Tag 23 - Great Taste Trail (Part I)

After three days without much cycling, I finally got back on the bike. The path from Tahunanui led about 10 kilometers along an old railway embankment before initially going through industrial areas along the coast. Fortunately, the surroundings changed fairly quickly. The Great Taste Trail led over Rabbit Island, a 13-kilometer-long coast surrounded by a nature reserve, to a small ferry in Mapua. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to enjoy the peace and the beach as I wanted to catch the ferry at 12 o'clock, which only runs hourly. The river that had to be crossed was about 50 meters wide, but there is simply no bridge as an alternative. On the ferry, I met Bryan and Paula, a retired couple from the Midwest of the USA. We took a break together in Mapua, and as luck would have it, we were cycling at a similar pace, so I joined them. We made good progress and reached Motueka, my original destination, early in the afternoon. There we ate homemade fruit ice cream on an orchard, splendid!

The two wanted to go to Kateriteri, which was another 20 kilometers away. I cycled with them, the route went directly along the coast, which was a great route. We spent the evening at a campsite there, and I received an invitation to Colorado, where there are also great cycling routes. They also had a house in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Tomorrow I will go back to Tahunanui on a different, longer route. But again, with the best summer weather!

PS: an anecdote at the end: around 1 o'clock and half past 2, I was woken up by rustling. At first, I thought it was something outside my tent. But when it didn't go away, I climbed out of the inner tent. In doing so, I touched something prickly and was terribly frightened. There was actually a little hedgehog sitting right in the middle of my tent. He seemed to be just as frightened by my touch. I lifted him carefully out of the tent and then, after waiting 10 minutes, secured my tent again. However, I'm still not quite sure how he got into the tent in the first place.