Roaming on the South Island - Part 1

Back again to civilisation, what a pity. But hey, another great trip down south, absolutely fantastic. Even though not planned this way. All began with a nice and calm ride over the Cook Straight, some beers on the boat and a great night with other Germans in Picton. Seems there are even more Germans down here than last year, so I developed my English accent even further, to operate undercover in backpackers and kept listening to people taking the piss of crazy nutters like us. Great fun! But let's go back to the facts, we left Picton with more than good intentions, but my lacking navigation skills forced us to take a detour through Renwick, which was immediately compensated with some good wine and coffee, and a break. Cycling with everything on the back is a pain for the first couple of days, even when you carry enough food for a 4 day off road trip on the back. After that lovely break we finally left Blenheim and therefore civilisation on Saturday afternoon, heading over Taylor's pass down to the Molesworth road, and camped down at Blairich river. Great place to chill and heal sore bums, and sleeping without a mattress wasn't that bad either. Could have been a bit more comfortable, especially with the thought of the next killer day in my head. But getting up was easy, and so we cycled the last sealed bit and then finally hit the gravel. But not for long. Right after Camden Station I heard a huge BANG!!!!!!!!!, unfortunately right behind me, in walking distance to my back wheel. Woken up, I got off and couldn't believe my eyes. A huge crack made my tire on the back pretty much unrideable, specially out in the middle of nowhere, with no proper bike shop in walking distance. So plan B was on the agenda, hitching back to Nelson, getting a new tire and head off again...more to come soon.