Woke up at 0630 (groggy) and ate a continental breakfast. Took off the pedls and covered the chain (required for the train). B&B owners dropped me off at the train station around 0745. Took about 5 minutes to collect the tickets (bought them before on the web) and drop off the bike at the luggage car at the end of the train. {According the the B&B owner, the lines at the train start at 0800 when the tour buses arrive.} I sat across from an older (50s) lady from Australia who proceeded to talk for the next 4 hours on the journey to Greymouth (NZ's west coast). I did pick up some interesting vocabulary from her, in particular "pleather", used to describe fake leather.
The scenery along the train journey was spectacular with narrow bridges over gapping chasms and massive rivers flowing into the horizon. Unfortunately, the waterproof Olympus camera was not adept at capturing moving targets. In other parts, mountains would just rise out of the flat landscape, as if some mighty giant just placed them here and there. On the other side of Author's Pass, the vegetation changed from pine trees to rain-forest ferns and palm trees; though the air temperature remained at a balmy 18 degrees C.
I arrived in Greymouth at 1245. It took me another 30 minutes to retrieve the bike, get geared up, fill my water bottles from the train station bathroom and do final safety checks. I then walked the bike up to the bridge crossing the river (within eyesight of the train station), rode over the bridge, turned right and followed the signage to Punakaiki. Punakaiki is about 50-60 km up the western coastline and is famous for some unique pankake rock formation and being well outside the cell phone grid. The first 5-10km were flat and easy until the road reached the ocean. The next 40km was a series of undulating hills that were short and steep. The last hill before the B&B was at least 2 km long with a not insignificant gradient. The ride was very enjoyable along the road rated one of the top scenic roads in the world, with most of the road right next to the ocean.
Next time I will bring a more comfortable saddle, like a Brooks B-17, rather than this cut-out anatomic saddle, which is already giving me a painful saddle sore. New Zealand roads are much courser than HK roads. Went and walked down to a local pub for dinner (not much choice in Punakaiki).
Rough costs (NZD):
Train Ticket: $145; Christchurch Dinner: $15; Punakaiki Dinner: $35 (was hungry)
Green Thai balm was very handy for lower back pain.
Trip Stats:
48 km; 2 hours 6 minutes; 4-layers: T-shirt, Assos Jersey, Assos Air Element, Rainjacket
Punakaiki B&B Web-Link (though the owners are now trying to sell):
www.therockshomestay.com Complete photo-log:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8048972@N06/sets/72157600168286878/
