23-29 July The harsh realities of Southern Hemisphere winter

Auckland and Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Central Business District, Auckland - it is cold here!

We spent our first day in Auckland finding our bearings and also spending lots of time at iSite, the official New Zealand tourist information. We have decided to do a circular tour of the North Island, visiting the Bay of Islands, the Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty which is the wine growing region, Wellington, and the mountainous central part of the island as well as Rotorua. We have also hired a car at less than £10/ day.


Although it is mid-winter in New Zealand it is mild in Auckland and also quite dry. From what we can see on the news it is better to be in New Zealand in winter than in rain drenched Britain in the middle of summer.


While we were in Auckland we visited Auckland museum and saw a fantastic performance of the haka. We can understand why the early European settlers were terrified of the Maori when they performed the haka. We have also bought a computer! It means that we are able to upload photos to the blog and hopefully also be able to update it more regularly.


On our way north to the Bay of Islands we stopped to visit the Tiri Tiri Matanga bird reserve. It is a small island north west of Auckland where all natural predators have been removed allowing rare birds like the kiwi to survive. We saw lots of exotic birds including the colourful, flightless Takahae which is a bit like a bird version of a cow. It spends all its time eating grass.

Grazing takahae

On our way up to the Bay of Islands we got the full taste of New Zealand's narrow, winding and hilly roads where dual carriageways are the exception rather than the norm. Our heap of junk on wheels is not helping the situation. We try to stay close to the speed limit which is usually 100/kph, but even with the gas pedal in the floor the car struggles to reach 60/kph. You get what you pay for and when you pay less than £10 per day it will not be a car that moves fast.

Interior of Maori meeting house, Waitanga Treaty Grounds

We are staying in Russell, a small tourist town that is very quiet because it is middle of winter. In the early 1800s it was known as the hell hole of the pacific and Charles Darwin on his visit here described its residents as "the refuse of society". These days Russell is a gentrified tourist town with enormous mansions lining the ridge above the town. Only a couple of miles from here is Waitanga where the treaty between England and New Zealand was signed in 1840.

Russell, Bay of Islands

16-21 July Life on the beach in Fiji

Treasure Island, Fiji

Oh boy it is tough being on the beach in Fiji... How will we ever be able to return to the harsh realities of cocktail free life.

Treasure Island, Fiji

We left San Francisco on Sunday 15 July with 30 minutes to spare on our visas and Arrived in Fiji on Tuesday 17th July after a 10 hour flight. We crossed the international date line on our way here and managed to miss Monday morning. One less Monday morning in our life will not hurt us.


We landed in Fiji without anywhere to stay. Our flight arrived in Nadi at 5.10 am (bad planning) and we spent the morning waiting at the airport while reading the Fiji Lonely Planet Guide. In spite of our early arrival a small group of Fijians singing and playing guitars had assembled in the arrivals hall to welcome us. They managed to completely distract the 300 people on our flight and we all stood and gawped at them and forgetting that we needed to get through passport control and to collect our luggage.


At 8am we made our way to Nadi city centre. Our destination was the official tourist information. An incredibly friendly and helpful lady there arranged booking an ocean front bure, a small Fijian style house, at Treasure Island. She also organised the logistics of getting us to and from the island as well as one night in another resort closer to the airport.


While we were in Nadi we sampled some local fish curry, it was very nice, and we also got to experience the hard sell of the street boys. Street boys are men rather than boys, they are not homeless and their objective is to prey on unsuspecting tourists. Their tactic is to ply tourists with Kava, the local narcotic fire water and then sell whatever wares they have available at hugely inflated prices. We managed to steer clear of them but not without one of them explaining to us that Fijian are no longer cannibals!


Treasure Island is a tiny coral island, about 10 miles west off the coast of Nadi. It is a haven of peace and relaxation. There is not much to do here apart from snorkeling, swimming, reading our books that we didn't have the energy to read while we were cycling and just sit around enjoying the good weather and those cocktails. It takes about 15 minutes to walk all the way around the island. There is a white sandy beach that stretches around the island and coconut palms and hibiscus bushes growing on the island. It looks much like what you'd imagine a tropical island would look like.

How high can Stephen manage to swing the hammock before Mette gets thrown off??

We had a very nice stay in Fiji, but the coup at the end of last year has left the political situation unstable and it has manifest itself especially on the mainland. Our last 24 hours in Fiji was a comedy of errors and all the warnings about Fiji time and being careful on the mainland came into reality. Our luggage got lost when we left Treasure Island and made its way to another glorious island and not the mainland where we were headed. Thankfully we were re-united with our bag a few hours later.

Running around Treasure Island while the sun was setting was very nice and the cocktail afterwards tasted sooo good. The resort rugby team was traning in the background

The following morning we got up at the crack at dawn to catch our 8.45am flight which it turned out had been rescheduled to 7am. We rushed through securityand managed to get through with a large bottle of water in our hand luggage. We rushed through emigration and didn't pay the Fiji $30 departure tax. We ran to the gate only to be told by a cross lady "not yet, not yet". The entire crew on our flight had gone on unofficial strike and the plane was waiting for another crew to arrive. 4 hours later we were very glad to be on our way to New Zealand... The joys of Fiji time and too low wages for flight attendants working for Air Pacific.

5 - 15 July - Life without cycling

We spent a few days in San Francisco sorting out the logistics of sending our bikes and panniers back to the UK. Had we been able to see into the future we may have chosen not to send the bikes back with FedEx. We had an enjoyable and slightly hilarious walk through San Francisco carrying two enormous bike boxes from the bike shop back to our hotel. The best way of carrying the boxes was for Stephen to hold the front of the boxes while Mette was holding the back of the boxes. We looked like a small train making our way along the sidewalks. We attracted some quizzical looks and some interesting comments, including "good team work!" from a hip hop guy with a golden grin (literally).

After sending the bikes back we hired a car (a PT Cruiser renamed a PT Crapster because it was a heap of junk with the turning circle of a bus and awful to drive). In spite of the awfulness of the car it was great to be mobile again and at speeds greater than 15 mph. We headed south along route 1 to Monterey, down the Big Sur. We stopped at Monterey and Caramel-by Sea, both tourist honey pots, particularly Carmel. We spent a day at the fabulous Monterey Aquarium watching sharks, tuna, jelly fish, schools of anchovies swimming around and around and around and around...

Jellyfish drifting down at Monterey Aquarium

Next stop was the amazing, incredibly lavish and unbelievable Hearst Castle, the home of William Randolph Hearst, the publish magnate of the 30s and 40s. Hearst Castle contains the collection of antiques, art and other collectibles that Hearst acquired over the years. It is a random mix of beautiful objects from all over the world across the centuries. It was a truly American experience.

Opulent outdoor swimming pool at Hearst Castle

As an antidote to Hearst we made our way to Yosemite, probably the most awe inspiring place we have visited in the US. We spent our time hiking and attending ranger walks and lectures. We learnt a lot about the flora. We got to see more bears up close, including one that climbed an apple tree in the car park, made itself comfortable on a branch and proceeded to strip the tree of apples. It was oblivious to the hordes of people that gathered under the tree.

View of El Capitan in the foreground and the Half Dome in the background to the right

Half Dome and El Capitan were just amazing and our running trips along the valley floor are probably the most scenic runs we will ever do.

Wednesday 4 July - Independence Day in San Francisco

No cycling today, tomorrow, next week or next month!

We have celebrated 4th of July in San Francisco on the harbour near Golden Gate Bridge. We started the day by doing a serious amount of laundry and also throwing away some of the rather smelly stuff that is no longer fit for wearing in public.

Celebrating in our new clothes with Jeff

After lunch we headed to REI, an outdoor shop in SOMA. Our route took us through "the hood" and "Sleazy" 6th Street, it took sightseeing to a new depth or new low. It was pretty grim. Clearly there is a big homelessness and drug problem in this city. In the end we took a taxi the last few blocks to REI. What a great shop REI is, outdoor heaven and it had a sale on! We kitted ourselves with lots of new gear, including running shoes, a new bag and a rucksack.

Today we bought Lonely Planet guides for Fiji and New Zealand as we need to start planning the next stages of our trip.

In the evening we met with Jeff, our new cycling buddy, for dinner. We enjoyed a pleasant meal at a seafood restaurant by the harbour and watched the spectacular fireworks from our table. It seemed like a very fitting end to our cycling trip. Jeff was also finishing his tour of the Pacific coast, so we had a double celebration. It was very generous of the kind people of San Francisco to put on such a fantastic firework display just for the completion of our trip. We have since learnt that they were actually celebrating good riddance of the Brits :)

Fireworks over San Francisco harbour

Tusday 3 July - Crossing the Golden Gate

Bodega Bay - San Francisco

73 miles
6 hours and 43 minutes in the saddle
31.1 mph max speed
10.8 mph average speed

We have reached the end of our cycle trip. This evening we cycled across the Golden Gate and into San Francisco. It was quite emotional to get the first view of the city across the bay from Sausolito. At that point it dawned on us how far we have come and all we have is our bikes and two panniers of clothes. We have traversed North America from east to west and have also cycled part of the Pacific coast. It is a big achievement and has been a great adventure. We will treasure the memories for a life time.

At the Golden Gate bridge, before our final leg of cycling

Our last day was not without some high drama. Four motorbikes overtook a big truck on a blind bend and pushed me off my bike. I fell into a ditch full of thistles and a barbed wire fence. Thankfully, I wasn't injured apart from a grazed knee (it had only just healed from the previous crash) and a bruised bottom. The ditch was quite deep and I was stuck with my bike on top of me and with my shoes clipped into the pedals. I can only imagine that sheep must feel the same way when they fall over and can't manage to turn around. Thankfully Stephen and two other strong men that were nearby managed to lift me and the bike up and out of the ditch.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The delay meant that Jeff was able to catch up with us. We cycled together all the way to San Francisco and have arranged to meet with him to celebrate 4th of July and the completion of our bike rides.

Perhaps we will do another big ride like this one in the future, but not for a good few years.

Monday 2 July - Our second last cycling day

Point Arena - Bodega Bay

65 miles
5 hours and 15 minutes in the saddle
37.9 mph max speed
12.3 mph average speed

It was very tempting to extend our stay in Point Arena Cove. Unfortunately for us and fortunately for our budget the B&B was fully booked for tonight. Still, we got to enjoy the view of the Pacific from our room and had the most wonderful breakfast so far on this trip. We finally managed to get back on the bikes at 11.30 after telling all the other guests about our trip and a long discussion with our host on private vs. public health care. It is a big topic here because of Michael Moore's latest film on the American health care system.

Route 1 is both very beautiful and very scary to ride. The scenery is stunning, blue sea, steep cliffs, yellow poppies, blue sky. The road is like a roller coaster on some sort of hallucinogenic that's only available in California. It bends, twists, turns and never seems to give up.

Today was our penultimate bike ride and we are looking forward to reaching San Francisco. We can't wait to throw out some of our particularly pungent cycling clothes that have lasted 4500 hot and sweaty miles.

Sunday 1 July - Our first puncture!

Fort Bragg - Point Arena Cove

48 miles
4 hours and 1 minute in the saddle
37.5 mph max speed
11.9 mph max speed

Finally the nail that has been wedged in my tyre for the last 2000 miles (at least!) made it through to the inner tube and caused our first puncture. That meant that we didn't get started cycling till 11.30am. While we were extracting the 1" nail and changing the inner tube, Jeff, another cyclist came by and stopped for a chat and general entertainment that our misfortune provided. Soon after my tyre was fixed we met up with Jeff again in Mendocino and had lunch together on the sea front.

Mendocino is a very pretty and very touristy seaside resort perched on top of steep cliffs. In many ways the northern Californian coast is like Cornwall, but with constantly good weather. Mendocino has numerous B&Bs, bakeries and restaurants and is a nice place to stop over. We liked it so much we decided it would be a good place to stay the night, even if it would mean that we would only do an 11 mile day. Unfortunately the prices for rooms were astronomical and far beyond what our budget can stretch to, so we got back on our bikes and headed to Point Arena. It was a good decision. Tonight we are staying in a tiny fishing port where we can watch the fishermen haul up their catch of mainly wild salmon.

Saturday 30 June - Getting back on track

Garberville - Fort Bragg

70 miles
6 hours and 23 minutes in the saddle
33.3 mph max speed
10.8 mph average speed

Finally a proper bike ride! Our route took us through more Redwood forests, before we turned off route 101 and took famous route 1 out to the coast. We will follow route 1 for the next few days, hugging the coast as we head towards San Francisco. The northern Californian coast line has steep hills and cliffs and the road it narrow and winding. We spend as much of our time concentrating on avoiding the traffic as avoiding pot holes and also riding off the road! Still, we love being by the Pacific and hearing, seeing and smelling the sea.

Friday 29 June - Blending in with the locals?

Fortuna - Garberville

53 miles
4 hours and 29 minutes in the saddle
25.9 mph max speed
11.8 mph average speed

We continue to make slow progress along the coast - so much for our intentions of doing a big ride today. Because we no longer have the detailed adventure cycling maps we don't have the information on accommodation options available in the towns along the coast. We thought it would be easy to do the Pacific coast ride without the AC maps because this is a touristy area, but unfortunately many of the towns and villages we pass through are so small there is nowhere to stay.

Our plan for today was to reach Leggett, another 25 miles south from Garberville. During lunch we found out that Leggett has very limited accommodations and that any motel there would like be run by "dope heads", we decided that Garberville would be the best place to stop.

We have cycled along the Avenue of the Giants, 30 miles of amazing Redwood forest. When we left the forest the heat became more noticeable and also some of the hill tops were barren. Since reaching the Oregon coast we have been cycling through forests, even when we have been very close to the ocean.

California is unlike any other state we have visited. Scenery is spectacular and the show of wild flowers along the road provide a burst of colour. What really makes Californian people stand out is their embrace of alternative life styles. In Eureka's local news paper a lawyer specialising in marijuana law advertised in full colour. We have cycled past the very peaceful looking Hare Krishna training centre and we have met a 65 year old, grey haired, dread locked cyclist riding a recumbent across the US. Here anything goes and when we tell people about our trip no one seems to think we are crazy any longer.

Thursday 28 June - Catching the bus

Klamath - Fortuna

48 miles
4 hours and 23 minutes in the saddles
28.6 mph max speed
10.9 mph average speed

We continued our very leisurely ride along the California coast. Today we have made better progress than our mileage indicates. When we got to Arcata we caught the bus for 40 miles to get to Fortuna. What was even better, the bus dropped us off in front of the Super 8, which was opposite a micro brewery and a restaurant. It was like getting all the things we could possibly wish for at once, and it required very little effort! Fabulous. We caught the bus because the bike route runs along the 101 which between Arcata and Eureka is a busy freeway.

Before we reached Arcata we enjoyed more Ozark like roller coaster hills through the redwood forests. Our luck with the wind has changed and we have suffered rare southerly headwinds. The weather gods must have known that we are heading south.

Tomorrow we will do a proper bike ride and not another easy sub-50 miles ride.

Wednesday 27 June - Crossing into California

Brookings - Klamath

55 easy miles
4 hours and 57 minutes in the saddle
29.6 mph max speed
11 mph average speed

Another easy day packed with beautiful sights. We have seen lots more spectacular coast line and enjoyed spotting wildlife. We have seen brown pelicans, cormorants and honking sea lions. They really are incredibly noisy. We think that sea lions are the aqueous equivalent of cows, as far as noise is concerned.

We have reached California, our last state on this trip. Today we have cycled along Del Norte coast redwood forest. The trees are enormous, we hurt our necks looking up and it caused us to swerve dangerously into the road. Our advice is to view redwood when you are standing still and not while you are cycling (and especially not while you are driving!).

Tuesday 26 June - Taking it easy in Oregon

Gold Beach - Brookings
31 miles (we are getting lazy)
10.1 mph average speed
30.8 mph max speed
3 hours and 4 minutes in the saddle

The plan was to cross into California today, but we are finding it hard to leave the beautiful Oregon coast. The coastal fog was as thick as pea soup today and it was freezing cold, it just didn't make for enjoyable cycling and since we are no longer in a hurry we decided to take it easy for the second day running.

After 30 miles of cycling we stopped at picturesque Harris Beach for lunch. We had fabulous views of sea stacks shrouded in the mist from our picnic table and spent a long time just sitting around doing nothing, that's a novelty. After a while we got chatting to an elderly couple that seemed to have been travelling the world for the last 12 years. They had lived in Spain and Greece for several years and were now touring the US in their RV. By the time we had finished talking to them it was late so we decided to stay in Brookings.