We were over dressed. We stopped very quickly to remove clothing. Then again a few km later.

It was going to get warm. In fact, 30-32 C depending on which gauges we believed.

We sweated, we toiled up a few tricky hills, one being over 9 km with a few nasty pinches. We climbed over 1,252 m in 82 km today.

For 50 km there were no shops, cafes or anything other than very open rolling hills.

Our first view of the open road after we left the farm, the edge of the Rock and Pillar Range.

Looking back up the dirt road to where the farm is amongst the greenery.

We climbed.

The roads were quiet.

The fields were quiet.

We stopped here as there was some shade and we were already sweltering. Tony added more air to our tyres as we were on sealed for the day. We had lesser pressures on the gravel.

The little electronic pump is quite the gizmo. Easier than a hand held pump, and with a degree of accuracy in knowing how much pressure is in the tyre vs feel.

It felt better, but you do feel a few more bumps then.

Looking back across the road just covered.

Here I am, climbing again. A good verge here, plenty of space for the car to pass. There were a few trucks heading the opposite way, carrying silage. They crawled down.

The wind was strong and the side gusts on descents scared me as I held on tightly.

Creeping closer to civilisation we stopped at the first town, Outram.

We found a small supermarket with table and seating under a nice shady tree.

We drank lots of cold fluid, ate a chicken sandwich, then an icy pole.

Only 4 km from our accommodation we stopped again for ‘anything cold’. Cold drinks and icy poles were welcome relief from the heat as we sat in a churchyard under a shady tree,

One final climb, and this is where we are now.

Tony chilling on the couch.

Lovely view across Anderson Bay and the harbour, tomorrow’s destination.

Pleased to be finished we are now on the east coast (nearly) of New Zealand, having started closer to the west.

The terrain has changed considerably, as has the temperature having moved away from the mountains.

Another day, another adventure, thankful we still have the capability to test ourselves this way.

Thanks for reading ❣️😊