Quadzilla #1 and Quadzilla #2 are picking up that razors edge and inching it closer and closer to their main arteries, but moments before the cold rusty edge starts to split the hairs near their femoral they realize that the physical pain that they have endured just is not enough to end it all. Just kidding! All is fantastic and blessed here in this quadrant of the world. I last left off with the thrills of skydiving over Lake Taupo, thus I begin with the adventures since then.
National Park Village was the next destination on the map. The night before we left was most interesting and notable. At one of our most plush "camp sites," located next to a crisp river our peaceful rest under the stars became less of a rest and more of a rush of adrenaline. Choosing not to use the tent that night, I woke up with a fearsome opossum squealing about 3 feet from my head. I let out a roar to scare this beastly critter away. It sprinted noisily up a tree and then the games began. For the next hour or two there was a staring contest between this large clawed territorial scavenger, and Brandon and I, as it perched itself on a branch just above our heads. I was openly laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation, but we went on peering into each others eyes waiting for the other to budge. Finally, the humans won and needless to say I slept with my cycling cleat in hand for the rest of the night.
Leaving Taupo was a very scenic ride! With waterfront spanning for many kilometers prior to a climb into a pine forest. There is some scenery that stands out much more than others of course. I become upset when I see hundreds of mountain side acres logged to a brown dust with little more than a couple stumps scattered about, and branch rubbish piled off in the distance. But, the joy overcomes me when I enter into a lush green forest, descending steeply into a waterfront. This is the reward, this is the trophy, this is what I work for, this is why I travel the way I do. One will never get the same effect in a car, on a bus, or by foot, because they didn't put the hours of work in to fully enjoy what this beautiful section of road beholds.
Speaking of all that work I put in, getting to National Park Village became much easier than expected. An older Kiwi couple pulled over just as we passed the half way point, just as we were beginning a 45km stretch of mostly up hill road, just as we were saying to ourselves, "Christ, we have to climb that," and asked us if we wanted a lift. Easily putting our egos beside us, we tossed our bikes in the back of their van and relaxed our legs until they dropped us off 30ft from our next campground. Thank you!
The next day was the Tongariro Crossing! An 18.5 km hike with 1900m assent to the pinnacle. Considered by many to be the best day hike that New Zealand has to offer, I was very excited about this adventure. However, the weather was less than ideal which caused all of the best views to be completely fogged over by the clouds. But not worry, even though I had my head in the clouds I was not acting like it. To me the beauty lost was just beauty gained. So I lost the spectacular views beyond the mountain, but I got a chance to experience life on the volcano as it actually is. Life is rarely a sunny calm day, so why would I want anything less than my head in the cold and windy clouds! I focused on the nature of the hear and now rather than the views it had created in the past. It was opening in a different way, I saw more of the micro and less of the macro. The experience was the beauty of the parts rather than the beauty of the whole. I would do it again, I would do it in the pouring rain, I would do in the snow, I would do it however nature made me do it.
Those clouds turned to rain early that night and continued on getting heavier and heavier and the morning hours passed. With a wet tent from the night, sore legs from the hike, and no urge to torture ourselves anymore than necessary, Brandon and I chose to take a short bus ride in hopes to get out of the weather front. In Bulls, the amount of rain let up, however it was still raining. We saddled up put on 40k and ended up camping in a junkyard of a rest stop. With the road close by and busy with trucks throughout the night and the beating of rain on the tent, rest was not easy for me to attain.
Wellington NZ! The Capital City. We made it through the North Island. Wellington is a very unique city. Compact in size and settled between a large natural harbor and a hilly inland it has a very pretty location. The people that I encountered of Wellington carry an easy going and almost hippie like attitude with them and there are many small neighborhoods that seem to be independent of the rest of the city. The streets were busy with people but not crowded, and it seemed like there was always something going on for the restless. The food diversity was magnificent. Ranging from Indonesian satay noodle houses, Mediterranean kebab cafes, Indian and Thai cuisine, and all the other stomach fillers in between, choosing a place to dine was much of a pleasure.
We stayed with Joel and John, who we met while we were in the Coromandel. They lived a top a hill side in Aro Vally and unlike our measly 5 or 6 step stairways in order to enter our homes they had a 163 steps to climb and descend every time they come home or leave their home! Needless to say the household kept fit. Much of our time in Wellington was spent roaming the streets by foot, or climbing some hills to get the best views of the city by bike. However, we did spend many hours wondering around the impressive national museum, Te Papa. With magnificent exhibits that explained the history of New Zealand starting from its earthly formation, to the earliest inhabitants, to the English rape of the people and land, to the art of the past, and the land of the now, one could not help but read and examine every possible corner of the museum. Oh, did I mention that it is free!
We left for the South Island after a few nights in Wellington. On the ferry I was in a delirious state caused by a churning of exhaustion, a slight case of motion sickness, and pure overriding excitement for what this new land we are entering has to offer me. We made it to Pickton, the drop off point of the ferry, and by noon we were yet again on the road. Oh magnificent, beautiful, and ever so helpful winds, how much adore your presence! With a strong back wind channeling us through the valleys we moved south quickly. As the sun blazed on us we blazed through the wine county over the hills and down to that oh so beautiful blue and green Pacific ocean. Now even though it was mostly a easy flat day I have to pick a fight with some Taoist. How can I possibly do such a thing, to a group of people that I can only respect? Well, here it is! The lifestyle of following Yin and Yang. If I am correct, understanding that with magnificent high points in life there will be opposite lows, and living a life somewhere in between to avoid such lows is one of the ways of the Tao. The only thing that I can relate that to these days is my cycling efforts. You have your ups and downs mentally and physically all the time while you are climbing and descending and I just can never complain about absolute worst because the variety makes life interesting. However, the flat long stretches, the ultimate Yin and Yang balance of the road can be something to stir about. The ultimate balance can be torturous (depending on the scenery and the winds)! Enough of that rant!
The next day we did not work to hard for any much part of it. The coastal scenery was something one can only dream of. With smooth rolling hills in between the long stretches of flat and twisting road complimented with the ever changing view of the ocean and the soothing crash of the waves we were being well rewarded for little work. A stony coast line populated with an expansive seal colony was let another thing to ogle at. The day ended with a couple of climbs that lead us to a long dissent into a valley that harbored a crisp river that ended up harboring that nights camp grounds too. Dinner, a game of chess, enough sunlight to digest a few chapters of one of Henry Miller's early works, all made the night as nice as the day.
Then, something happened! The tides changed, the poles shifted, yin became yang! It was a restless night for me for no reason at all. I arose early and waited for Brandon to wake. We got on the road and within 10 km of our start my rear tire blew! This was expected because it had been showing some signs of wear for the past couple of days and it was only a matter of waiting it out. I patched the hole on the innertube and replaced the tire with my spare. We moved on. Feeling like that was in the past and the day was off to a fine start my mind was at ease, but not for long. Oh, hellacious, burdonsome, ugly winds! How I loathe thee at my face. Head and side winds soon began to torture us, my knee was aching worse than ever before, traffic was less that yielding to us, and my luck continued for to turn fo rthe worse. Uphill, the winds kicked ferociously. Downhill, was no relief. Then I blew my front tire. Flat #2. After patching and inflating the tube I realized that there was a large gash in teh sidewall of my tire that might become troublesome in the future. I had only the choice to continue on. I fought, I struggled, i cursed the wind, I accepted the facts, but no relief was in site. Soon on a long downhill, thump, thump, thump, thump... Flat #3, the rear wheel again! I fixed it fast but the tire would not keep pressure so again tore apart the wheel and replaced the innertube. We are off, and not 10 seconds later, pisst pisst, pisst, pisst. Flat #4, the front wheel again! I decided to put on Brandon's spare and toss my front tire in the rubbish. So one innertube, two tires, and three patches later i was able to finish off the day. Yin and Yang right? Better than and boring day!
We are in Christchurch right now enjoying a day off from cycling.
Much love and peace to all my friends and family. I hope to continue hearing from all of you through email or on the comments page. I love you Harper, Mom, Dad, and Erin. Keep on sending your love this way!
No comments:
Post a Comment