After breakfast, we had a short shuttle along the dramatic
cliffs above the Tasman Sea, to the Haast Visitor’s Center. Along the way we stopped for views of the
coastline. At our present latitude and
going west, the first land you would encounter would be the coast of Argentina
in South America. We are far south!!
We now began cycling beside the clear blue Haast River and
travelled east toward Haast Pass. As we
cycled, we left the last remnants of the rainforest and the trees were now
beech. The sky also began to clear to
give us clear views of the snow-peaked mountains and distant waterfalls. After 52 km of riding through absolute
gorgeous countryside, a decision had to be made about continuing on the
optional 37 km ride over Haast Pass. I
decided to go for it and proceed on the steepest climb of the entire trip. The ascent to Haast Pass involved about 3 km
of constant steep ascent. The scenery
was gorgeous, but it was grueling. At
the pass, the road changed to a steep descent into the Makarora River Valley. Then the ride proceeded through Mt. Aspiring
National Park with its towering snow-capped mountains – absolutely beautiful. In total, I biked 89 km to the Makarora
Country Café meeting point.
From here we were shuttled past Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea
and then to our respective local homestay.
The four of us stayed with Jan and P. L. Anderson at their lovely home
that sits on a rise with a gorgeous view of Mt. Aspiring. Jan took us for a tour of Wanaka and PL, who
was a shepherd, showed us how his dogs work the sheep. We had a great time and really enjoyed the Kiwi
hospitality with a home-cooked meal of lamb, green beans, yams, sweet potatoes,
and raspberry tart accompanied by several bottles of wine.
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