Epilogue day 1: Christchurch

I'm not sure if I should reveal what I did today, it may seem a little eccentric. But that's how it is with cyclists. We sometimes do very strange things, probably in order to play games with our heads because when you're in a long sportive or race you can always think back to that crazy training session you did which was much worse than what you're currently going through.

So, inspired by the fantastic book I'm reading - "Open" by Andre Agassi, I'll be open ;)

There's a park near the hostel, Hagley Park, where a lap of the southern half is 3.27 kms. It's as flat as a pancake, with 3 metres of altitude on each lap!

There's a Strava challenge each month - ride 130 kms in one ride. I've done them all this year, but not yet the December one.

My bike's on it's last legs. The shifter has stopped working so I've got one gear, medium hard, so any prospect of riding the December challenge requires me to either find a good bike shop or a flat course.

I've just completed a 39 stage "ride around in circles" around New Zealand.

Put that all together and it's obvious what I spent over 5 hours doing this afternoon and evening. I rode 39 laps of Hagley Park South. 133 kms. Mission accomplished.

During each lap, which lasted just over 7 minutes, I slowly went through what I had experienced on each of my 39 days here. Talk about therapeutic!

A memorable ride.

Day 39: Onuka Farm Hostel - Christchurch

Full circle! Or closer to an 8,500 km figure  eight around both North & South New Zealand. So I woke early this morning with 38 legs of this fantastic journey behind me wondering if the final link back to Christchurch would match some of the other many highlights. I was not to be disappointed!

There can be few better places to cook an early morning breakfast than the external kitchen at the Onuka Farm Hostel. Glorious views, twittering of birds and perfectly clear skies. Today was going to be a good day.

Jeff & Sami sorted the 6 of us out with wetsuits & fins and we drove down to the beach, hopped aboard the boat and headed out to sea to look for dolphins.

The water was incredibly still and it didn't take long for us to spot our first Hector dolphins of the day.

The Hector dolphins are the world's smallest and rarest, only a few thousand found around the coasts of New Zealand. You only get to get in and swim with them if they're feeling settled and "happy" with your company and unfortunately the first groups we saw didn't hang around for very long. So Jeff took us out to the open sea and around the dramatic volcanic coastline as a little extra before then coming back in to the harbour to see if the dolphins were ready to swim with us.

Soon we were joined by a sizable group who seemed comfortable with us, so we donned snorkels and fins and rolled overboard.

What followed was a truly amazing natural experience. About an hour or so of swimming with curious, playful and incredibly agile creatures. Unforgettable.

We could have stayed in the water all day long, but gradually the dolphins seemed to get a bit bored with us so they started to disperse. We climbed back aboard the boat to a welcome cup of tea and a biscuit and as soon as Jeff fired up the motor to steer us back towards shore the dolphins returned and we were treated to a display of swimming and leaping beside and in front of the boat.

Not a bad way to spend a morning and in a beautiful setting.

Got a shower and changed back at the hostel then took the incredibly scenic route over the peninsula and back towards Christchurch.

Next task was to take care of all the practicalities - fuel the car, check in to the hostel, leave my bike and luggage, drive out to the airport to leave the car then get the bus back in to the city centre.

It's quite amazing to see Christchurch city, almost 4 years after the first of the two earthquakes. There are still so many ruined buildings and some that haven't even been touched since they collapsed.

Parts of the city are basically construction sites.

But also there are signs of revitalization. Anything from street art and street food stalls to "shipping container" shopping malls and creative solutions.

Then there are some isolated islands with buildings or whole streets that were completely unscathed.

So after a walk around Christchurch, a couple of beers and a bite to eat I wandered back to the backpackers for an early night.

Dolphins don't do panoramas, so we end with this instead.

Day 38: Methven - Onuka Farm Hostel

I had a strong feeling of melancholy this morning as I woke to light drizzle, darker skies and the prospect of pointing myself away from the mountains and generally in the direction of Christchurch, my starting point for this amazing tour around New Zealand and also my finishing point which I'll reach tomorrow.

But first today!

The landscape around Methven is pan flat. As you drive away from the hills there isn't a single metre of altitude change for about 100 kms, with the exception of the Rakaia River and it's dramatic gorge.

This is great arable and grazing land with huge fields, although the sheep still for some reason wanted to be closely bunched in a corner.

What you also see a lot of in New Zealand and especially in this area are high straight hedges separating and I guess protecting the fields from wind or snow.

Then suddenly the landscape changes as you reach the Banks peninsula, the area created by volcanoes south of Christchurch which looks like this on a map.

I drove into Akaroa, the main village in the area, which has a very strong French feeling to it as it was mainly settled by French in the early 1800's.

After a coffee break and a walk around the harbour I continued the final few kms to Onuka Farm Hostel, my overnight destination tucked away up a steep hill and overlooking the bay.

It was still a little drizzly so being in such a calm and peaceful location I decided just to relax for the rest of the day, kept company by the house goose.

This place is idyllic and the people working here are so welcoming and friendly. Little touches like giving you free vegetables when you check in! Had a nice chat with the owner Jeff and a Swedish girl Maria who works here. Chill out paradise!

I've also just read the best opening chapter of a book I can remember reading - Andre Agassi's autobiography "Open". So the rest of the evening is taken care of.

And the best news is that tomorrow Jeff will be skippering the farm boat and taking 3 of us swimming with dolphins!!!

Today's "panorama of the day" is the view I've had all afternoon.