Glaciers and sea – so much to see!
We had been informed ahead that there would not be enough possibilities to buy food on the West Coast, therefore we had breakfast and dinner for four days in our bags. In fact there were a couple of shops on the way, although they were a bit more expensive than the big ones in the cities.
First thing we recognised in the West: Everything is amazingly green again. It is a fact that the West Coast is more humid than the rest of New Zealand. That we could confirm on every single morning when our tent was completely wet although it hadn’t been raining. But the flora is impressive with its mixture of tropical plants and such that we know from Middle Europe. Also it was the first time we could cycle quite next to the sea. 🙂
After a first easy cycling day we met Marc and Katharina again on our small camp site, also we got to know the two cyclists Ivars and Annika from the Netherlands. The camp site was full of cyclists. 😀
We had planned to just pass Fox and the Fox Glacier and proceed cycling, but then we also stayed there for the night as did the other cyclists. So we could enjoy the sunny afternoon on our camp site, altough the helicopters around there were very loud and therefore made it hard to relax…
The next day started with a surprise: After a couple of kilometers Alexandras back wheel had a flat tire. Great. As we were working on the bicycle next to the road we were overtaken by the other cyclists, but they – of course – offered their help. The best recommendation was from Marc and Katharina: Put a banknote between the tire and the tube to avoid further scratches and holes by the same thing. Said and done.
But then in Franz Josef the tire was flat again. Awesome! While the other four could enjoy some coffee and cake we had to work on the bicycle again. And this time the banknote had caused a cut and a hole in the tube. Of course Stefan had to tell the others about our findings immediately and we all had to laugh. 😀
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