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Wutheringbikes Home -- New Zealand
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15th Jan 2011 - a Bike Ride to Milford Sound
 From Top 10 Camping, Te Anau, to Milford Lodge (backpackers dorms) at Milford Sound, a distance of about 120 kms or 75 miles.We woke to the sound of a strong breeze in the trees and indeed, after almost no wind yesterday we have a headwind today! This wind was gusty so for a fair bit of the time it was gentle - especially in the beech woods - but a few gusts brought us to a standstill. Guy did sterling work leading the caravan while Steve did a fair bit of slipstreaming (but my bike weighed more! S). Windy along Lake Te Anau, then up a bit to the mirror lakes, then on to Lake Gunn, still uphill mostly but not steep, then on to The Divide where we had a brief downhill after turning towards Milford. Then a bit of a slog for 10kms or so, in steady rain and a gusty wind with the temperature tumbling, to reach the Homer Tunnel (no not that or that Homer, this one was a 19th Century explorer who first proposed the tunnel though it wasn't built until the period 1940-1953 - didn't stop us thinking 'doh!' as we cycled through).
The steady climb up to the tunnel passes through a tremendous landscape - tremendous but not exactly beautiful since there is really too much bare rock for that. Just huge rocky mountains with little grass and few trees until you reach the valley floor. Some ice was lying in gullies below us - evidently tumbled off the rocks above. There are waterfalls everywhere - the water just seems to run straight off the hills in high cascades. Evidence of rockfalls or avalanches was common.The tunnel was no problem though dark and a bit damp - nicer than the weather outdoors. The video was taken when I was just very glad to get there - I knew that it was downhill all the way from there and at times I'd wondered if we would arrive after dark. Don't let anyone put you off biking to Milford Sound from Te Anau. The tunnel is no problem if approached with your lights at the ready and a willingness to get to the side if dazzled or deafened, and the ride is one of the most spectacular in the world. The vast majority of drivers will cheer you on or light your way through the tunnel rather than scare you. The road surface in the tunnel is a bit rough and you really have got to go slowly though. Then down to Milford Sound with a 20km downhill! Arrived at about 8.30pm having left Te Anau at about 11am. We visited a beauty spot called The Chasm on the way down, where a river, on meeting softer rock, has dug a larger version of the Ingleton waterfalls and ravines.The Milford Lodge where we stayed is OK but one partially broken kettle between everyone is ridiculous and the complete absence of milk to buy is a sadness. Why not keep a little UHT on the shelves? Or even fresh milk in the freezer. The staff member I dealt with answered most of my questions negatively (no, there's no milk, the kitchen is about to close for cleaning so you've hardly much time to cook, no there's nowhere for your bike to be put) while smiling warmly at me as if she was being helpful.
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Wutheringbikes Home -- New Zealand
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