Riding the West Coast - Part Two

After a below average sleep I was up early and on the road at about 7am.  A quick fuel-up in Hokitika and the Connie was pointed southwards.

The morning was fairly cool and anytime I got near a river or lake I got caught up in fog.  Dropping down off Mount Hercules I spotted a great photo opportunity – hills poking out of the mist and the sun shining down on them.  Unfortunately there was no easy place to stop so I had to carry on until I found an easier place to stop.

 

Back on the road again, I carried on as far Franz Josef where I decided to go and visit the glacier.  Getting to the car park was fine but I didn’t fancy a 20 minute walk up to the glacier for photos so I simply took a few from car park and then headed back to the main road.

 

I skipped the next chance to see a glacier at Fox and instead stopped at the picturesque Bruce Bay and let ScooterBob out to soak up the sunshine.

 

From Bruce Bay I made my way to Haast and even had some two-wheeled company when I caught up to a BMW, two-up and loaded for bear.  At Haast they carried on while I fuelled up and then decided to take ScooterBob down to Jackson Bay.

 

Jackson Bay is pretty much as far South that you can go on the West Coast (a 4WD might get you a bit further but eventually a river gets in the way) and it was well worth the extra miles, although I could have done without all the sand flies…

After feeding the sand flies I returned to Haast and then turned away from the Coast making for the Haast Pass.  I had a great ride through to the Gates of Haast although did have to weave my way around a number of keen cyclists.

 

My next stop was at Makarora where it was time for a quick lunch break before the last leg into Cromwell.  This last leg involved a couple of stops to check out Lakes Wanaka and Hawea:

Wanaka

 

Hawea

 

I eventually got into Cromwell sometime around 2:30 so have had time to do washing and to walk into town for a nice tea (Thai).  A great way to end a fantastic day’s riding (approx 600km).

Tomorrow’s ride is a pretty short one through to Dunedin so I won’t be in a hurry and will have time to have a bit of a look at the city.  Hopefully the forecasted rain stays away…

Still more pics here.