Ok, since your not bored of the rings stuff yet (apparently), I'll tell you about Mt. Sunday. First of all, it's pretty remote. The trip up there involved about 50kms of high country gravel roads, which is an unusual experience on a road bike. It became increasingly obvious why most people pay someone to drive them up there in an off road 4 wheel drive vehicle. However, I'm sure that my sense of achievement in finally getting there, must have overshadowed their whole experience!
The place itself is really quite magical. It's like nowhere else I've ever been. It feels like an immense wilderness and the sensation of wide open space makes you feel very small indeed. I was lucky to arrive before the organised trips headed up there and had the place to myself.
So after the interesting road journey, it was time to head across country from the gravel road to Mt. Sunday. It's not the one hour walk I had heard about, more like half an hour. However, the neccessity to wade through knee deep, fast flowing freezing rivers had not quite been made clear to me! So there I finally sat, wet legged eating my packed lunch on the spot where Edoras had been built for the films. I have to tell you, the journey was well worth it. The views are amazing, as is the whole area. I can't get photos onto the blog from this computer, but even if I could, they will never do it justice.
So now I am back to my tiki touring and working my way around a whole bunch of small towns in the Canterbury area. It's a lovely relaxed kind of place with that end of summer feeling hanging in the air. The combine harvesters are out in force and the evenings are getting cooler, must be slowly getting towards time to head back to the northern hemisphere! Not quite yet though, more to do . . .
4 comments:
Sounds like yet another cool adventure! Hope your trusty steed hasn't suffered too much from all that gravel. What did you have in your packed lunch, by the way? Am I to imagine you sat on your rock in awe munching on an egg sarnie, or was it the ubiquitous Kiwi pie? (That's not a pie containing Kiwis of course in any of its 3 senses!!)
Lots of talk on the radio here this morning of snow and blocked roads, but not a single flake as yet down in Brizzl - actually got a bit of winter sunshine - hoorah!
Jules x
Leave Kiwi pie stories for when your back.
Snow, as is only proper, is coming from the east but melting pretty much on contact.
No kiwi pies in such a far off place. Snow on the mountains though, not sure if it came from the east though.
Shame you weren't warned bout the freezing rivers, could have got yer legs lagged.
LEG LAG!
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