Leg 1: Dunedin to Invercargill

If you could humour me and put from your mind these past two weeks where I have been AWOL (classic overestimation of physical and mental fortitude at the end of the day when I commonly think "oh, I should blog" and then pass out, a mess of quivering muscles and trail mix, in my sleeping bag), I'd like to tell you where we have been and where we are now. I'll give you the first two legs (Dunedin to Invercargill and then Invercargill to Queenstown) today, in separate posts, and will return tomorrow for the Queenstown to Christchurch stretch (by far the most fraught and exciting, so don't go anywhere).

Lee also has some posts of his own to guest-blog, including a poignant piece comparing the Dipton pie to the Lumsden pie (you'll really marvel at his nuanced rating system). And finally, I must tell you about what is quickly becoming the most-anticipated event on the bike trip: the Waihi burger showdown, where Lee will pit his bottomless stomach against Virg's slow-burning yet powerful metabolism as they race to be the first through 1.5kg of burger! There's talk of live-blogging the showdown ...

Dunedin to Invercargill via the Catlins
Leg 1: 240km

When I last blogged, we were all fresh and green at the end of day 1. I think our average mileage was around 30km per day in those yonder times, whereas 70 is now more or less where we end up. I believe I dropped you off in Milton, so let's begin there.

We went from Milton to Balclutha (In Balclutha, tattered and rough Maori bikers introduce us to their kaumatua and I eat my first deep-fried Mars Bar; we have our inaugural argument as a trio and cool off by watching the local sheep shearing competition and admiring Southern boys) to Owaka (we stop for lunch at a cafe/bar here and thus begin the lunchtime beer tradition; Virg is fascinated by a house dedicated to tea cups) to Papatowai to Tokanui (quickly and earnestly dubbed our favourite tiny town thus far; we camp out the back of the dairy cum supermarket - it's the only one around - and EUREKA! there is an open tavern and coulditbetrue? they're showing the cricket; Virg is subjected to a rigorous introduction to the gentleman's game; we return to our tents with whiskey and fall asleep happy) to Fortrose (we meet a German man on a campervan trip with his wife; he tells to look for life's signs, because he just saw the hessian bags he worked with in Papua New Guinea in his youth used as retro cushions in the cafe we've stopped at) to Invercargill. Up until recently, the ride into Invercargill had been our hardest. The rain pissed, the headwind blew, and the road signs kept lying to us. We rolled in to Invercargill, three drowned rats, and spent as many days waiting out the rain and recuperating. Our next "big" destination: Queenstown, place of tourists and thrill-seekers.

Virg and Lee muse over our route at Brighton beach

Tree dwelling.

Virg-o.