Johnny Isaak | Adventure Cyclist
A compendium of adventure cycling chronicles, travel lore, tips, techniques, and tactics for the adventure cycling perplexed.
Cycling up the North Island’s East Cape has been a highlight of my kiwi adventure. I sacrificed days out of my way to go there, and the detour has been worth it. The riding is remote and off the beaten track. The travel is relatively isolated and secluded.
Farewell to the South Island. Standing on deck at the stern of the ferry, I cast a few fleeting glances to the south as the ship enters Cook Strait steaming toward Wellington. One chapter ends, and another begins.
Inching up the final reaches on the approach to the top of the pass, I knew the end was near. A few more minutes laboring over the pedals and I reached the summit. It was 2:15 pm. Four hours and 1170 meters of climbing on mostly gravel road had put me at the top of Danseys Pass. There was nothing to greet me but the howl of gusts blasting along windswept ridges and heavy blue skies overhead. The elation in knowing a lot of downhill awaited coursed through my veins. The hard climbing for the day was over.
The journey north begins with a single push of the pedal. I’ve made my way south to Bluff, the southernmost town on the South Island and am now starting my journey north to Cape Reinga, the northern tip of New Zealand’s North Island.
Standing on the shore, indigo water lapping at my feet, just taking in the moment. A cool breeze drives small cresting waves sparkling and falling in the low sun. Warm yellows and golds fade to black. There is something special about catching the last rays of wonderful day.
[Read more…] about Travelogue: A Few Moments on Lake Wakatipu
Standing over my bicycle in the sand of a beautiful beach breathing the salt air from a stiff offshore wind on a faraway island in another hemisphere, so far from home, it’s to feel a connection of sorts with legendary explores who’ve come this way.
[Read more…] about Travelogue: Mercury Bay Coromandel Peninsula
