The ride here was nice. Mostly a gradual descent, but there were some nice rollers in there and the winds got pretty intense sometimes. I really was hating the bike and thinking wistfully of mine, sitting there in the bike shop with no one to ride it. But, since gravity was on my side for this stretch, I made good time relative to the group overall. Passed lots more sheep…it’s really hard not to “baaaa” back at the cute little babies, but I’m pulling it off so far. There was another venison farm. Some horse country. And more beef, but the cows are in a distinct minority. Nice streams along the side of the road. A large part of this section reminded me of the central coast in springtime, but in between the rounder mountains – which are larger than most in the central coast – you’d catch glimpses of these jaggy, snow and ice covered peaks off in the distance. Truly spectacular scenery to behold. Kept pedaling through the winds and one finally comes over a small hill, at the crest of which you see the lake. Kinda wild – it’s like two Lake Tahoes right in spitting distance of one another between Queenstown and here. While waiting for the others to arrive, I got to watch some kiteboarders taking advantage of the killer winds.
The town is much smaller and everything was pretty much closed because it’s off season and Sunday – besides the internet cafe I’m in. But it seems like a really nice town. The Kiwis have a nice sense of architectural style. Somehow more simple, making the towns more elegant than most of the ski towns I’ve been in at home. We’re staying at the Archway Motel (http://www.archwaymotels.co.nz) – good hot shower. It was a nice walk down the hill from there to town. But now it’s time for dinner…so I’m off ’til the next internet outpost I can find.