New Zealand Tour Aotearoa 2023

Day 22:  Wellington - Picton Today is a rest and relaxation day travelling by ferry from Wellington across the Cook Straight to Picton.  In Picton we meet with our South Island crew for your pre-departure meeting and first meal together.  Well, I guess today is a "rest" day because there was no cycling involved.  But, we were on the road by 6:30 this morning.  The ferry left at about 8:40 and took about three hours to get across the Cook Strait to the South Island. Some views of Wellington as we pulled away.  What a lovely setting for a city! Time for lunch once we reached Picton.  Then a quick walk around town during afternoon showers.  A few pictures post-rain, and ready for Part 2 to kick off. I do remember Picton being a really quite pretty little harbour town, but I don't seem to recall the steep hillsides all around.  Guess I didn't have to bike out of here last time!  

Day 21:  Greytown - Wellington (Petone) After a warm up on flat farm roads we meander up the Remutaka Cycle Trail through disused rail tunnels and take in other cool history.  Then it's down, down, down into the Hutt and cycle trail it all the way into the big smoke.   First some pictures from my walk into town last evening.  Tons of historical plaques.  Seems it was quite the happening place in the mid- to late-1800s.   Probably a good thing they closed at 4:30 Dinner was Thai curry from a food truck in the garden of a hotel establishment.  It was actually very good..........  Our hotel last night............. On to today..........  We did indeed start out on very flat terrain.  Good farming land, apparently.  I think the surrounding mountain scenery would have been lovely if we'd been able to see it. Lots of gravel and other unpaved surfaces on today's ride.  Early on, we came to a low spot on the gravel road and th...