Distance: 52.42 km
Ride time: 2:32:31
Average: 20.7 km/h
Total: 19461 km
I have now left the West Coast and is on the north part of the South Island. As I cycled into Motueka I was happy to be in a city again, enjoying the sight of a supermarket, library and free internet hotspots.
Internet is always a challenge. Libraries are the best, but I’m usually cycling in their opening times from 9:30 to 5. McDonald’s is another good bet, but their internet is slow and they don’t have power plugs. Finally some phone boxes have fast internet, but you will be sitting outside where it is hard to read the screen.
I have discovered a great trick to get cheap food. The supermarkets usually have some selection of hot food available. It could be pizza slices, lasagna (horse meat or not, I’m not fuzzy), sausages or chicken. Normally they not expensive but a little over my budget. I have now discovered that around 6-7 pm the supermarket will put the remaining food for sales. Sometimes very cheap, like less than a dollar for a pizza slice. I like!
Usually wild camping is working great in New Zealand even though finding a spot is a little harder than in Australia. This night I had planned to camp near the river next to Motueka, but I arrived late as it was already getting dark. I could still easily find a spot to put up my tent, but it was not hidden very well. To my surprise I found out that the river was some kind of a meet up place during the night, and unfortunately I had put my tent close to the action. Up until 2 am cars were passing by. What was going on down by the river at 2 in the morning I don’t really know, but hiding in my tent I imagined all kind of criminal activity. Luckily none of the cars stopped and approached my tent even though I think they must have seen it. I hope for better sleep tomorrow.
