Day 39 - February 18, 2023

Day 39:  Mossburn - Invercargill

We make a beeline for Invercargill today.  Quiet roads through rolling farmland.

Another later start this morning.  Breakfast at 8 and departure around 8:45.  

There was no miracle cure overnight, but I did get a good night's sleep and my head was in a better place today.  And - I'm sure downhill with a tailwind helped the situation as well.  For the first time in the trip, the kms really did fly by.  The scenery wasn't all that eye-catching so I didn't stop for as many photos as usual.  Here's a pic of the windmills I referred to yesterday.  The wind farm was opened in 2007 and has 29 turbines.

The terrain is definitely flattening out as we approach the southern end of the island.  

Lots of agriculture - crops and animals.

Into the small town of Drummond for our lunch stop at about 60 km.  I was last (as usual), but still there before noon.  Almost missed it as I was busy looking around and they were tucked into a nice shady area on the other side of the road to where I was looking.  

With only 40 km to go, and not wanting to be in to the hotel too early, it was a bit of a lazy lunch stop.  But - all good things must come to an end, so back onto the bikes and - what! - into a headwind......  At some point there were even some hills; gasp!

Interesting haircut on the this hedge.  Maybe the trimmers only reach so far.....

I don't think I've seen agapanthus since the North Island.  But then we haven't seen much civilization since there either.  Apparently they originate from South Africa.

It was a bit of a roundabout route to get us into Invercargill.  Also confusing instructions in places and once again the c(l)ue sheet didn't always match up with the RWGPS map.  But then, RWGPS sent me into the horse racing car park at one point; obviously not the right place.  These things usually aren't too hard to figure out; just takes a little time and common sense.  

Here's our final hotel of the trip!  Two nights here.  Nice place.  Has a bit of a resort feel to it.  Hotel, motel section, pool, dining options, bars, shuttle service to downtown, etc.  I still contend that bike tour companies upgrade the last hotel of the tour so that you go home with a good memory of the accommodation.  I have to say, though, that I've been impressed with NZ hospitality in general and the places that EA has found for us in particular.  A lot of the towns/villages we have stayed in have not had a lot of options for lodging.  Just about every place we've stayed has had kitchenettes in the rooms and a cup of tea is always an option.  Nice for another hydration option for me with a bit of flavour.  Also - there seems to be a tradition of providing a small bottle of milk or having one in the fridge.  Meant for tea or coffee, I'm sure, but also nice for milk drinkers.  

 We shuttled in to Invercargill for dinner tonight.  We'll eat at the hotel tomorrow evening.  The city itself looks interesting and worth a bit of exploring.  My flight home isn't until Tuesday so I'll have Monday to look around.  Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the most southernmost cities in the world.  Population is about 55,000.  It is the commercial centre of the Southland region.  It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains (amongst some of NZ's most fertile farmland), and sits amid rich farmland that is bordered by large areas of conservation land and marine reserves.  Looks like we got lucky with the weather.  They get 1112 mm of rain annually and is tied with Dunedin as the cloudiest city in NZ.  Invercargill is also NZ's second windiest city, after Wellington (where quite a few ferries have been cancelled in the last few days due to windy conditions).  

Just one more (short) day of biking.  I'm usually sad to see these trips come to an end, but I have to say that I will be glad to not get back on that bike ever again.  My tendon issues have made the whole trip a challenge, but I also have never managed to get comfortable with the mountain biking position for long days in the saddle.  I hope to heal before heading out on the Underground Railroad epic in May/June.    

Stats for the day:

Distance:  104.1 km

Elevation (Garmin):  569' up, 1474' down

Elevation (RWGPS):  1236' up, 2158' down

Weather:  13C - 24C.  Yet another beautiful day.  Dare I say we seemed to have a bit of a tailwind (and downhill) before lunch.  Turned into a bit of a headwind just before lunch which continued throughout the rest of the day.