Pomaly Ďalej Zájdeš

After beautiful lakes and mountain passes, it was time to leave the heights behind and head down toward the ocean.

We set off from Lake Tekapo with a storm on our heels, and since Kika's knee was giving her a bit of trouble, we decided to take a rest day and call it quits after just 45km. Three and a half days on the bike was exactly the point where one free afternoon did us a lot of good. Along the way we even came across local art for the first time, a gallery with paintings of New Zealand nature. Some of them were really beautiful, but they were both out of our budget and something we could hardly lug around with us as a large painting.

The highlight of this stage was without question crossing the bed of the Rakaia River. This massive river with crystal-clear water snakes its way from the middle of the South Island all the way to the east coast, where it flows into the Pacific. At the point where we crossed, it spills out of a narrow canyon onto wide plains, forming countless small channels. When the snow is melting, it must be a really striking sight.

We ended up bypassing Christchurch, the South Island's biggest city, and chose instead to spend the night at a campsite right next to the ocean. There was still a free double bed in the micro-trailer, where we barely fit, but that only made it more fun. Our plans for a swim in the ocean were quickly revised once we saw the waves, we're not the worst swimmers, but this was really too much. Instead, we did a bit of grilling with the locals.

The last day of the stage was tough, about 100km into the wind across endless fields and hills. At the end, we were welcomed by the spa town of Hanmer Springs, where we stayed in a place that strikingly resembled a school camp. At the pub we met a local Slovak who's been herding sheep here for 7 years; he praised the pay and complained about the weather. We learned that his farm is almost right at the southern end of the island, where it rains practically nonstop and the wind often blows in straight from Antarctica.

Po krásnych jazerách a horských priesmykoch prišiel čas opustiť výšiny a ubrať sa cestou k oceánu.

Od jazera Tekapo sme vyrazili s búrkou v pätách a keďže Kiku troško pobolieva kolienko rozhodli sme sa dať si oddychový deň a zapichnúť to už po 45km. Tri a pol dňa na bajku bola presne doba kedy nám jedno voľné poobedie urobilo veľmi dobre. Cestou sme dokonca po prvý krát narazili na miestne umenie, galériu s obrazmi Zélandskej prírody. Niektoré boli fakt krásne, ale jednak nad náš budget a jednak by sme veľký obraz len ťažko trepali so sebou.

Highlightom tejto etapy bol jednoznačne prechod korytom rieky Rakaia. Masívna rieky s krištáľovo čistou vodou sa hadí zo stredu južného ostrova až východnému pobrežiu kde sa vlieva do Pacifiku. Na mieste nášho prechodu sa vylieva z úzkeho kaňona na široké pláne, kde tvorí nespočetné malé kanáliky. V čase keď sa topia snehy to musí byť naozaj zaujímavý pohľad.

Najväčšie mesto južného ostrova - Christchurch - sme nakoniec obišli a rozhodli sa radšej prespať v kempe hneď vedľa oceánu. Mali ešte voľnú dvojku v mikroprívese kde sme sa ledva vošli, no o to väčšia sranda to bola. Plány na kúpanie v oceáne sa nám rýchlo poopravili keď sme zbadali tie vlny, aj keď nie sme najhorší plavci tak toto bolo fakt moc. Miesto toho sme trochu pogrilovali s miestnymi.

Posledný deň etapy bol náročný, cca 100km proti vetru cez nekonečné polia a kopčeky. Na záver nás privítalo kúpeľné mestečko Hanmer Springs, kde sme sa ubytovali v niečom čo nápadne pripomínalo školu v prírode. V krčme sme stretli miestneho Slováka, ktorý tu už 7 rokov pasie ovce, pochvaľoval si plat a sťažoval sa na počasie. Zistili sme, že jeho farma je takmer úplne na južnom konci ostrova, kde prší prakticky nonstop a vietor duje často z Antarktídy.

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Through The Hills And Through The FieldsCez vŕšky a cez polia