Tour Aotearoa – the start line
The surf is rolling in at Tapoputa Beach at the top of the country, it is a gorgeous sound while I’m sitting in my tent writing this. The beach is…
Tour Aotearoa
One more day and then I fly to Auckland, a day for provisions and then up to the far North to start the next 20 or so days cycling 3000ish…
Mount Barney from the bike.
I had been down Barney View Road a few years ago as part of an Audax ride, I've been wanting to go back; now that it's winter and not just…
The original Murwillumbah Station
Northern Rivers Rail Trail – Part 1. Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek
Old railways make great places to ride bikes, they are flat, have lots of small towns and often have interesting histories. The Northern Rivers Rail Trail is a new trail…
Loking around on Straddie
A surprising variety of fish at Wavebreak Island
Wavebreak Island is a small island just North of the Spit on the Gold Coast. I had heard there was good diving there and had looked across at it a…
Harrisville Bakehouse
First Audax of the Year
Finally, the weather has cooled down a bit, so it was time for some riding - very long riding. I rarely write about Audax rides, the last post was the…
Queenstown Marathon – How I trained
This article is more of a diary reminder for myself on my training for the Queenstown Marathon, hopefully, someone else will also find it useful. While the Marathon isn’t easy,…
Queenstown Marathon – Flat Out Beautiful
Relatively early on November 11th saw me sitting on the veranda of the lovely historic Laurel Bank House just outside Queenstown, drinking coffee, eating my fruit and granola, and contemplating…
One of my favourite races, Griffith Uni Trail Run
Now that we are finally post-Covid events are beginning to fill the calendar again, I had done the Griffith Uni Trail Run a few years ago and loved it. Like…
Road Testing Ms New Boots
We do not really have many mountains in Australia, it is a very old country and they have mostly been warn away. While Brisbane is surrounded by ‘mountains’ they are…
Oh no!
Caboolture to Wamuran Rail Trail – Where did the road go?
A couple of weeks ago M and I decided to pack our bikes for a short ride just North of Brisbane. I had heard of another Rail Trail from Caboolture…
The Routeburn Track, stunning variety in just a few days
The Routeburn Track is a stunning hike in Fjordland on the South Island of New Zealand. The mix of alpine and rainforest with some great views is superb. I had done this walk a few years ago and consider it one of the best walks I’ve done anywhere in the world; the availability of huts all made for a perfect pick for Masako’s first multi-day hike outside Japan (and its superb hut system).
So it was off to Queenstown with DOCS hut bookings in hand.
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