I had arranged to meet Sean and John C by the Hokitika Bridge at 7am. The days were shorter the further south we went and it was still dark. Also there were intermittent bursts of heavy rain and thick cloud. As we started we were lashed by torrential rain which made it hard to see more than a couple of metres. We found a roadside shelter and waited out the worst of it. It was raining cats and dogs and blue whales. It didn’t last long though and shortly later we were riding in sunny conditions. We stopped at Ross where Brendhan and Quin were having some breakfast and so we joined them. From here it’s all main road and tarseal. I found it quite tough mentally and I was still feeling a little sick so it was just a matter of covering the ks. We stopped for breaks at Lake Ianthe and Harihari as well as a couple of other random stops on the way. The traffic wasn’t too bad but it was always a concern. There were a lot of rental cars; white Toyota Highlanders being especially popular.
Old rail line to Ross.
I was very happy to get to Franz Josef. I would have happily pitched the tent but John was keen to share a cabin at the Top 10. The cabin was very small, and the beds unmade so we went back to reception to ask they be made. They were very apologetic and upgraded us to a bigger cabin for no extra charge! There was now a spare bed for Sean but he was worried about his snoring so very considerately bivvied outside. We had a good meal in town with Brendhan and Quin who also ended up at the Top 10.
That night I woke up feeling sick, weak and light headed. I had a couple of panadol and decided I would be going nowhere tomorrow.
