Aspiring to Wanaka and Beyond

Haast Village is a bit of an outpost, located along the Haast river where it meets the Tasman Sea. It is here that I  started pedaling the Haast Pass, after a decent cappuccino. Haast is two thirds of the way down the west coast of the south island of New Zealand,  where Route 6 turns inland and follows the river up over the pass and through the Aspiring National Forest, across the Southern Alps. 

Haast is actually three separate tiny communities; Haast Junction, Haast Township and Haast Beach. Together, they claim to be the gateway the spectacular scenery in the area 
http://newzealandnz.co.nz/destinations/haast.html. 
Given that there is nothing between Haast and the Aspiring Park or the National Heritage Area to the north, I guess this is technically true.  

The first 30 miles east from Haast along is a pleasant and scenic bike ride with many views points and an easy gradient, ascending 400 ft over that distance.  There is a rest-stop at mile 32, complete with sand flies and a bathroom. We ate sandwiches out in the middle of the parking lot, where the sand flies were least abundant.  Then headed up the pass.

Just after the rest-stop, crossing over a bridge, there were incredibly loud sounds coming from the river, like someone with an excavator bowling with the river boulders.  I got off the bike, searched out a break in the brush and looked down to see just that.  An excavator in the river, moving around boulders, doing what the Kiwis call 'River Maintenance". 

The steep part of the climb began a ways after that bridge and that's where I joined the Haast Pass walkers club. As it was, a section of the road had slid away, right in the middle of the steepest section (18%), and there was road construction, with one way traffic controls, so I 'had' to walk!

After the summit, comes an exhilarating downhill for a several miles, and the scenery goes from the beautiful to the sublime, as the road descends from the lush rain forest of the west, to the lovely but arid shore of Lake Wanaka, then over a small climb to Lake Hawea.  The blue of the lakes is a hue that I can only describe as magical. The scenery eased the tiredness brought on by 77 miles of cycling. Full disclosure, I did SAG the last few miles into Wanaka.

Wanaka

Wanaka is delightful little tourist town, quite a contrast to Haast, and reminded me a bit of the north shore of Lake Tahoe.  Very comfortable, good coffee, ice cream and pastries!  The Patagonia coffee shop is a chocolate lover’s heaven.  Cases of scrumptious looking chocolate treats,

http://www.lakewanaka.co.nz/new-zealand/product/?product=patagonia-chocolates.

We spent a day enjoying the sights at Wanaka, did a bit of shopping (I needed sandals), and Mike and I took a rain-shortened bike ride.  We had hoped to get a flight to Milford Sound, but the weather was not cooperative. 

While the coffee and baked goods in Wanaka were great, I did encounter a particularly tough steak at the restaurant in our hotel.  The waiter brought a big knife with the steak, but I needed one of those Cutco knives that my son sold while in high school.  This steak was seriously tough, and others at my table remarked that they were getting exhausted just watching me wrestle with the damn thing.  I did manage to extract a few bites. 

Cromwell

Back on the bikes after an off day, we left Wanaka and after a few miles arrived at Cromwell.  The Grain and Seed café there is a great place to get a sammie and a cappuccino, then sit out on the stone wall and soak up the scenery.  I had the BLAT – Gluten Free! (see the menu below). The café is housed a beautiful old stone building, down a short hill from the main road. http://oldcromwell.co.nz/grain-n-seed-cafe/.

Moreover, there is a unique bike rack along the street, but if you are on a bike, be sure to shift to the lowest gear before rolling down said hill.  Otherwise, you are walking up. 

Queenstown

If Wanaka is like the North Shore of Lk. Tahoe, then Queenstown is a scaled down South Shore w/o the gambling. Lots of restaurants and shops, right along the Frankton Arm of the exquisite Lake Wakatipu. We stayed one night at the very posh Sofitel Hotel, which had a very entertaining men's restroom.

 

The local news was a bit interesting the day we arrived, as it concerned flooding the previous night of a few high-end shops. You see, above these shops there are hotel rooms, and a couple staying in one of the rooms, got plastered and were dancing on the tables.  Evidently, they got acrobatic and attempted to swing from the fire-sprinkler supply pipes overhead (Oops).  You can guess the rest. They broke the pipes, caused the flooding and ended up in jail. Oh yes, one further complication, they were Canadian, so they woke up with a headache, in jail in a foreign country. Moreover, they were facing a series of charges and potential lawsuits, and their pictures in the small town paper. Just having too much fun.

Trip to Milford Sound

One of the many fabulous places on the South Island is Milford sound.  It is remote, not easily accessible by land. Some folks hike for three days along the famous Milford Trek to get there, and others go by road, either driving or taking a bus on the 5hr (each way) trip. Neither the hiking (reservation required) nor ground transport were appealing, nor did the fit into our plans.  However, flying over the Remarkables mountain range to the sound seemed like a great option, and my friend Shelly was able to book a flight for four of us to and from, coupled with a boat trip around the sound.  (the Remarkables are so named because they are one of only two mountain ranges that are oriented perfectly north-south).

The trip to Milford is a terrific half day adventure.  We flew in a nice ‘small’ plane, right through the mountain range, a stone’s throw away from snow-capped peaks.  Much of the time the plane’s navigation system was screeching “TERRAIN! TERRAIN!”, and indeed, there was terrain nearby.  The scenery is fantastic, brilliant green glaciated valleys below magnificent snow-capped peaks.

Landing at Milford Sound is another part of the adventure. The sound is essentially a fjord, and opens into the Tasman Sea. To approach the landing strip, the plane flies out beyond the mouth of the sound, then back along the length of the sound, losing altitude.  The walls of the sound are high and shear, and the landing strip is on the inland end.  The pilot flies inland, beyond the landing strip and banks the airplane around in this relatively narrow sheer walled canyon. Then he just sits the plane down on the strip.  Nothing to it. Must be like flying in Alaska.

We depart the plane and a bus is waiting at the airstrip and takes us about a half mile to the boat dock.  We depart the bus at a large modern building, fronting 15 boat slips. The place is full of people, like a few hundred, coming and going off of boats. We are wondering ‘where did all these folks come from?’ In a couple of minutes we are handed lunch passes and directed over to slip #12.  A nice sized tour boat comes in, we get on and take a fabulous two and a half hr. cruise around the sound.  Then it is back on the bus to the plane and off on our flight back to Queenstown via a slightly different, but equally scenic route.  All in all, the operation is like a big cash machine, with Milford Sound as the hook. I must say it is a well-run trip to one of Mother Nature’s gems.

On our last day in Queenstown Mike and I rode up the Queenstown Gondola

http://www.skyline.co.nz/queenstown/gondola/.

This is a total tourist activity, with great views of the lake and mountains. There are mountain bike trails, bungi jumping and a luge run where one can ride a wheeled luges down a concrete track. After descending Haast Pass on a bike, the luges looked a bit tame and Disneyesque to me, although I’m sure bodies have been damaged on the luge course.  I steadfastly avoided the bungi platform.

We had 3 nights in Queenstown, and it seems we spent an inordinate amount of time at both the Patagonia Chocolate shop and the Atlas Beer Café. No complaints about either one.

http://atlasbeercafe.com/beer.html

http://www.patagoniachocolates.co.nz/location.php

3 DAYS OF SOLVANG!

Just back from having too much fun cycling around Solvang, CA. 

FYI, Solvang is a small town, a bit north of Santa Barbara, and in March the cycling there is fantastic, as the rolling landscape is green and temperatures are in the 70’s.  Solvang itself is a ‘Danish’ village, a bit touristy  http://www.solvangusa.com/, but it is a small walkable town in wine country (think the movie Sideways), and it has a very nice brewery.  I liked the Vahalla IPA, but all the brews were well reviewed by our group http://www.solvangbrewing.com/.    Solvang is also very welcoming to cyclists.  In fact, a few amateur teams train there.  The surrounding country side has a fair number of high end stables, as well as wide valleys filled with nut trees, and truck crops.  In particular, we saw a lot of broccoli on this trip.

Day 1:  The biking wasn’t totally in Solvang as 5 of us rode around the San Antonio reservoir near Ft Hunter-Liggett on the way down to Solvang.  This is a nice ride with a couple of climbs, but it seemed really exhausting.  It was 44 mi, with 2300 ft of elevation that felt much longer and harder.  I think it may be because we started at 12:30 pm and only took one stop at the Lockwood store.  The gal behind the counter was very friendly and pointed us to the frozen Twix bars – excellent choice – but in reality, we needed more food and a few longer breaks on that ride.

One of the other Steves (there were 3 of us) and I got a nice diesel exhaust experience on the climb to the reservior overlook, as a guy in a pickup couldn’t resist stepping on it, just as he passed us.  This was no accident, as Steve was a bit ahead of me and the guy let us have it with two distinct bursts.  

The ride did have some magical moments, like when we spooked a Great Blue Heron as we crossed the grated bridge on Nacimiento Drive where it crossed the San Antonio River.  We were able to pace the huge bird as he glided along the stream for a few hundred yards.

Day 2:  The route on this day was the Foxen Canyon/Cat Canyon 60 mi loop, starting and ending in Solvang.  Wheels were rolling at 8:15 in the cold fog and fortunately, we only had to go a few miles to get into the sunshine and some beautiful views.

While in the fog and mist Tom did spot a buffalo.  I missed it as my glasses were totally fogged, and when I pulled over to wipe them, I rode directly into some sand and nearly went down.  So much for riding ‘blind’. 

Chocolate thievery: After the steep Cat Canyon climb, the very bumpy road descends to Los Alamos and at mile 40 we lunched at the Quackenbush Café, http://www.generalstoreca.com/html/chef.html/ .  This is a comfortable little place with great soups and sandwiches, friendly staff, and a nice outdoor patio along the main street.  Their baked goods are also over the top.  In particular, the day we were there they had a chocolate-banana cake/bread/brownie thing that was calling my name.  I agreed to split a sandwich and a piece of the chocolate bomb with David (my sandwich buddy), and after carefully cutting the chocolate delight in half, proceeded to dig into my sandwich.  Others at the table were commenting on how good the desserts looked, and the lovely lady sitting next to me commented that I had made a good choice with the chocolate/banana bread.  I was astonished that she could know this, as her food was yet to arrive, and innocently asked ‘How do you know?’ But, just as I uttered this question, the answer became obvious. A corner of my piece was missing!  The look on my face (shock) said it all, as the others at the table burst out laughing.  Now I know who not to trust around my chocolate!

Relativistic Cycling:  I have ridden with many groups of cyclists and find that the bulk of the conversation in most groups revolves around bike gear and rides.  Not in this group!

After lunch the route climbs out of Los Alamos on Drum Canyon Rd.  This is a bit of a climb, and to distract ourselves from the suffering, three of us were explaining Einstein's theory of relativity to a couple of others. You know, going through the standard train problem: “ I'm on a train traveling 100 mph and throw a ball toward the front of the train.  You are standing still, watching the train go by. How fast does the ball appear to be traveling to each observer, etc”.  Given my background as a nerd geophysicist the topic is not surprising, but the then there was the philosopher (PhD), and the chemist-business man doing much of the explaining. Beyond that, the guy we were explaining it to is a retired judge that writes award winning poetry!  Just your usual California biking group.  On a later long climb we discussed the fractal dimension of the landscape.  Since returning home, the discovery of gravity waves at the edge of the universe has been announced.  That should get us up a couple more long climbs.

I’m not sure if it was cosmic energy or what but after the descent, there was no mistaking the Red-Tail Hawk that Larry and I watched as it circled up and away with a snake dangling from its’ talons.

Day 3:  Solvang to Jalama Beach and back (75 mi).  The first section of this out-and-back route follows Santa Rosa Rd west from Buellton through fields and orchards for about 20 miles, out to California Hwy 1.  The route then continues south on Hwy 1 for about 3 miles to Jalama Rd.  From there it is 14 miles west to the ocean and Jalama Beach.  The weather was clear and not too hot, and the biking was outstanding.  One important point to note is don’t plan on spending much time at the corner of Route 1 and Jalama road, as the stench there is intense.   Some one thing or many fleshy things are rotting in the brush.  There was also a big pile of brussel sprouts (like a truck load) with cows wading right into it to munch.  I would have taken a picture, but every cell in my body was telling me to move on.

Jalama Road has one big climb that comes at mile 29 from Solvang.  After that climb there are a few more bumps, but the beach beckons, and it is easy to push on.  Coming down the hill to Jalama Beach is one beautiful ride, whether on a bike or in a car on a motorcycle, it matters not, but after 35 miles on a bike, it looks especially good.

There is a state campground at Jalama Beach , and a small store/grill (Jalama Beach Store and Grill.  http://www.jalamabeach.com/).  That is where a second chocolate incident occurred.  To many of us recreational riders, the food on the ride is an integral part of the experience, most folks that ride or hike long distances eventually find the foods that best suit their systems during their adventures.  For me it is a butter croissant and a café mocha (no whip, extra hot).  It turns out that the Jalama Beach Grill was a bit short on espresso drinks and French pastry, so I settled for half a Jalama Patty melt with fries (again splitting with my sandwich buddy).  I was just tucking into the patty melt when Tom shows up with a humungous chili-burger and fries combo filling one of the carryout boxes that usually holds 4 drinks, burger and fries.  Several of us sat in stunned admiration as Tom devoured a substantial fraction of that burger, noted that we would endeavor to stay ahead of Tom on the return trip. 

Then came dessert time and the Dove Bars in the store freezer were very popular (no frozen Twix).  Rob decided that a whole Dove bar was too much, so he ate half of his and tossed the remainder into the box, on top of the mangled remnants of the chiliburger.  Well, several of us gasped that someone would throw away such a valuable item as half a Dove bar, especially on top of a mangled chilli burger (you must realize that we had ridden 35 mi, and had 35 to go on our return). That is when Sally sprang into action, grabbed the half Dove bar from atop the chilli montage and gulped it down in one bite. Seriously, it was gone!  And Sally is a small woman who thrives on classical music!

Somehow, I felt great on the return to Solvang and the miles just rolled by.  I ordered a Mocha Frappuccino (actually called a Mocha Blender) at the Coffee Cabin http://www.yelp.com/biz/coffee-cabin-buellton/  on the way into Solvang, and waited until my afternoon coffee buddies rolled in.

Note:  Special thanks to Robin and Jeff for organizing this trip, and to Cindy, Christina and Lynn for their SAG efforts on the Jalama Beach ride.

Croissants and more at Lk Moeraki, NZ

I’m just back from a month long trip to Singapore, Sydney and the South Island of New Zealand. I did some biking in all three locations, including a couple of short, flat rides in Singapore, a quick spin around Manly, on Sydney harbor, and a 10 day trip down the West coast of New Zealand’s south island. All in all a great trip.  Moreover, I checked out as many coffee shops and bakeries as possible along the way.  So, I'm working on a series of blog posts about the trip, with emphasis on the baked goods I sampled.

I'll start with the croissants at the Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moerkai.  We rolled into the lodge at the end of a 55 mile bike ride that started in Fox Glacier and continued south along the New Zealand coast, with views of snow capped mtns on the left and the Tasman Sea on the right. 

 

The Wilderness Lodge is isolated (e.g. wilderness), but classy and comfortable   Dr. Gerry Mc Sweeney, and wife Anne Saunders, bought the lodge in 1989 with the vision of preserving a piece of the South Island of NZ, and have been instrumental in development of the South New Zealand World Heritage Area in which the lodge is located.  The lodge is sited along a quiet river that drains Lk. Moerki, which is just a few hundred yards away, across the road. The main building has a nice lounge and 2 medium sized dining rooms that look out onto the river. 

Anyway, breakfast includes a modest juice, fruit and cereal bar as well as food cooked to order, and it is on the cereal bar that I found some fabulous, small, golden brown croissants that simply melt in your mouth.  Soooo good, and with great personal discipline, I limited myself to 3 per day.  I was there for 2 days.  (The other food on the menu is excellent as well, but since this is a bakery blog, I’ll stick with the croissants).

There are many other great reasons to recommend this lodge, like the kayaks that one can use (no charge) to explore Lk Moerki; the nature walk at 5 in the afternoon out into the rain forest, where Dr. McSweeney shares his enthusiasm and knowledge of the wonders of the rain forest, points out the huge tree that was the inspiration for the tree dwellings inhabited by the AVATARS, and feeds the local eel population (they can live for  80 yrs and get up to 10 ft long). Last but not least is the night-time walk (10:30 pm) to see the glow-worms, which are truly amazing, lighting up overhanging hillsides like collections of faint stars in the undergrowth.  

 Dr. Mc Sweeney describing local ferns and their importance to New Zealand culture.

Eels com for dinner at about 6:00!

Oh yes, there is a 45 min walk through the rain forest out to a scenic beach on the Tasman Sea, just beware the sand flies, they are wicked. 

Here are some links with info on this unique place:

http://www.newzealand-indepth.co.uk/accommodation/south-island/wilderness-lodge-lake-moeraki. 

http://www.uniquelodges.co.nz/lakemoeraki/