Day 22: National Park Village to Pipiriki
March 19th 2014
Distance cycled: 60 km
Total distance to date: 1163 km
This morning when I woke up at 8 and went to the hotel kitchen, Joy was already there in her sweatpants making coffee for me.
"Oh good morning! Would you like some toast with homemade jam to go with your coffee?"
I swear I will recommend this place to everyone I know.
We sat and had breakfast together. I found out that Joy is only 18, from Auckland, and was married briefly last year. Her sister Faith has a daughter named Hope, and now Joy is expected to name her daughter Grace, but after her short-lived marriage, having children is the furthest thing from her mind. She's excited to work at the hotel through the winter; the skiing season should start picking up in 3-4 weeks. It made me think about how things would be different if I had my working holiday permit. Would I ask to stay on and work here through the busy season? Would I want to? I certainly felt rather at home in Natty Park (as the locals refer to the village).
After a while, the chef and the other barman joined us. I found out that I was the only guest staying at the hotel, which may explain the special treatment. But guys, Joy made me a sandwich to take with me. Seriously, people. What hotel just makes you lunch to take away? So so sweet. And the sandwich was delicious. Roast beef with tomato and sautéed mushrooms on a herbed burger bun. I'll have to send them a postcard at some point just to say how much I enjoyed my stay.
So I had a great start to my day. All my stuff was finally dry again. My laundry was freshly done. I'd had a good night's sleep in a double bed in my own room. And the sun was out again, revealing what a spectacular place Natty Park was without the horrible rain and cloud cover.
Lots of mountains, alpine meadows, and crisp cool mountain air. Can't argue with that. The mountains made me nostalgic for Mt. Rainier! It was a great day for a bike ride.
Two thirds of today's ride was on a state highway, but it wasn't busy with traffic at all. And it was mostly downhill, which was fun. I stopped in Raehiti for coffee and a snack at a cafe that I thought would have wifi because they advertised "Internet and email". Turns out they had computer terminals for $5 per half hour. Uh, no, thanks.
The second part of my ride was through nice farmland that turned into a descent through a forest reserve.
The road narrowed and the markings disappeared. Just when I thought I'd made a wrong turn somewhere, I came around a corner and there was a sign for Pipiriki.
It was only 3:30pm when I pulled into the campground. I could have carried on but my front tire had been leaking air the entire descent from Raehiti. I'd already pumped it 3 times on the way to Pipiriki. Either I'd fix the flat in Pipiriki and carry on, or I'd just stop and stay the night. I chose the latter because it meant I could use the extra time to clean and service my bike, which I did. I'd been meaning to switch the tires anyway, as the back tire was showing visible wear, so I did that in conjunction with fixing the flat. I also had access to the campground's nice kitchen, so I cooked myself a spicy curry with tomatoes and green bell pepper, both grown in the campsite's garden. I made enough for my lunch tomorrow, too, which is always good.
There are two other single female travelers at this campground tonight which is highly unusual by any standard, made more so by the fact that there are only 5 people staying here in total. One is a middle-aged woman from Florida names Judy and the other is a lady my age from England named Laura. Laura had been to SE Asia too, so we had that to talk about. It was nice to have other women around to talk to that know how it is to travel solo!
I'm more excited than I should be about breakfast, which I've already decided will be crumpets and oatmeal with sliced banana. I swear, I'm constantly hungry. I only had dinner less than 3 hours ago and I'm thinking about food again already! Well, I suppose I'll go to sleep now so that I can wake up and eat. :D plus, tomorrow looks to be an 80km day, so I gotta get my rest!
posted by Kyla @ 17:44
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