a girl I met in the dorm who's flight was cancelled • drinks with an English girl ...

What a disappointment. Fun filled, adventure capital, Queenstown was a total bust for me. It all started in Cromwell. I awoke too sick to cycle and so took a bus to Queenstown. In addition to my muscle pains and headache I had my monthly visitor. Great. When I arrived, Ashley and I went to the information centre where I booked a skydive. My attempt to do it in Wanaka was cancelled so it was a much anticipated activity that I was very excited for. I was hopin...

The Rail Trail, a 150 km bike and walking trail that has been made from an old train track, was almost regrettable - but not quite. It was a scenic ride and all, but my bike isn't made for trail so it was a little slow going. Also, I found myself still fighting that cold so I was pretty destination oriented - just wanting a clean warm bed more than anything. I still had a few more nights of tenting and lots of kilometers before that would be my reality. I was f...

Absolutely epic. I've had a head cold brewing since Timaru but it was really setting in by the time I left Dunedin. My intention was to make it 82 kms to Middlemarch but little did I know that was a near impossible feat. It took me about 2.5 hours just to get 16 kms. That is a depressing turtle saunter. My head cold completely drained the life out of me and of course I had managed to get lost along the way as I wasn't carrying any sort of map. Smart. The re...

I stayed two lovely nights with Catherine, her husband Rod and their kids Monique, James and Grace. I originally met Catherine in Reporura, she is the daughter of Brian and Sue, the retired dairy farmers I stayed with. Similar to my other kiwi hospitality experiences, Catherine and her family made me feel at home immediately. She gave me so much while I was there including a day trip to see the local sites - elephant rocks, moraki boulders, and a whale fossil ...