Wednesday 26th February - Omakau to Ranfurly

The day started very cold! We are inland now and the nights are cold and the days hot. Not a cloud in the sky for days but we had to use our tinfoil emergency blanket to keep warm in the morning frost but now it's late afternoon and after a days cycling we are overheated and glad of shade!

The day started much the same as most with a quick check of emails, this time from outside the hotel up the road which had wifi.

Catherine was very cross as our milk and butter were stolen from the fridge this morning meaning a breakfast of dry toast and powdered milk in our tea. Five miles down the trail however was a cafe so it was our first stop of the day.

Now what shall I have? We had two coffees and shared a 4 dollar piece of cheesecake! The staff were friendly and it was stacked full of cyclists enjoying the cake selection. 

So it soon put the smile back on Catherine's face

We continued on, over viaducts

and through tunnels

Everywhere is yellow which reminds us of our tour in Australia and not a bit like South Islands West Coast and it's green rain forest.

We stopped at Lauder for a meal and soon after we reached the highest point on the trail. The overall trend on the trail now is downhill and we noticed the difference.

Wedderburn looked a great place to stay. It had nice looking cabins and hotel and the information barn was stacked with drinks, ice creams and a coffee machine with an honesty box there for payment! Quite delightful!

But we went on to the campsite at Ranfurly.

Remembering all the names on the trail has been hard. Pronouncing them correctly even harder!