Day 41 - February 20, 2023

Day 41:  Invercargill - Depart

Our final breakfast together on the whole tour.  Stay on and explore the  region or travel on to Stewart Island.  For those heading home transfer to Invercargill airport can be arranged.  Drop offs to Queenstown or Wanaka are possible.

Well it's not really Day 41, but rather two weeks since I arrived back in Canada.  It seems that the more I do these long trips, whether they be biking, hiking, or otherwise, the easier it is to get back to my "normal" life here in Calgary.  Even as the temperature dropped into the -30C range it didn't seem like too much of a shock to my system.  Of course, it helps that we're now in March and I managed to pretty much avoid most of winter from November until now.  The days are getting longer and at some point there will be some warmth in the sun.  I spent the better part of a week out in Canmore volunteering at a few IBU Cup Biathlon events.  I always find that a rewarding use of my time.  

I am a bit distressed that my tendon issues don't seem to be getting much/any better.  I've done really no exercise in the last 2.5 weeks, other than the little physio-approved tendon specific stuff that I've been given.  The mere thought of getting on a bike right now makes me feel a bit sick.  And walking is out of the question.  I really am a grump when I'm not able to be active.  We'll just have to see where this goes over time. 

A few lingering thoughts from the trip............

  • despite the pain and discomfort, I'm glad I was able to do the trip
  • the other guests and the guides on the trip were all outstanding folks
  • the ages of the guests were:  27, 58, 59, 62, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 72.  Not a bad effort for a bunch of old folks (and Alex)
  • for me it was a hard effort, but I do remind myself that it is a privilege to be able to do "hard" by choice.  Especially as we get older, more friends and acquaintances don't have a choice but to do "hard" just by getting up and living their life
  • I was thrilled that I was not chased by even one dog on the loose
  • I didn't even once ride on the wrong side of the road.  However - I still found crossing the roads and making right-hand turns rather challenging.  I probably looked 6 times before proceeding. 
  • I liked the "no tipping" custom
  • I didn't mind the credit card surcharge in many places.  Canada is tossing that idea around and I thought I would mind it more than I did.  We always have the choice to use cash.  
  • New Zealand is not an inexpensive place to live.  Beautiful, but not cheap!
  • I'm glad I made the time to keep this blog going.  It was definitely a trip worth committing to memory.   
I had an extra day in Invercargill before catching my flight home on the 21st.  It's a fairly small city (population about 56,000), and looks like blue-collar town with some influence of educational institutions.  Dairy is apparently big here as well as meat processing and, increasingly, tourism.  They have a beautiful park downtown (Queen's Park) and it looks like the downtown commercial area is undergoing some rejuevenation.  After sad farewells to those who were on their way today, I set out to explore the town.   

Looks like even this southernmost city is not free from gang issues.  Someone on our trip said this was not the first time they had seen a similar sign posted.  


A few Queen's Park photos.  I must get more rose bushes for my garden this year.












 


A few other sights in town...............










There were a few of us still in town for this extra day so we had one last nice meal together.  Most of us scattered the next day.  I had a great view of Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo as we flew by Mount Cook on the way to Auckland.  


While I was walking towards the international terminal in Auckland, there was a stark reminder of the fact that the airport experienced severe flooding just a few weeks ago.


A food-filled few hours in the airport lounge, and then the uneventful but long flight back to Vancouver and on to Calgary.  All went well, and I was happy to see my bed at the end of it.  Calgary had warm temps and little precipitation pretty much the whole time I was away, but -22C and 20cm of new snow upon arrival.  Welcome back to winter!  

Rather than go back to edit a previous post (February 15)......... here are some of Robyn's pictures from our kayak outing on Lake Wanaka.










And...........  that's a wrap!  Great trip, but I just wish my body had liked it a bit more.  

I finally had a chance to tally the numbers:

North Island:  16 days of riding (I took one off to visit with Linda).  
Total km:  1382 
Average km/day:  86.3
Total Climbing (Garmin):  48,450 feet.  Average per day:  3028
Total Descent (Garmin):  46,407 feet.  Average per day:  2900
Total Climbing (RWGPS):  64,304.  Average per day:  4019
Total Descent (RWGPS):  62,933.  Average per day:  3933

South Island:  16 days of riding.
Total km:  1320
Average km/day:  82.5
Total Climbing (Garmin):  37,800 feet.  Average per day:  2363
Total Descent (Garmin):  37,440 feet.  Average per day:  2340
Total Climbing (RWGPS):  57,740 feet.  Average per day:  3609
Total Climbing (RWGPS):  57,354 feet.  Average per day:  3585

Total (both islands):  32 days of riding.  In addition to taking the day off to visit with Linda, I rode in the van for parts of a few days.  I believe those who rode EFI tallied close to 3000 km.
Total km:  2701
Average km/day:  84.4
Total Climbing (Garmin):  86,250 feet.  Average per day:  2695
Total Descent (Garmin):  83,847 feet.  Average per day:  2620
Total Climbing (RWGPS):  122,044 feet.  Average per day:  3814
Total Descent (RWGPS):  120,287 feet.  Average per day:  3759





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