Day 39

Wanaka to Queenstown 72 km

The decision to take the crown pass road to Queenstown seemed the best plan at the begining of the day--at the bottom of the mountain. The other route was 120km along route 6, which meant about two days for me. Two days of a route plagued by an endless procession of tourist buses making the pilgrimage from FChristchurch to the ultimate NZ tourist mecca of Queenstown. Tourist buses and thier drivers are the south island's answer to the logging trucks of the north island. Gigantic machines with little interst in deflecting their path for the likes of a bicycle. Climbing 1000 meters to the highest sealed road in NZ seemed a much better alternative.

The first 40km were not so bad, a long steady climb past the ski resort of Cardrona. After viewing the biggest resort in NZ I must say I'm quite spoiled when it comes to lift serviced ski terrain. ANyway the last 10km to the summit were rather steep. HOwever once at the top the views down into Queenstown were almost worth it. Almost. The descent was quite challenging, very steep with a stiff sidewind making it kind of dangerous. My hands were quite numb form gripping the brakes by the time I made it to the bottom. I must say I think I prefer mountian bike type handle bars to the classic touring variety. Anyway, after regioning the highway for the last few kilometers into Queesntown and sharing the road with a few buses I decided the crown pass was definitely the better option. Then I came across the dirt cycle path from Frankton to Queenstown. Perfect!

Queenstown istself is a rather interesting place, very much like Jackson Hole in Wyoming. COmplete with a stunning range of mountains. APparently the locals feel the same having named the range 'the remarkables'. Certainly in their own way as impressive as the Tetons.