Te Anau to Tuatapere, Tuesday 8 February









1) Lake Manapouri

2) Martin and Peter riding with a tail wind and no cars

3) Martin and Peter riding across the plain from Te Anau




After yesterday's rain on the minibus trip today was back to bright and clear weather with temperatures reaching 28C.

We had a good hot breakfast at our B & B and set off first alongside Lake Te Anau and then across a magnificent plain with a backdrop of the primordial mountains of Fiordland National Park.

We abruptly came down to Lake Manapouri reputed to be New Zealand's most beautiful with mountains rising up from its shores. We stopped here at a pub for an early lunch and to stock up on supplies for the rest of the days ride. Pedallers Paradise advised and this was confirmed by locals that there were no shops or cafes and few habitations for the remaining 50 miles to Tuatapere.

As we rode from Manapouri the Cheviot Hills rose to one side of us backed by the 1600 metre peaks of the Takitimu Mountains.

The road was now due south for the rest of the ride and the wind gradually increased to a strong northerly. At the same time apart from some short climbs the road was gradually downhill from the 400 metre summit of Jerico Hill to Tuatapere at 70 metres. This made for a rare ideal day of cycling as we rode along effortlessly. Peter was in the lead for a while and easily maintained a speed of 17mph. To top it all off we enjoyed an open road with an average of a car every 5 minutes.

A group of 3 Touring Cyclists going in the opposite direction seemed a little jealous as one called out "You choose the right day to be going in the right direction"

In the afternoon we took a break at the Clifden Suspension Bridge over the River Waiau at the village of Clifden.

Distance for the day was 63.4 miles with 1541 ft of climb and 2037 ft of descending. Average speed was 12.4 and riding time was 5 hours.