Packed up and ready to roll, we enjoyed a wholesome breakfast (large bowl porridge, granola, fresh fruits including strawberries, raspberries and blueberries) and the ubiquitous ‘Sharron cannot ride without’ coffee.

Great view from our table. We watched the melodious honey eaters searching for nectar in the flax flowers.

The front of our accomodation after forking out $1,025 NZ for two nights, two dinners, two breakfasts….gulp. I don’t feel quite so guilty for breaking the glass in the unit that shattered into so many pieces as we were leaving.

The accomodation itself is a common motel presentation but it is the location at this time of year that has driven the nightly price up. The meals were excellent too, with the porridge with add ons (fresh fruit and granola) being $32 each.

On paper today our ride into Blenheim would be an easier ride, despite its 103 km length.

There was a gently 5 km uphill section before a very gradual downhill run, which would have a few undulations.

The first half was wind free. We thought we were on easy street and then bang, just like that, there it was, as ubiquitous as my morning coffee. I like my coffee strong, and so it seems, wind too 🤣🙈. Happy New Year Sharron and Tony, love from the Weather Gods 🤣

View from the top of our climb.

We were in the Wairau Valley, following the river of the same name, ridges and mountains including Mount Richmond either side.

We crossed over the Wairau River, which is very wide and silted in places but you can see that gravel is removed regularly, similarly to what we see with European alpine river systems.

New Zealand does not have venomous creatures like Australia. You can go for a bush pee without fear!

However, they more than make up for it with geology. This valley forms part of the Alpine fault and is moving at 30 metres per 1,000 years. That is considered to be significant.

South Island is also overdue for a major earthquake. There is a 75% chance of major earthquake happening in the next 50 years. There is an 80% chance it will be a magnitude 8+ event.

The Alpine Fault has a regular history of producing large earthquakes. Over the last 8,000 years the Alpine Fault has ruptured 27 times.on average, every 300 years. The last significant quake being in 1717.

The valley is also famous for wine growing. 30 km or so, both sides of the road, were dedicated to grapes. the word Wairau in Maori means ‘river garden’ and today could see why. Fertile soils, multitude of labels and vineyards to visit.

The road was incredibly long and straight. The last 50 km was headwind.

Look at the wind map. Seems common. The wind comes up the east side of South Island, swings west, then south across Nelson and bang into our faces riding.

More views!

There were no places we could stop to grab a drink or food today for 90 km. It is a public holiday today here, but even on a business day, it would be necessary to be self sufficient for the ride.

We stopped here at a small cemetery as there were toilets.

Our route took us through Renwick with only 13 km remaining. It had started to sprinkle rain. We found a supermarket open and grabbed a banana and roll and put the two together!

Rain jackets on it got heavier as we approached Blenheim, some two hours before we could check in to an Airbnb home.

We took shelter in a covered bus stop. By chance, our Airbnb just wrote to us confirming 4 pm. I let her know we were in town sheltering and she said we could check in at 3 pm. We were super grateful ❣️

So here we are. Last full day of riding completed. here is our riding route to date. The blue lines are from our comp,eyed riding data. We will join that line from Blenheim to Picton tomorrow.

Thanks for reading….two half days if riding remain.

😊❣️🚴