Distance: 119.45 km
Ride time: 6:20:32
Average: 18.9 km/h
Total: 19409 km
Last night I had found a Department of Conservation camp site just as the sun was setting. I could see there was another cyclist staying, but he had already gone to sleep. This morning I said hello to Jim from the UK. He was leaving early and said he would give a beer if I couch up with him later. Unfortunately I never did.
Instead I was taking the time to explore a bit of the surroundings. Lyell was a gold town in the late 1800′s. I made a short walk across New Zealands longest swing bridge to check out some of the old gold mining sites.
Throughout most of the day I was following the Buller Gorge until the road started to climb over a ridge. At the top (600 meter above sea level) I enjoyed the nice view and another tuna sandwich before a fast downhill.
If anything bad can be said about New Zealand it is that everything is too perfect: The roads a good, the views are fantastic, and the people are friendly. Many tourists have of course realized this, so there are auto campers and even cycle tourers everywhere. Some days I do perhaps miss a bit of adventure like, for example, cycling through Sumatra and not meeting another tourist for two weeks.
