At about 8:30am I rode out to Milford Sound and back to Te Anau.
This road is possibly the most scenic of all NZ roads. The rainfall in Milford is about 5 - 7 meters per annum. That is a LOT of rainfall. Luckily however, it was a fine day and the clouds were high so that the views were magnificent. The stop lights on the Homer Tunnel change every 15 minutes. Usually this would be a bit of a pain to have to wait so long for the lights to change. However, it is quite nice to take a bit of time out at the tunnel entrance and look around a bit. Thsi was the 4th time I had been out to Milford Sound, but the first time with dry roads.Then headed off toward Mossburn but turned left onto Manorva Lakes Rd (gravel).
I had a quick look at the Manorva Lakes, they were very clear, and then went back to Mount Nicholas Rd and on to Walter Peak Station at the very end of the road. I probably covered about 80km of gravel getting to Walter Peak Station. It was mostly flat and straight but got a bit more interesting near Walter Peak Station. At one point I had to pull over and let about a thousand sheep go past. This road reminded me quite a lot of the roads in the Molesworth Sheep Station. I also came across about 10 keen cyclists cycling from Walter Peak Station to Te Anau.
Walter Peak Station had an area set up for tourists where they could get up close to tame sheep and cattle. There were shearing demonstrations etc, and a tourist shop.
Fantastic pub here. Excellent grounds and view.
I caught the Ernslaw steam powered ship across to Queenstown ($49)
Then on to Wanaka and over the Haast Pass to Haast. Fantastic road. I particularly like the section near the bridge known as "The Gates of Haast".
On arrival at Haast (about 7:01pm) I pulled into the Petrol Station to fuel up. The attendant told me that they had just shut. I asked were the nearest petrol station was and he said Fox Glacier or Wanaka. He was VERY unhelpful. I couldn't help but suspect that the Haast petrol stations close early in an attempt to increase the income of other services in the area (food and accommodation) while at the same time not really missing out on any business themselves.
I rode down to Haast Beach. There were a few people camped on the beach and others in campervans. I went for a bit of a spin up the beach but found the sand quite soft and it was quite tricky going. I was worried that I might get stuck in the sand and so made sure to keep my momentum up.I caught the Ernslaw steam powered ship across to Queenstown ($49)
Then on to Wanaka and over the Haast Pass to Haast. Fantastic road. I particularly like the section near the bridge known as "The Gates of Haast".
On arrival at Haast (about 7:01pm) I pulled into the Petrol Station to fuel up. The attendant told me that they had just shut. I asked were the nearest petrol station was and he said Fox Glacier or Wanaka. He was VERY unhelpful. I couldn't help but suspect that the Haast petrol stations close early in an attempt to increase the income of other services in the area (food and accommodation) while at the same time not really missing out on any business themselves.
I pitched my tent for the night in the dunes just back from Haast Beach. The mozzies soon found me. I was glad to have some insect repellant and a can of fly spray. I was pretty tired. I had just traveled about 600km in about 10.5 hours. I had a great sleep.
Route Part One:
http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Te+Anau&daddr=Milford+Sound+to:-45.431226,167.720032+to:Mavora+Lakes+Rd+to:Mount+Nicholas+Beach+Bay+Rd&hl=en&geocode=%3B%3B%3BFQM5Tf0dWCIGCg%3BFXiaT_0doaALCg&mra=dme&mrcr=1,2&mrsp=2&sz=9&via=3&sll=-45.096791,168.255615&sspn=1.13812,2.120361&ie=UTF8&z=9
Route Part Two
http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Queenstown&daddr=Haast+Beach&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=-45.096791,168.255615&sspn=1.13812,2.120361&ie=UTF8&ll=-44.414164,169.024658&spn=2.303321,4.240723&z=8
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