27/2/26: Wellington to Picton. 5km (1517.14km) cycling and 92km on the ferry.
Today is the day that we leave the north island! The mood was high as we woke and got sorted for the day. I made the most of a break in the weather and got outside to install the dynamo light the Rob had worked his magic on and rewired, Thanks again Rob! We also installed some new Bar tape on Arthur’s handle bars – hot pink – it looks rad!
Loading our bikes and checking out we headed for Te Papa, the national museum, to kill some time before our ferry at 3. We had been told about the Gallipoli exhibition and the fact that the whole place was a bit of a highlight so we were keen to get in. Raelene’s “We live in Auckland” line got another workout and effectively saved us $75 in entry fees. We were welcomed and escorted around the lines, and waved through for free.
The boys were very excited about the Gallipoli exhibition. This was fuelled a little by learning about it at school but mostly but the fact that young boys tend to have a fascination about guns and war. We should have got a before and after because how they had changed their mind on exiting the exhibit.
Walking through there were giant lifelike people/models made by Weta industries (the mob that did the costumes for Lord of the Rings). They were incredible and really set the scene for the ensuing story as you followed the timeline on the floor. The further we progressed through the exhibit, the more serious and at times scared the kids, mainly Oliver, became. It was a culmination of the lights and sounds along with the sad stories of the men and women involved in the war that all clicked together in a moment of realisation for him. Once out he exclaimed that he found it scarier than he thought, In true Oliver style we will revisit this section of it over the next few days and talk it all through on the bikes.
The nature, volcano and earthquake section of the museum were also pretty cool. We got to experience an earthquake in the ‘earthquake house’, and the boys learnt a bit about the tectonic plates and the fact that NZ is on two!
After having lunch and having a little more of a look around it was time to hit the road and get around to the Ferry for our journey to the South Island. It was a pretty easy 5km to the Ferry terminal where we checked in no problem and waited for boarding. The boys found a vending machine and each spent some of their money, marvelling at the way their choice spiralled out and down into the chute.
Finally we got the call…and then a little hurry along…we rushed to our bikes and walked them up into the ferry, tying them onto a railing then finding a spot up stairs to enjoy the voyage from. As the Ferry departed we waved our final goodbye to the North Island, Excited about what the south had in store for us. The voyage was 3.5 hours and for a bit there both Patrick and Oliver were feeling a little green around the gills. We headed outside for some air which helped, as we were standing on deck we saw an Albatross swooping the waves! Arthur was stoked! The sea state calmed a bit and they were able to go back to the kids area and watch a bit more TV.
As we entered the Marlborough sounds Raelene and I braved the wind out on deck and enjoyed the view. Checking out the Baches in the bays and the boats passing the Ferry, it all looked rather glorious. Before we knew it we were docked and rolling off the Interislander ferry. It was only a short roll to the boathouse lodge, where we had booked to stay for the night – preferring to spend an extra $20 to be indoors rather than give our money to another holiday park.
Once we all settled in we looked at each other and couldn’t believe we were now on the South Island! It was a great moment and we are all very proud of our efforts In making it this far. Raelene and I celebrated with a bottle of red and then a massive sleep….Wild.
28/2/27: Picton to Pelorus Bridge. 54.7km (1571.84km) 598m elevation.
It was a wonderful feeling waking up to blue skies, I was very excited to start our ride this morning. However the boys had a slightly different idea and it took quite a while to get going mostly due to the fact we have all got quite behind in our diary writing so getting the kids to write a day or two this morning was rather challenging.
Finally at 10 we rolled out of our hostel and commenced our stunning ride along the Queen Charlotte Drive. We had to climb up our biggest hill of the day and were rewarded with stunning views of the Sound and Picton. Randomly we met two ladies who we happened to meet on the Remutaka trail and they took another family photo for us and wished us luck for the rest of our journey. We then had a gentle undulating ride along the coast providing spectacular views.
We stopped for a fruit break in a gorgeous little bay, Momorangi, Oliver was chuffed he got to use his multi-tool knife to cut the apple and Arthur and Patrick were totally distracted with finding crabs on the beach. Wanting to get a few more km’s completed before lunch we rejoined the road to enjoy the views some more. It was so nice to have the sun shinning and to be able to enjoy the amazing road.
The small towns we passed were lovely and it seems to live here you have to have a cool letterbox, it was fun riding past some very clever and fun looking letterboxes. For a short section we rode inland which satisfied the boys cows and irrigator obsession, but this stage Oliver was getting pretty focused on lunch so when we hit the coast again we found a great picnic area and had yummy fresh bread, ham and cheese. Rhys and I enjoyed relaxing in the sun while the poor crabs were hunted by the kids providing a lot of laughs.
Back on the bikes we had another small hill to climb before we made it to Havelock, on the way up Oliver was jumping about on his pedals (still on a silly high from the crab hunting) and nearly fell off his bike, he is very lucky to have great bike handling skills to hold such a fall. At the top of the climb we got off the bikes and went for a short walk to a lookout, along the way Arthur and Patrick snuck off the track and found a secret base while Oliver enjoyed stretching his legs on the walk. The views today were stunning, it really has been a great welcome to the South Island. Patrick found the day rather hot and as we were riding along he said to Rhys “Dad I’m so hot, boiling hot, I’m going to be killed like a worm in the sun”.
Arthur was pretty excited to notice the sign stating Havelock was the home of mussels, so we went in search of a place to buy some. Unfortunately many of the cafes had just closed but we found one with staff still cleaning up and they happily let Arthur try some mussels. We bought some delicious smoked mussels with garlic and oil and ate them out the front, Oliver even tried one and admitted they weren’t that bad.
The last 20km was on state highway 6 which meant it was quite busy, thankfully it had a good shoulder and due to being late afternoon the traffic wasn’t too busy. Oliver had another close call after bumping into a hole, again I am very relieved he can handle his bike well.
Rolling into Pelorus reserve was a nice feeling as the river is right next to the campground, we booked our spot then headed straight for the river. The water was crystal clear and deep, it did not take long for us all to jump in. Patrick took a little longer but eventually did brave the refreshing water for a quite clean off. We then dried off and warmed up on the hot rocks in the sun before reality hit and we need to go to set up our home and cook dinner.
1/3/26: Pelorus Bridge to Tapawera. 108km by car – 8km by bike (1579.86km).
A couple of days ago we had made contact with Raelene’s Mum’s cousin Debbie (Hi Debbie). She lived near Nelson and we were going to try and organise a catch up. We made contact and got something in the pipeline, then it evolved…..The next day Raelene and I were planning the route once we hit the South Island (we tend not to plan more than two or three days in advance). We knew of a terrible climb between Pelorus Bridge and Nelson that we were going to be unable to ride but figured that we would easily detour it once we got there. On researching the route a little more however we found that the detour was on the state highway and most likely going to take us more than a day. The road had little to no shoulder and I saw a post on Facebook that stated the traffic data for the area was upwards of 3300 vehicles a day with 16% of these being trucks. We decided that this may not be a good idea with the kids so we sent a message to Debbie, inquiring if she had access to a trailer…..
Like an absolute champion, Debbie was able to help us, she sourced a trailer, had a 7 seater car and was such a lifesaver! So this morning at around 0900, Debbie arrived around Pelorus Bridge campsite towing a perfectly sized tandem trailer! Thanks Debbie! We made our introductions of myself and the boys then loaded up the trailer with the bikes, ready for our bypass of the unsafe State highway section.
We stopped off at the dairy in Hira for an ice cream (Patrick was feeling a little car sick due to the windy road) and got to thinking about where Debbie could drop us off. As it turns out the route had differ this year away from spooners tunnel. Debbie however suggested that we could go all the way to Kohatu, which was just past spooner tunnel. That way we had an easy roll down into Tapawera, and she could shoot up the Motueka valley road straight home. Seemed like a great plan.
By the time we got to Kohatu the kids were getting pretty restless in the car. We pulled up and had lunch at the Flat rock cafe then got the bikes sorted to head off. As we were unpacking we found a random piece of metal in the back of the trailer. It was definitely nothing off our bikes so we gave it to Debbie, just in case it had come off the trailer…..
We said our final goodbyes and Huge thank you’s to Debbie then rode the easy 7.5km towards our campsite for the night. Halfway along the road Raelene caught up to me yelling out and stating that her saddle was broken. Turns out the random piece of metal that we found in the trailer WAS in fact a piece off our bikes. We tried calling Debbie however no luck, so we pushed onto our campsite and tried to come up with a plan….
Debbie arrived home and messaged back – a couple of messages back and forth and once again Debbie came to the rescue, saying that she would come back to Tapawera and give us the part back! Incredible! We headed to the 4-square and got some supplies for dinner and the next few days then headed back to camp and wait for Debbie. Sure enough she arrived and had the piece we needed! Thank you so much Debbie. We tried to repay her with a cup of tea and some Nachos but her help has really been invaluable today. We still have to bodge up a new bolt to go through the piece to properly fix it, however that’ll be easy tomorrow at the local garage.
So all in all the star of the show today was Debbie. She saved us 108km and 1500m of climbing – effectively 2-3 days of cycling. To top off the night Raelene and Arthur sat down and got some of his cross stitch bookmark that he got in Wellington.
But an ever better ending to the day was when Raelene opened her frame bag to get out her shower cap to cover her seat and out popped the missing bolt…amazing it had fallen into the unzipped back on the trailer. Seat will be fixed no worried in the morning.
2/3/26: Tapawera to Lake Rotoroa. 61.95km, (1641.81km), 871m elevation
It sounded pretty windy overnight and we had a bit of rain, but this all must be a good recipe for sleeping as we all slept in till nearly 8am. It was our first cold morning but we had the lovely camp kitchen to shelter in to cook breakfast while Rhys braved the cold to pack away the tent and fix my bike seat. Oliver helped me cook pancakes which disappeared before Rhys and I could even get a look in. Luckily I had got some crumpets for us, expecting just that.
Finally just after 10 we rolled out of the campground into the sunny day and instantly hit a horrible southerly headwind! To distract us slightly we rode past so many paddocks of ripe hops which gave off a lovely aroma, we even saw them harvesting the hops which was pretty cool. The boys picked up a few lost hops to have a feel and smell.
At the 10km mark we had a stop for Oliver and Arthur to put their warm pants back on and I checked my brakes (the riding was so hard it felt like they were on) – they were not on! bugger, the constant uphill and headwind was making it quite hard. We all persisted and stopped to have lunch at 24km, as a reward we ate the backcountry meals Rob and Di gave us. It was nice to have some warm food in our bellies before we hit the gravel and to the top of the saddle.
The climb up to the saddle was actually quite lovely, the gravel was nice and compact which was a great surprise. All the way up I could hear Arthur talking to his new favourite teddy “Tua the Tuatara”, he was showing Tua all the cows, sheep and anything else of interest. It was very cute. We had a very short celebration at the saddle then geared up for a great down hill. Unfortunately it was shorted lived as when we hit the highway the headwind was pretty strong making the downhill rather disappointing. Oliver was finding the headwind difficult and due to the road we thought it was safer to have him on the tow to keep up the speed, even though we were battling the wind the road was stunning and we were enjoying the ride.
We arrived at Kawatiri junction which provided camping, it was just off the highway and not very pleasant so we all agreed to push on another 18km to Rotoroa lakes. We had a quick rest and ate a packet of chips (Thank you Debbie for providing them) then jumped back on the highway.
Turning off the highway towards the lake was a lovely change as the sun was on our backs, the wind had died down, Oliver had his energy back and we enjoyed a very slow incline up to the lakes. It was then Arthur’s turn to hit the wall and after a few lollies and some pep talk from Oliver he also pushed through and we rolled into the Gowan Bank Backpackers just before 6pm. A huge effort from us all considering how awful the wind was!
We treated ourselves to a family room to stay away from the sandflies and wind, Rhys cooked up a storm while I did some cross-stitch with Oliver and Arthur. On the beds we found 2 hot water bottles – an absolute treat. The boys had never seen one so it was fun to see how excited they were when I handed them one full and warm. It made for a very snuggly night sleep.
3/2/26 – Lake Rotoroa to Murchison. 33.48km (1675.29). 336m elevation.
A balmy 2 degrees greeted us this morning. We were all glad we had made the decision to stay in the backpackers rather than up at the campground. It didn’t take long for the sun to shine through though and with that the cold ebbed away, leaving us with a bright blue sky day. Firstly we rode down and checked out the lake, Getting an obligatory photo at the jetty before the kids had fun spotting the big fat eel that lived there. Lake Rotoroa was quite beautiful however we couldn’t bring ourselves to go for a dip!
Back on the bikes we pointed them seemingly skywards as we attacked the beautiful yet steep Braeburn track. Poor Olivers legs were not working today so I popped him on the tow rope relatively early, Unfortunately the climb was steep and relatively unrelenting with kicker after kicker that really tested out my legs and resolve. I felt as is I was doing an early morning HIIT session and on multiple occasions was rendered unable to talk, doubled over gasping for air. I would say that this would be the hardest climb I’ve done on the TA thus far….
At the top we stopped, started, stopped again, started, stopped yet again then carried on….for what felt like forever. It was probably because I was a bit done in after towing Oliver up the climb but it felt as if we couldn’t ride further than 1km without someone needing to stop for a wee, to take a jacket off, to put a jacket on, because a glove was dropped, a feather spotted or a headwind that slowed….Incredibly though the Beech forest we were descending through was some of the most beautiful riding one can do in their life. The descent was sweeping and safe on the gravel road, the canopy providing caverns of shade before the sunlight punctuated sections that left you feeling the hint of warmth on your face, before yet again, plunging back into shadowed roads. We also crossed 4 streams on this section of road, some of which were feet deep, yet solid, meaning Raelene got her toes wet on one occasion.
We finally turned off the gravel and onto a country road. The descent continued through quite valley farmland, it was an absolutely glorious ride and I found myself saying to the boys “you probably won’t realise this but just so you know, this is some of the most beautiful riding you will do in your entire life” to which I got “but why dad, its just a road” – you’ll understand one day boys :-). Shortly thereafter I witnessed a piece of sporting magic…As Oliver was descending his sun brim around his helmet flew off in the wind. Raelene, who was around 5-10m behind him managed to put her arm up and catch the brim out of the air as it hurtled past! incredible to witness and a moment that made everyone cheer as loudly as we could, Great catch mum!
Joining the highway we cruised the last 5km into Murchison into a relatively irritating headwind that the boys noted, was not as cold as yesterdays. They already put it together that just by feeling the wind they could tell it was not coming from the south. Murchison is a beautiful little town! We headed to the campground and got a site then had a little wander through the general store as I needed to post off my waterproof trousers that had been replaced under warranty – thanks Ground Effect! By this point in the day I was struggling….I was so incredibly hungry and just generally fatigued, by the time we were in the supermarket trying to get dinner for the next 2 nights plus stuff for breakfast and lunch tomorrow, I was not much help….dazed and confused.
Raelene cooked up pizzas for dinner which helped a fair bit, then it was journals for the boys which they all smashed out with NO ISSUES….Raelene and I both reflected on the fact that getting to a campsite at 3 is so much better as the kids get to have a run round, have dinner at a reasonable time then do their diaries before bed. Pity we won’t be doing that tomorrow! – Biiiiiig day tomorrow, could well be the 2nd biggest we’ve done. I’ve gotta stop writing this and get to bed.
4/3/26: Murchison to Springs Junction. 75.16km (1750.45km), 1004m elevation.
It was a fresh morning, before we all ventured out of the tent we put on our riding gear and went straight to the kitchen to cook up the bacon and eggs. After an amazing feast for breakfast the boys had great fun feeding the horses, deer and emu – yes the campground had a pet emu, while we packed away as quickly at possible.
Just after 9 we rolled out of camp into the last of the morning fog, the sun was shinning which was great considering it was only 8degrees. Not far down the road I had to stop to let Oliver warm up his hands in my armpits then put his gloves back on to keep them warm, it has been a learning curve with the sudden cold snap. Keeping hands warm and not letting them get too cold before the gloves go on.
The morning ride was stunning, we slowly climbed up into the hills which gave us great views of a river down below we then hit the gravel road taking us up to Maruia saddle. 20km in we had our first stop which was very impressive. The road continued to wind up at a good gradient however on one hill Oliver started to let the climbing get to him and he wanted to stop, by some amazing strike of luck Finn turned up right at this point. Finn is a 18yr old from Wellington riding the South Island as part of his Gap year and he saved the moment. Lollie snakes were handed out to everyone and then we set off together, Finn joining us for the ride.
Oliver had suddenly found his energy and the riding was fantastic, after another quick snack stop just before we started the 7km (289m elevation) climb. The gravel road was lovely, it wound its way up the mountain through beech forest. Oliver and Finn lead the whole way chatting as they rode, it was so lovely to see. We had 6 small creek crossings which were fun and also provided us with some much needed water as the day was getting very hot. The climb was a lovely steady up hill and before we knew it we had reached the saddle! woohoo. Celebrating with lunch Finn decided to stay with us which was great and we all enjoyed the fantastic downhill through the beech forest.
Eventually we met up with highway 6 and we rode in single file at a rather rapid pace….Arthur and I got left behind a few times which was totally fine with me as my legs were starting to feel the hills and Arthur was nearly all out of energy. When we arrived at Maruia it was time to decide whether we pushed on for Springs Junction. Again having Finn riding with us certainly helped as Oliver wanted to keep riding with him so we all decided to ride the extra 16km to Springs Junction.
We turned off onto a very quiet country road, passing more deer farms before hitting more gravel and a few more rolling hills. Arthur and Patrick had a run to stretch their legs for about 1.5km, and to my surprise it actually made my bike much easier as Arthur hadn’t done much pedalling for the last 10km. When Arthur jumped back on the bike his energy was restored and the final 5km push to Springs Junction was lovely.
Unfortunately it was time to say bye to Finn and wish him luck on his adventure as we found our warm showers host, Peter. Peter was just leaving to go to a meeting so he quickly welcomed us to his home and left. We had a lovely evening exploring his beautiful garden, cooking dinner in the sun on the lawn and the boys finding a small cabin which they planned to sleep in.
After dinner 3 very excited boys snuggled up in bed ready to sleep in the base, Rhys and I sat outside listening to them chat for a bit, it was beautiful hearing Oliver reassure Patrick when he was a little scared. However Patrick wasn’t keen to sleep in the cabin even after running up to us to ask if he could share Oliver’s bed. Arthur and Oliver then tried to get to sleep however memories of the war museum started to frighten Arthur so they both came up to the main house to sleep with us. Good try boys.
Peter arrived home just as Rhys and I had made a cuppa so we had a lovely chat before finally calling it a day at 11pm.
5/3/16: Springs Junction to Reefton 44.8km (1795.25km). 410m elevation.
It was beautiful to wake up in Peters home, The boys got dressed and headed straight out into the garden to play. They spent ages ‘spying’ on us from various points around the garden, using the native bush as hiding spots. Finally it was time to bid Peter goodbye and thank you for his hospitality, the warm showers community certainly are generous and we look forward to being able to repay the generosity when we move back to Tassie.
Our cycling day started with a decent climb out of springs junction. It was on highway 7 but the traffic was pretty minimal, allowing us to enjoy the climb on sealed road. over the top we stopped for lunch. As we were getting sorted we saw riders going the opposite way, on closer inspection it was another family!!!! Raelene and I rushed back up the bank and the riders crossed the road and pulled in for a chat. turns out they were from Germany and had 2 girls, 3 & 5, who were both being towed behind each of the parents bikes by various means. It was so great to stop and chat with them, they had been hearing a lot about us and were also quite happy to meet! We all remarked how there are not a lot of us touring families getting around and immediately felt as if we were all part of a crazy sub group of cycle touring! Finally we said our goodbyes, lamenting that we were not all heading the same way but glad that our paths had crossed.
The next 20km to Reefton were all downhill and we got it done rather quickly. We had our next warm showers hosts lined up so we gave them a call when we got to town. Robyn stated she didn’t finish work until 4 so we killed a bit of time by grabbing a bakery treat (the boys ‘shouted’ Raelene and I a sweet treat with their spending money…it was quite cute) and having a wander around the beautiful quaint town of Reefton.
Finally it was time to find our place for the night. We arrived at the house and were immediately, warmly welcomed by Don, a fellow cyclist and also a fellow Thorn owner! turns out we have bikes made by the same company in Britain. In no time at all we were made to feel extremely welcome, it felt as if we had come to stay with extended family. Don had dinner on the go and quickly showed the boys their wonderful veggie garden and dog, called snifter. Robyn also arrived soon after and a plan was hatched to head to the river for a swim.
On our way down to the river, who should we bump into but Finn! The boys were all excited to see him and Robyn generously invited him over for dinner. Finn accepted and soon enough we were all jumping off rocks into the cool river, watching the local kids Manu and pop plastic bottles high into the air, pretty cool.
The rest of the evening was spent by having a ‘family’ dinner around the table. We continued to tell stories, enjoy the connections through cycle touring and also explore each others plans for future trips. We really hope we have a chance to run into Robyn and Don again as they were incredibly good people! Finally though it was time to coax the kids into bed. What a great day.
6/3/26: Reefton to Ahaura 43.59km (1838.84km) 212m elevation.
Oliver and Arthur had snuck inside before Rhys and I woke up, they certainly have made themselves at home with Don and Robyn which is lovely. Oliver then started to help Robyn cook the pancakes before getting side tracked with playing outside in the garden. We all had delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast before hitting the road to Ikamatua.
The trending down hill ride to Ikamatua was great and quite quick, Oliver was craving pizza so we all hoped we could get one for lunch. The road was beside the train tracks all morning and when the train came past it was quite exciting for everyone especially as it tooted its horn while passing us. Thankfully the dairy in Ikamatua cooked pizza’s so while the kids enjoyed their pizza I phoned Josh to update him on our plans. To our surprise he had booked the motel at Ikamatua for tonight! crazy, as it was only lunch time we made the plan to keep riding to Ahaura to camp to make tomorrow a slightly easier day and Josh would meet us there to say hello. The boys had some fun spending more of their spending money on an ice-cream and mints, poor Patrick dropped his change in the ice-cream freezer and couldn’t find it however a few minutes later the owner came out giving him his $1 – he was stoked.
After a great stop we got back on the bikes and as we chatted along the way we came to a narrow bridge, we were slowing down to let a car go before us however the car then stopped beside Rhys handing us a wallet….Oliver had left his wallet not the counter at the dairy, lucky for friendly locals. Unfortunately we had a slight headwind for the final 10km which made the going a little slower, but to brighten up the afternoon we stopped to talk to Arthur’s favourite cows which are slowly becoming my favourite as they are very cute – the white cows with black nose, eyes, ears and hooves.
We rolled into camp at a very respectable time of 3pm and enjoyed the sunny afternoon playing frisbee and soccer. Josh arrived just before 7 which was great and while Rhys put the kids to bed Josh and I went to the pub so he could have a bite to eat (we had eaten all the food before he arrived) and we could have a catch up.
7/3/26: Ahaura to Greymouth 41.24km (1880.08km) 262m elevation.
A misty old morning greeted us and not too soon after we rolled out of the tent Josh arrived ready to roll! We were lucky to be able to put all of our gear in Josh’s car which he was going to leave round the back of the pub and pick up that afternoon with the help of a friend from his car club. So not long after breakfast we counted our unladen bikes and headed off.
It’s crazy how fast we can roll with no gear on our bikes now. With average speeds upwards of 18kph we covered ground fast motoring our way towards Greymouth and the fabled west coast. It was great to have Josh along for the ride, a bit of company goes a long way to increasing motivation! after around 15km we pulled over at a rest area to have a look at an old steam engine that was displayed on the hill. As we pulled in however, a milk tanker also arrived, the driver obviously needing a break. With the train forgotten, Raelene and the boys headed straight over and said g’day and as it turns out the tanker driver was more than happy to show the boys the ins and outs of being a tanker driver! The best part was that he filled up Arthurs drink bottle with a litre of cold milk straight from the tank! We all enjoyed a swig of creamy milk, recharged ready to make that last few km’s into Greymouth. We continued to Greymouth in much the same fashion, having races on hills (where safe to do so) and charging along the flat. It was so funny when Patrick and I got overtaken as he would get so grumpy that he was not in front and berate me for not going fast enough!
We made it to grey old Greymouth in great time, sailing through town and finding a bakery for a pie. We then headed out to the breakwater for a photo then returned to town for Josh to get a lift back out to his car, and for us to check into our Hostel for the night. After a bit of a misunderstanding and miscommunication we found that we needed to pay extra to stay the night as somehow booking.com had only booked us in for 1 person….all sorted though.
When josh returned with his car we decided to go for a drive out to Punakaiki rocks for a look. It was great driving out in ‘Minty’ Josh’s ’65 HD model Holden. It was also a bit of a novelty to do more than 45kms in less than 1 hour….incredible! We enjoyed a wander around the rocks however both Raelene and I remarked that we have now found ourselves in the thick of the tourist hotspots now, a very different feel to what we have already seen and done. We also reminisced of how we came here on our first overseas holiday together, not long after we had met 18 odd years ago…bought back some memories!
The day was finished by heading to the Monteith’s brewery for dinner. We enjoyed a few beers and also ran into people, Harry and Rach, who we had met back in Miranda hot springs holiday park! It was enjoyable to swap some stories over a beer or two while the kids watched Toy Story. When it was time to go Oliver exclaimed that his tooth was nearly ready to come out. Back at the hostel, before he went to sleep he got both Raelene and I to give it a yank, sure enough I managed to get it out, much to Olivers delight, and he popped it in a glass in the hope that the tooth fairy would come and grab it that night!
Thanks again to Josh for a great day cruising on not only the bikes, but in Minty as well. We are all stoked to have made it to the west coast and can’t wait to continue further south, edging our way slowly but surely towards Bluff!
