8th Jan 2010 – 23rd Feb 2010. 
Our journey has now been sucessfully completed. In 23 cycling days we managed to get oursleves and our bikes across the whole of New Zealand from Cape Reinga in the far North to Bluff at the far South.
Favourite bits: getting fit and eating lots of pies, simplicity of life on a bike with only 2 panniers, sunshine when it’s winter at home, variety of scenery, big mountain passes, stunning coast line and dramatic gorges, being outdoors all the time, C2C race and training on the Waimak and Goats Pass, meeting hundreds of fab people, a flat white (coffee to keep the wheels turning), freedom to go wherever we wanted, contributing to green travel, when a down-hill gets you up the next up-hill, hitting our top speed (73kpm!), no queues for anything, singer in Queenstown, creme brulee flavoured fudge in Kaikora, getting txt from people we met on route, finding each other after we’d lost each other in Plimmerton, jumping out of a plane at 12000ft, getting an applause at Bluff, edible gifts, very few mechanical issues, being able to sort the mechanical issues we did get ourselves with no male intervention, going fast, wearing newly washed cycling clothes, brilliant hospitality.
Toughest bits: freezing feet and numb toes in Lindus Valley, driving head wind leading to Queenstown that stopped us in our tracks even going down hill, paddling on the Avon during the C2C race in a sea kayak, long flat stretch between Dargaville and Brynderwyn, realising the journey has come to an end, tent leaking and waking up wet and freezing cold on more than one occasion, arriving in Queenstown and realising we’d have to camp as backpackers were full, being woken by Roy Noble at 4.00am for a radio interview after a late night out, having to look at Tori’s ridiculous tan.
Stats:
23 cycling days
2400km
max speed 73kmp
4-8hrs cycling per day
rest stops every 3-5 days
muffins eaten = lost count
muffins replaced by pies = 10
most car horn toots in a day = 15
Most common thoughts at the end of the day:
(1) Great, freeze dried pasta and tuna for dinner again!
(2) Bloody hell, this final 10k is taking a long time, at least I’m not running it! Note to self: peddle harder and I’II get there quicker.
(3) Bugger, not another night in the tent!
(4) I can’t wait to go skinny dipping and freshen up!
(5) I wonder what Tori would think if I suggest we keep going and do a night cycle?
(6) I wonder what country would be good to cycle next?
Most commonly asked questions:
(1) How far do you cycle each day? approx 100k
(2) Did you bring the bikes over from the UK? Yes
(3) Was that expensive? No, bikes go free on Air New Zealand
(4) Have you been friends for a long time? laugh, no we met through a newspaper article a few months ago
Things I’ve learned about Maria:
She invented a made up language at school and can still speak it!
Her tent pitch must always be perfectly flat
She loves skinny dipping
She likes doing headstands
She loves licorice.
She likes to go FAST
She has endless energy
She believes any culinary combination works, broccoli tea and cottage cheese porridge
Things I’ve learned about Tori:
She can drink 7 pints of beer and still walk without swaying
She misses her jewellery and make up
She’s fanatical about shaking her hair dry
She is very organised
She will never give up, even when the going gets tough
She’s very proud to be Welsh
We have one more very exciting engagement before we fly home so keep watching for our final post.
