For the first time in recent memory, the morning was truly sunny, with no drips, drizzle, or mist to dampen us at any point during the day. Even better, the tent was free from condensation, likely a combination of the giant tree blocking its heat from rushing off to space, and the steady wind that… Read more…

The warm glow from our cabin door lighted the cool pre-dawn darkness at 6am, due to our alarm waking us earlier than it has in quite some time. Despite no tent to takedown, we still didn’t get rolling until 8:30am, so we must be out of practice. The “good” news was that the headwind was… Read more…

Day 2 Rain is coming in a couple days. We have no dates ahead on our calendar that we need to ride to, so “living cheaply but comfortably in New Zealand” is our main goal. Despite the rain, this water-warmed peninsula covers the “comfortably” part, this holiday park covers the “cheaply” part, and the town… Read more…

At 5:30am we were awakened with a surprise bit of rain, that wasn’t in anyone’s forecast. Our bikes were uncovered, but rather than wapping all the bags, I just ran them under the gazebo where we had eaten last night. Another advantage to effectively having the campground to ourselves! I have a sun-tracking app that… Read more…

Another wet-tent morning, but with our third 15-mile-or-less day in a row (this one with no other excursions planned), we didn’t need to hit the road until 10am “checkout”, which gave plenty of time for the rising sun to dry everything out. I think that’s a first; normally we need to get moving out of… Read more…

Clear skies above us overnight combined with well-hydrated grass below us to make the tent and every surface on our bicycles super-wet. Compounding the water-water-everywhere was the fact that we arrived back from the beach last evening after sunset, with wet clothes and shoes that had zero chance to dry. Now nearly four months past… Read more…