The Catlins runs roughly from Invercargill to Dunedin, and it follows more or less the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. We had a great time wandering around enjoying the awesome sea views. We hit some dirt roads and serious hill work to get to Curio Bay, Porpoise Bay, and Nugget Point. We savored watching playfull Hector’s dolphins, observing sea lions and fur seals, and from far away having a blink of the yellow-eyed pinguin on a fossilized forest and perhaps an albatross.
Before touching the Catlins, we met Isabel. A fantastic young English woman on her first big cycling adventure. She couldn’t explain why she got addicted to bicycle travel. Very interesting. We think it’s a shame she doesn’t have a blog to share her thoughts with the rest of the world. Anyway, when being tired, wet, or just fed up with biking in the cold outdoors of New Zealand the only thing she needs to face the world is a cup of tea. Marvelous cultural nurture.
And we lied to you in our last blog as the Catlins isn’t our last bike trip in New Zealand. We still have some time left to cycle the Otago Rail Trail, which runs from west of Dunedin back to the Southern Alps ending in Clyde. We’re finally fit now and don’t wanna loose it. And above all, we got used to the coldness in March. It’s sometimes so cold that after breaking down the tent in the morning, we warm our hands with lukewarm water in the kitchen of the campsite. Camping is great !
We know this friendly guy in Berlin who sent us the following video. As we don’t have any political power over you, we demand you to watch this (sometimes shocking) video. Don’t watch it on your first spring Sunday morning with freshly baked banana pancakes, but take another 30 minutes of your life to watch it. Awake your soul and do something, S&M
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