Day 36 Geraldine to Lake Tekapo 89km This was billed as a hilly day. Basically uphill. The owner of the backpackers we stayed in in Geraldine warned us. Hot, sunny, no wind. Take plenty of water and sunscreen. And hot it was, at 8am. By ten it was overcast and spitting. Gentle rain by 12. Heavy rain by 3. Then as we went over Burkes Pass we hit the headwind and a tough last section. For the last few days we've been warned that the roads would get busy and tha...

Day 35 Christchurch to Geraldine 172km. We were woken at 2am by an aftershock. Very unnerving. A second one at 2.30 meant little sleep for the rest of the night. We had intended to stay in Christchurch until Monday but our new obsession with wind direction and intensity prompted us to leave a day early and make the most of good cycling conditions. We heard later that there were 2 further large aftershocks in the morning, the largest being a 4.9er and then consta...

Day 34 Christmas Day A day off in lovely Christchurch. Warm and sunny. We spent the morning in the Antarctic Centre. Interesting and informative. Then lunch and a stroll in the botanical gardens. Christchurch is known as the garden city. It is very green and pretty and just about the right size. Then to Sarah and Pete who had kindly invited us to join their Christmas dinner. We felt a bit like underdressed gatecrashers but were made to feel so very welcome. And...

Day 33 Greta Valley to Christchurch 83km We had started to hear accounts of the earthquake yesterday but it wasn't until we neared Christchurch that we started to see the full impact. We set off in a fierce norwesterly which nearly blew us off the road twice. A lovely woman in a pickup stopped and gave us a ride 10km into Amberley. Coffee and breakfast consumed, we set off again. The final stretch of SH1 is motorway, so bikes aren't allowed and I'm told the p...

Day 32 Kaikoura to Greta Valley 104km. Minus 12km. Funny old day. Started with whale watching in a helicopter, which was incredible but curiously disappointing. We saw 3 male sperm whales and hundreds of dolphin in perfect conditions. But it felt weirdly over the top touristy plus, as Mark said, we hunt these animals to near extinction and then create an industry out of watching them. Anyway, done. Ticked off the list. So we set off for Christchurch planning...