Between Aug 5th 2007 and 15th February 2008 Mark Beaumont cycled around the world and set a new world record for solo circumnavigation of the globe by manpower alone. This blog is a parallel learning journey which explores the fascinating geography of his 18,300 mile route through four continents and 20 countries.......
Showing posts with label Leg 5 : New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leg 5 : New Zealand. Show all posts
A hectic last few hours according to Mark's diary:
Over 11,000 hours on the bike and 13,540 miles cycled since the start on 5th August!
Set off from Huntly at 8am on last 90km to Auckland. Been raining through the night but dried up. Planned to been in Auckland by 1pm, but came into Bombay Hills and lots of traffic lights, so estimated 2pm. However, our great contact in Auckland, Paul Robertson decided to go out on the road - met up with Mark and guided him in through roads and traffic to Queen Mary Avenue - there by 1.3opm! A big help Paul!
Leaving for airport at 5pm so time get bike boxed, have massage etc. DHL package from home base waiting with warm cycling clothes, new bike seat, maps etc for Leg 6 in the States. Behind the scenes, package was delivered on Monday to Queen Mary Drive, but no one in so, they took package away to the city depot. By the time base camp heard this, depot was closed for Christmas and not open until Thursday 27th - too late for Mark! Told to phone DHL Customer Care Boxing Day morning but little could be done until Thursday.
To forward package with DHL would have taken a week including USA customs and similar problems sending package as cargo with Air New Zealand on same passenger plane as Mark but one day later on Thursday 27th. After many calls, spoke to Suzanne at Air New Zealand International Cargo at 2am GMT Christmas Day, explained the situation which she immediately understood. She volunteered to phone DHL and see what she could do and then phone Base Camp back. Twenty minutes later, she called back, having spoken to DHL, and arranged for package to be brought to airport depot by lunch time Boxing Day! The very best result wished for and a huge thanks to Suzanne.
DHL actually delivered the package to Queen Mary Avenue Boxing Day morning! Many thanks to them.
Though no time to spare, everything else went smoothly with the great help of Paul. Anna gave a great sports massage and then a detailed report to Fiona Lindsay, Mark’s physio at home. This will be handed on to next therapist in San Francisco - essential after 12 hr 15 min flight.
Waiting at San Francisco airport at 10.45 will be Joe Legallet and his son-in-law Paul Lusk - Paul is a cyclist and also has a 4 x 4 for the bike box. Joe and his wife Annette live in San Mateo, 20 mins south of the airport and are kindly having Mark to stay for a night before starting Leg 6. Whilst Mark has a sports massage in the afternoon, his bike will be looked over by a Rohloff retailer.
So, Mark left New Zealand 19.30 Boxing Day evening (13hours ahead of GMT) and he will arrive San Francisco 10.45 Boxing Day morning (8 hours behind GMT) to live the day over again!
Mark cycled into Auckland today after an eventful Christmas Day.
Poured with rain all day and head wind, so rain straight in the face all day. Made it to Huntly and in hostle 5km out of town - the only one between here and Auckland, 90km away. Everything shut en route, including office of hostel. Went around the back and found kind lady who gave a room. No food available, but lady produced leftovers from their Christmas lunch including pudding - so had Christmas lunch after all!
En route from Huntly he passed through Bombay, before following the route into the suburbs of Auckland.All pictures of Auckland by Simon Hathaway
Auckland is also known as the 'city of sails'. It is the largest urban area in New Zealand and has a population of over 1.3 million. It size has attracted the attention of local cartoonists, such as GOOD EVANS.The most prominent landmark is the SKY TOWER. This is the largest free-standing tower in the Southern Hemisphere. There is also a rather good view from the top, as can be seen from the panorama image below (click for biggery...) Panorama made available by Wikimedia user Antilived.
Another landmark is the volcanic bulk of Rangitoto Island. Ferry services run out to the island, which offers the chance to walk through lava caves, which were formed by earlier lava flows. There is a famous pre-Christmas parade in Auckland (see below), which this year featured the mascots from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Mark now has an extra long Boxing Day because his flight will cross the International Date Line.This means that as he travels to the west, he goes back to the start of Boxing Day, and lands in San Francisco on the same day that he took off from Auckland, around 13 hours flying later. On arrival in San Francisco, Mark's route will take him across to Miami as he completes Leg 6. Image of Golden Gate by Flickr user disneymike
Earlier in the journey, Mark put in some extra miles, which means that he will not now need to make his way to Seattle and down the West coast. Given the recent weather in the USA, particularly the ice storms which hit the mid-west (but also WINTER STORMS in some of the southern states), this is is perhaps just as well...Ice Storm detail by Flickr user Allie's.Dad
Let's hope that the weather calms down for the next week to allow Mark to make progress through the United States. I'll be back once Mark gets under way from San Francisco. Safe journey ! And in Aotearoa, it's already the 27th...
It may be Christmas Day, but the wheels keep turning ! Mark is making excellent progress now that he is over the meandering route since Wellington and on a more direct course.
Hamilton is the 7th largest city in New Zealand. It is on Highway 1, and there are apparently plans to build a bypass to reduce traffic congestion. The Fairfield Bridge across the Waikato river is shown below. This is apparently the bane of commuters and long queues form here morning and evening. I imagine that it was fairly quiet on Fairfield Bridge this morning. Hamilton is also known for being particularly foggy, as it was on the day that Flickr user Talden took the image above.
Onwards towards Huntly, and Lake Waahi. Huntly produces huge amounts of coal which are then burned in the conveniently located thermal power station (Weber was right !) with its two red and white chimneys which Mark would have seen. Lake Waahi has been affected by the coal mining in the area, but water quality is apparently improving.
Auckland is the ultimate destination for Mark in New Zealand.
A friend of mine has just moved there, and he and his partner say that it is a great small city to live in. They have a flat with a view of the famous SKY TOWER. Will post more about Auckland tomorrow... Images of Auckland by Simon Hathaway
Oh, and it's been pouring with rain all morning in Norfolk...
Just to confirm that it IS Christmas Eve, and Mark IS in Te Kuiti...
Overcast start to the day and gradual climb with head wind. Was hoping to have good view of the three volcanoes, but cloud too low. Sun came out all afternoon and after total ascent of 1185mtr had huge descent to finish at 190mtr! Arrived at Te Kuiti just gone 7pm and booked into Motel Te Kuiti. 164km total today - very pleased with that considering terrain, and feeling good!
Base camp been trying to track down Rohloff rear sproket with 16 teeth since Wellington. Main focus was San Francisco, but everyone needed to order it in and wouln’t have it until Friday. So, had a last look at retailers in New Zealand, and found a shop, Te A’Cycles, south of Hamilton in Te Awamutu. Phoned them 8am New Zealand time, and they had the right part, but closing at 5.3opm for Christmas and reopening January 3rd. However, Brett at the shop said he lived nearby and would watch the tracker and help out after closing.
As I type this, Father Christmas has already visited New Zealand, as seen on the Norad Santa website above. Merry Christmas to Mark and his family and team of supporters, to Mrs. V and her family and all those who have been following the journey via the blog. At the time of writing, I'm not certain where Mark got to today - I presume Te Kuiti. This is where he was earlier 'today' according to the tracker: First up some new AUSTRALIA pictures are now available in the gallery section of the Artemis website.
Mark woke in Raetihi this morning.Image by Flickr user nemone
Highway 4 north from Raetihi skirts a number of impressive volcanic peaks. It passes through Tongariro National Park, which is a World Heritage site, and features Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe (which stood in for Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies) and Mount Ruapehu, which is the highest active volcano in New Zealand, and where filming took place. Interestingly, its place on the UNESCO World Heritage list is because of its significance as a Cultural landscape.
An earlier eruption of Mt. Ruapehu was responsible for one of the most notorious volcanic related tragedies. It happened, coincidentally enough on Christmas Eve morning 54 years ago. A lahar: a river of pyroclastic material and water which is like liquid stone and can also be at very high temperatures destroyed the Tangiwai Bridge and an express train en route from Wellington to Auckland plummeted into the Whangaehu River on Christmas Eve, 1953. 151 people died. Tangiwai is 18 miles to the east of where Mark woke this morning, beyond the ski resort of Ohakune. Coincidentally enough, the name Tangiwai means "weeping waters" in Maori.
Check out the amazing video below via YouTube and Relapse Media, which features one of the people who was affected by the railway incident.
The hazard here was a lahar: a volcanic hazard which is also common in Indonesia. A detailed account of the incident is available at the NZ HISTORY page.
A gallery of images of the 2007 lahar by Geoff Mackley is worth checking out.
The lake lies in a caldera created following a huge volcanic eruption (see supervolcano) approximately 26,500 years ago. According to geological records, the volcano has erupted 28 times in the last 27,000 years. The largest eruption, known as the Oruanui eruption, ejected an estimated 1,170 cubic kilometres of material and caused several hundred square kilometres of surrounding land to collapse and form the caldera. The caldera later filled with water, eventually overflowing to cause a huge outwash flood.
It is also a geothermal area with plenty of hot springs.
Below is an image of the terraces which have been created from the deposition of the minerals dissolved in the hot water which rises to the surface here.Images taken near Lake Taupo by Simon Hathaway
Mark's journey carried him along Highway 4 to the west of Lake Taupo, and Rotorua. It passes through a series of small towns. Mark can rightly claim to have cycled through "the middle of nowhere" several times during his journey, but when he got to the town of Taumarunui he would have passed, according to the town's website, through "the middle of everywhere". The town is the largest for some distance around, with a population of just over 5000. It is also the location for a famous New Zealand folk song related to the railway: the main trunk line, which provided the town with its major site factor and continued importance. The first verse goes of the song goes:
You got cinders in your whiskers and a cinder in your eyeSo you hop off to Refreshments for a cupper tea and pieTaumarunui, TaumarunuiTaumarunui on the main trunk line.
Not sure whether Mark stopped off for a cupper tea and pie... The road carries on northwards, through seemingly endless serrated ridges, with patches of ancient forests and occasional flat areas. Running alongside, taking the easiest possible route is the railway line. Mark will also have seen lots of these as he cycled along Highway 4. Te Kuiti bills itself as the 'sheep shearing capital of the world', and the National Championships are held there - an event which also has the 'running of the sheep': a safer version of the famous Pamplona tradition.
I'd better also mention the karst scenery to the NW: particularly the Waitomo caves, which are a popular tourist attraction.
Hopefully Mark's stay in Bulls was memora-bull rather than intolera-bull... (see yesterday's post for more background)This morning, Mark's journey along the coastal plain continues: hopefully the NE winds from yesterday will have abated, although the route he takes is more sheltered.
Before we go any further, just a pointer to a new Audio File which has now been posted on the Artemis website: a 20 minute interview with Mark recorded just before he crossed over to the North Island. Click HERE to listen to the interview from BBC Scotland in a pop-up player.
First of all, a visit to Wanganui: the historic River City. Mark will cross the Whanganui River:
Starting high up in the volcanic plateau of the central North Island at Mt Tongariro, the river travels north to Taumaranui before heading south for 260km to Wanganui passing through the native tree and fern clad hills of the Whanganui National Park. The upper reaches of the river, cloaked in dense rainforest, lead to the deeply incised gorges of the middle reaches, where tree ferns and rare native plants cling to the steep riverbanks. This dramatic landscape opens out in the lower reaches of the river to follow rolling framland and open valleys to the costal dunes and cliffs which border the Tasman Sea to the west.
The Whanganui River is of deep spiritual, cultural and historical significance to Whanganui Iwi, who are the tangata whenua (Maori people of this area).
The Whanganui National Park enjoys a dual heritage from nature itself and from 40 generations of River Iwi who have lived there.
Panorama of Wanganui by Flickr user Squiggle (Creative Commons)
Wanganui apparently means 'big bay' or 'big harbour' in Maori. There was apparently a recent referendum which showed a preference for spelling the name without the 'h'....
Mark will probably have noticed the prominent war memorial tower on Durie Hill.
The road enters the Taranaki region: "like no other" according to its website, and named after Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont.Mount Egmont / Mount Taranaki is the second highest mountain on the North Island at 2518 metres. It is a near perfect symmetrical cone: a strato volcano (obviously) which last erupted in the 18th Century (1755). It was another one of those 'discoveries' of Captain James Cook... The resemblance of the mountain to Mt. Fuji in Japan, has been noted by many, and led to the mountain being a location for the filming of the Tom Cruise movie "The Last Samurai".
People living in the area have some cause for concern, as there are suggestions that the volcano is likely to erupt within the next 50 years. Eruptions are apparently similar to those of the famous Mt. St. Helens eruption of 1980 beloved of many geography teachers...
The New Zealand MAF (Ministry of Agriculture) has published a detailed illustrated analysis of possible impacts of future volcanic eruption.
The GEONET website has a range of real-time monitoring information which is attractively organised.
All New Zealand volcanoes are placed on an alert level from 0 to 5
Scientific Alert Level
Indicative Phenomena
Volcano Status
0
Typical background surface activity; seismicity, deformation and heat flow at low levels.
Usual dormant, or quiescent state.
1
Apparent seismic, geodetic, thermal or other unrest indicators.
Initial signs of possible volcano unrest. No eruption threat.
2
Increase in number or intensity of unrest indicators (seismicity, deformation, heat flow etc).
Confirmation of volcano unrest. Eruption threat.
3
Minor steam eruptions. High-increasing trends of unrest indicators, significant effects on volcano, possibly beyond.
Minor eruptions commenced. Real possibility of hazardous eruptions.
4
Eruption of new magma. Sustained high levels of unrest indicators, significant effects beyond volcano.
Hazardous local eruption in progress. Large scale eruption now possible.
5
Destruction with major damage beyond active volcano. Significant risk over wider areas
Large hazardous volcanic eruption in progress.
The area has volcanic soils and abundant rainfall which makes farming very important, particularly dairy farming.
Mark took Highway 4, which travels inland from Cape Egmont, and alongside a meandering river towards the 'double-barrelled' Oreore. On Google Earth this looks to be a steady incline with switchbacks and the river tumbling down to the left, followed by a straighter route past quite isolated houses and farmsteads.Of course, to Mark on the road, this translated into a great deal more effort. Here's today's diary entry:
Good ride from Bulls to Wanganui sitting at 23 - 24 kph. Tim and his wife cycled out of Wanganui to meet up and guide to their home 1km off the road. Had an hour off the bike, food and set off again with Tim on route 4 north. South Island had hills and plains but North Island is all hills! Tim turned back after a good distance. Continued for four hours of absolutely nothing, with probably biggest ascent on whole journey of 1750mtr. Down to 7 - 8kph and average of 18.8kmp for the day. Reached Raetihi, 89km north of Wangani at 7pm - total distance 135km. Ski area with snow still on mountains around.
Last two hours thunder storm and torrential rain stinging in the face. Found a room in a Holiday Park and cooked up pasta in the room. Hoping the worst is done today. Have three volcanoes to skirt tomorrow over 800mtr pass.
Great to meet Tim who has been an Glasgow University Alumni contact since before the start in August and been following the journey. He has cycled across America, so had lots to chat about! Many thanks for all your support Tim.
The thunderstorm possibly explains the tracker stalling near Oreore...
Raetihi is a small settlement with a population of just over 1000, close to the Ohakune and Ruapehu snowfields where the ski industry is prominent. More on Ruapehu tomorrow.
The most prominent mountains will be Tongariro and Ruapehu, of which more tomorrow too... We are getting back into Lord of the Rings territory here... Also into the outdoors again, as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is one of the world's classic walks.
Mark climbed out of Wellington, or "Wellywood" as it is beginning to be called because of the film-making connections, and headed for the west coast of the North island, and onto State Highway 1 along the Kapiti Coast.
This took a little longer than expected: as Mark says in his diary, following his visit to Vic Cycles:
Got on the bike at 11am and stopped for second breakfast after half an hour. Huge climb out of Wellington and couple of motorway sections not allowed on. Got lost couple of times and took road that ended on the beach once - beautiful but…couple of km backtrack. Sat on bike for 95km before a break. Huge side wind from east got up later. Pleased to reach Bulls and 155km total even with a late start. Found good place to stay and Turkish menu with delicious falafals.
The winds that Mark refers to show up on the MET SERVICE's Wind Map.
The highway skirts the mountains and follows the coastal plain, which widens to around 30km, with the sun rising over the Tararua Ranges inland and beautiful driftwood cluttered beaches to the left. According to Te Ara:
The Kapiti coast stretches 30 kilometres from Paekākāriki to Ōtaki. It is named for Kapiti Island, which dominates Wellington’s west coast.
The terrain consists of alluvial debris and windblown silt, overlaid by sand dunes. It was once covered with a mixture of dense coastal forest and extensive wetlands, but much of this was cleared in the 19th century for dairy and sheep farming.
The area developed as a series of seaside resorts: in a similar way to the development of East coast resorts in the UK to provide a destination for people who lived in the large cities inland. Many of the settlements are now dormitory communities for commuters into Wellington.
Out at sea, possibly in sight at the top of hill crests, or from Peka Peka is Kapiti Island, a national nature reserve. There will also be some road signs with which we are unfamiliar - mind out as they're the perfect size for getting stuck in your spokes !
The Otaki gorge is another location where the traditional outdoor lifestyle of New Zealand is made possible: rafting, bungee jumping, walking, swimming and fishing. It was also the location for Anduin in the Lord of the Rings movies.Driftwood beach by Flickr user Wei
Foxton is a settlement which seems to have taken its shape from the meander of the Foxton river which flows past it. The old meander loop has now been bypassed, but this has become the focus for a walk and the local website refers to it:
The River that runs through Foxton was once the main transport artery for early 1800 settlers. A wharf was located here as well a train station. The years of silt build-up has reduced it in size, but through the commitment of many people, the river is poised to come alive again. This will become one of Foxton's most utilized attractions. See it today before the ravages of time have been erased. One landmark that would have been visible for some time on the approach to Foxton would have been the mill, built to an authentic Dutch design and a tourist attraction as well as a working mill.Image by Flickr user Squiggle
Just beyond Foxton, and 155km after he started, Mark reached Bulls, a small town which divides opinion. Some weblogs I visited referred to it as the worst place in New Zealand and that if you got out quick you were lucky... Of course the community website refers to it as an UNFORGETABULL place (as a fan of puns, I like this...)
It then goes on to use the word 'Bull' as often as possible - here's a taste:
Welcome to Bulls, an Unforget-a-Bull town like no udder. Our town is Live-a-Bull and Unforget-a-Bull, the towns folk are Respons-i-Bull and Befriend-a-Bull.
The schools are both Knowledge-a-Bull and Educate-a-Bull with the Kindergarten being Access-a-Bull to all the younger children. If daycare is what you need, they are truly Love-a-Bull and Care-a-Bull. For those children who are at home there is also an Enjoy-a-Bull toy library.
Check out the gallery for a taste of the town of Bulls.
Tomorrow, Mark carries on towards Auckland, which he will now leave a day later than planned.
Mark crossed over into Wellington yesterday on the INTERISLANDER, to arrive in the evening and stay with friends on the NORTH ISLAND. He popped into VIC Cycles first thing to get a maintenance check on the bike.
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand and has a population of around 450 000 if one includes the outlying urban regions of the city. It can claim a few geographical superlatives: it is the southernmost national capital city and the most remote capital city in the world. It is also located in a zone known as the 'roaring Forties' and is known colloquially as "Windy Wellington".
One major attraction is the TE PAPA museum which has free entry despite costing over $300 million to build apparently. One area features the tectonic history of the islands, and gives people the chance to experience what it is like in an earthquake: the Awesome Forces exhibit. It seems strange that they need that given recent events...
Wellington is preparing for a fresh tourist and film-making bonanza following the announcement that I referred to yesterday about the filming of "The Hobbit" movies. Some companies already run Lord of the Rings tours to the locations. A friend of mine featured in 'The Two Towers' in a small way. He was at the Westpac Stadium along with around 25 000 other cricket fans when Peter Jackson came onto the pitch and asked them to chant Orcish war chants which he then recorded and digitally edited to produce the sound of the orc hordes at Helm's Deep. Mark will pass the Westpac stadium on his way out of the city: it is known locally as 'the cake tin' - as you can see below there is a certain resemblance...Image by Wikipedia user Hamedog
Urban development is constrained by the relief of the surrounding area: "between harbour and hills", and the map below shows the elongated shape of the city to the north, with a very compact area, which takes just 20 minutes to walk across (the central area at least).Just north of Wellington's CBD is the grave of Harry McNeish. He was the carpenter on board the Endurance when Sir Ernest Shackleton set out on his attempt to cross Antarctica in 1914. He saved the crew by making the necessary alterations to the small vessel: the 'James Caird' , in which Shackleton, Frank Worsley and others made the famous voyage to South Georgia from Elephant Island to save the whole crew's lives. For a fascinating story told from the perspective of the cat that he sneaked on board, who was nicknamed Mrs. Chippy, despite being male, read Caroline Alexander's book. Mrs. Chippy had an unfortunate end once the Endeavour sank...Image by Simon Hathaway
I know that this story will also interest Mrs. V as she has a lifesize and very realistic Mrs. Chippy sat on her desk. Mrs. Chippy is commemorated in the form of the cat who sits on McNeish's grave, which can be found at Karori cemetery - which Mark will once again pass within a few kilometres of as he leaves Wellington's CBD.
In 2005, permission was granted for the construction of MAKARA wind farm to supply more of the city's energy (given the name I mentioned earlier, this seems to make sense) I have been unable to find more information as to whether the construction has continued, and unearthed some conflicting opinions (as one would expect) on the planned scheme. The energy company: MERIDIAN ENERGY (who only produce energy from renewable sources) already have one large wind turbine (link is to a PDF information sheet) in the Wellington area. Mark would have passed their building on the quayside in Wellington, which is billed as "New Zealand's greenest building". There is an illustrated virtual tour of the building along with some 360 degree panoramas. This would be a good case study of energy efficiency and sustainable building design. Image this as the view from your desk: Wellington has also given us the music act the FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS, who recently had a BBC series.
Brief detour... A fair distance north of Wellington, but on the east coast of the North island is the city of Gisborne.There was a major earthquake here yesterday, which has been reported widely in the New Zealand press. The quake measured 6.8 on the Richter Scale, and has caused major devastation, and unfortunately at least one death. The BBC report this. One more local report says that "everything's in ruins except the presents". My friend in Wellington said it nearly shook him out of bed.
If you ever want to see the front pages of almost 600 newspapers around the world check out the excellent NEWSEUM site. For example, here is the front page of the New Zealand Herald.
The Dominion Post also has a major resource section on the issue of Whaling. There are plenty of whale watching operations in the area, and people make a living through whale conservation. Click the image below to visit the resources, which includes videos, photos, stories, and an online petition. There is also a link to a migration map for the Humpback whale, which would form a useful teaching focus for lessons on the concept of SCALE: comparing our own yearly migrations with those of the whale. A number of whales have been GeoTagged, and they can be viewed on a GOOGLE MAP. The current positions are shown below: Greenpeace have also been involved with the campaign against Japan's intention to hunt 50 humpback whales, and earlier today it was reported by the BBC that this was NOT now going to happen.
Back to the day's route...
Mark was due to leave on Highway 1, but apparently changed to Highway 3: the coastal road, to avoid the lorries. Lower Hutt, just north of Wellington was the location for Minas Tirth and Helms Deep in the Lord of the Rings movies, and Upper Hutt was the location for Rivendell. Mark will now bypass these, and move on to the Kapiti Coast, as he heads for Pukerua Bay, looking out to Kapiti Island: a national Nature Reserve.
As Mark wheeled out from Kaikoura this morning, the 21st of December, so my stint as guest editor started. Mark had just over 100 miles to go to the ferry at Picton, when he crossed from the South to the North Island.
Hopefully the weather will be kinder today than it was yesterday. Mark reported over seven hours of rain, probably the greeny (?) shading on the rainfall radar of the New Zealand Met Service image below. Image: New Zealand Met Service
Mark is travelling through the Canterbury and Marlborough districts today. The landscape is similar to that of the previous day: mountainous interior and a glorious undulating coast road just a short distance from the sea.
One of the first major features will be the crossing of the Clarence River. This is another of those spectacular braided rivers which Mrs. V has been mentioning for a couple of days now. I remember a textbook which we used for my 'A' level over 25 years ago now having a spectacular image of the Rakaia river on the front.
One of the things that I picked up from the image is that right at the point where the river should meet the sea, there is a lagoon (marked as Lake on the Google Map above), and the river has carved a new route to the sea further south. This delta is a constantly shifting feature. It's possible that there may well be flecks of gold amongst the silt, because the hills have attracted gold prospectors for over 150 years from the early 180os onwards, seeking the motherlode.
Beyond the river, Mark would have cycled towards Parikawa where he would have been cycling on a series of coastal terraces produced and uplifted during the Pleistocene.
North from Parikawa, Mark could, if he were feeling brave, have taken the road to Valhalla !
He may then pause at Kekerengu, where there is apparently a tea room and restaurant that is highly recommended. Flickr user Hot Meteor posted a picture of a rather delicious looking sandwich he enjoyed there...OK, lunch break over...
Beyond Waranui, the road then turns to the North and away from the ocean as it approaches the district of Marlborough.
Lake Grassmere is known for its salt manufacturing and the Google Earth image shows a remarkable geometry to the area. The Te Ara: Encyclopaedia of New Zealand has a wealth of information on salt manufacturing. Sea water contains 2.8% salt, and the concentration is slowly increased through evaporation and concentration ponds. The image below is from Flickr User Taniwhaiti and made available under Creative Commons license. It shows one of the salt pyramids which begin to appear during the summer months.Kaparatehau is the Maori name for the region, which apparently means "wind ruffled waters".
This is a connection with King's Lynn as the town was also involved in salt making, and salt was part of the town's early wealth: the Lynn in question was a 'lake' or lagoon which no longer exists.
This week we have seen the announcement that Peter Jackson is going to be involved in the making of 2 films based on JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit". Peter Jackson was of course the director of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. New Zealand had a tourist bonanza as a result of the filming of these movies. There is a rather large map of the FILMING LOCATIONS, which shows that once Mark gets to the North Island, he will be passing several of the locations. I'll return to that theme later.
As Highway 1 approaches Picton the landscape changes dramatically, and the road drops down onto the flat Wairau plain as it passes through Blenheim: the largest settlement for some time. The wine industry continues to be important here. There are also several salmon farming operations, including one in Tory Channel, and the hills inland have ski tourism.
The Wairau road then travels into Picton. I was intrigued by Nelson Square which then led on to a series of very familiar road names. It reminded me of one definition of suburbia which I like: where the developers chop down the trees and then name the streets after them... The ferry from Picton operates via Marlborough Sound. There are 3 vessels operating the route: the Kaitaki, Arahura and Aratere. The ferry takes 3 hours to cross the Cook Strait before arriving in Wellington. It is operated by INTER ISLANDER, and has been described as "one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world" (which certainly beats the local King's Lynn ferry)
There is also a connection with Captain James Cook and King's Lynn. In 1770, James Cook 'discovered' (always a contentious concept) the strait and realised that New Zealand was split into two main islands. On his next voyage, which started in 1772, one of his crew was a George Vancouver from King's Lynn (the town's shopping centre is named after him) George Vancouver went on to become more famous himself.
There is a VIRTUAL JOURNEY that you can take on the ferry company's website.
On arrival, a supporter of the journey, Jonathan Kinsella of the British High Commission has apparently arranged some media coverage, and is also arranging for a free ferry crossing.
I have several friends in the North Island of New Zealand, so expect a few of their images over the next few days. Here is one detail from the ancient forests which have been a backdrop to the recent days... Image by Simon Hathaway.
If you have any comments on the post, or suggestions for the next few days, please add them as comments. I look forward to following Mark for the next week. Alan Parkinson AKA "Mrs V"
