Day 1 - Christchurch to Edoras

The alarm call at 7:30 was from Wayne at Paradise Tours to remind us to meet him at 9:00 for the pick up. There were the bikes parked outside the local bike dealership and there too was Wayne. Bags of kiwi bon homie and "no worries". Before we knew it Wayne had suggested a morning run out to Akaroa. A beautiful seaside resort a couple of hours in the opposite direction to where we were headed. Wayne led the way through the back streets of Christchurch and out on to the empty roads. Any excuse for a ride out eh Wayne.

And what roads, fast straights, sweeping constant radius bends, each with a recommended speed on the chevrons so you could judge it right. Then peeling off from the coastal flats and up on switchbacks over a steep ridge and back down into a fjord with a small town nestling by the water. Akaroa, a little piece of paradise with a good tea room.

It wasn't that tough to turn around in the main square and ride back the way we had come so that we passed our original departure spot about lunchtime and then on west into agricultural country. Acre of silage, beef, sheep, alpaca etc. Small towns full of bakeries, agricultural supplies and art galleries. Delightful.

Then a petrol stop and a sharp right out into the interior. the road quickly turned to gravel and things got loosey-goosey for a bit. But around us the vast U shaped valley opened out with a wide braided river flowing through the gravel beds at the bottom until after 20km we arrived at Mt Potts Station. A lovely little lodge on an old cattle station. A heli-ski base in the winter, in the summer it caters for trackers and people like us who want to visit Edoras.