Day4: Rangiora

Anybody that has spent time in the backcountry will be aware of the long drop toilet. Of course Fordies has such a thing and to be honest you would struggle to find a throne with a better view. This is enhanced by the fact that it has no door. Why would you need one on one of the most remote farms in New Zealand? So you have an uninterrupted view of the most dramatic mountain scenery  as you go about your business. Definitely better than scrolling your ecoli tainted fingers across your smartphone.  It turns out that the local wildlife is also appreciative of the view as the place is humming with blow flys and at least one big fat spider. So you can imagine as you lower your delicates into the black hole it is not as soothing an experience as the view would suggest. Perhaps you can also imagine the horror when a large blow fly bashes into your dangling precious. 

So let’s take it to a slightly better place. After a lovely evening chatting where we tried (unsuccessfully I might add) to turn Dave Mac into a better  person and we established that there are a significant number of little Dave Lears populating central Africa we had a good but chilly nights sleep. 

This morning we awoke to a beautiful clear sky with some warmth in the morning sun as it came over the mountains. Few on the grass , sun sparkling on the Clarence down in the valley. Couldn’t be better. 

There was a slight blemish when I discovered a missing bolt in my bike but at least I found it before anything important fell off. I’ve been taught well so I had a pack of spare bolts and replaced it and of course only fleetingly thought what else would fall off my bike during the course of the day. 

So we headed of to do Erzberg in reverse (a rocky extreme enduro event for those that don’t know). At least we knew what to expect and had worked out the puzzles so the trip went a little quicker. In fact  it was a delightful days riding. New views as were pointing in the opposite direction. Very much the happy place for us. 

We got to the coast after lunch and rode towards Kaikoura into a strong Southerly, mindful of the fuel debacle of 2 years  ago. The headwind did it’s bit, and allied with Dave Lears heavy throttle hand he hit reserve just far enough from Kaikoura to feel comfortable. Dave Mac and I supported him by not even slowing down by 1kph and letting him know we wouldn’t return if he ran out. He didn’t which was almost disappointing as this story would be much better if he did. 

The strong southerly was joined by rain and falling temperatures. It was twelve degrees for the last hour and a half which must equal freezing when you add 100kph. Wet boots from the morning and wet everything else from the afternoon meant the hot shower at the motel was really appreciated. Like reall really appreciated. 

What an epic day!