We've been back in New Zealand for 9 days, and it has taken us that long to prepare for the next part of our adventure. Our van needed a few things done to it, including new brake pads, new house batteries, new ABS sensor, warrant of fitness, road user charges, new self-containment certificate, and bike rack modifications. On top of that, we needed to get modifications done to our old portable BBQ to fit a new gas bottle. Then we have had to decide which bikes to take, how much hiking gear we need, what clothes to bring and how much of everything bearing in mind it all has to fit in a tiny wee van. Gordon also needed to go to the doctor to get his medications sorted and I needed to spend some time getting my mum sorted (both of these are the main reasons we came home rather than our original plan to head to Europe).
Finally though, the repairs are done, the decisions made, the doctors sorted and we are settling in for our first night back on the road. We are parked 38km up a winding, gravel road at a place called the Cobb Reservoir in the Kahurangi National Park about 100km from our home town of Nelson. It is a Department of Conservation free campsite that gives us access to several excellent hikes in native sub alpine terrain. It's a little bit windy tonight but it is just so nice to be back out here. We certainly appreciate the home comforts of the van versus our previous 6 months of tent-living. Definitely getting a bit soft!
On the subject of bikes, we finally decided to take the e MTBs as they are the most versatile and much easier for Gordon. I tested riding mine with no power just for fun and found it just as easy as my touring bike when lightly loaded. We plan to focus on mtb riding for this part of the trip, but can also set the bikes up for over night riding for some of our great trails if we want to. If I want a good workout, I can just leave the motor off. Today I did 32km on the Great Taste Trail with no power, and it was fine.
We have also been lucky enough to get some bookings to do the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealands' great hikes, in a couple of weeks. We need to break in our new boots and get used to carrying a pack, right smart! First practice hike tomorrow!
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