As soon as we had our bearings in New Zealand the Big adventure continued. The climate is once again familiar and for the first few weeks the weather has been near perfect (knocking on wood), considering this is 'Windy Wellington' territory. After getting a taste of what New Zealand has to offer from our 4-day loop through the Rimutaka Range, Leigh and I are super-stoked to explore the countryside. But for the next month or so things are going to slow down a little. As previously mentioned, we have arranged to stay and help out on a local hobby farm in exchange for food and lodging. It's time to park the ponies and tend to some real animals!
Welcome to Rancho Relaxo. Charlotte and Matt Kelleher have a sweet little spot up in the hills surrounded by rolling landscape with some horses, chooks (chickens), two cats soon to have kittens and of course Tequila, their adorable Border Collie. The barn is next to the house with a loft apartment above the chicken coup where Shenée lives. The room we are staying in has a bed that is the most comfortable thing we have slept on in years. The tent will be kept in the closet for now. Both Charlotte and Matt commute to the city for work and are grateful to have the extra help around the house. Both Jeff and Leigh have been on the move for the past seven months and are grateful to have place to hang for a while. All parties involved enjoy fine wine and good food. We're gonna get along right proper!
The bikes are still holding up although I have come to appreciate the value of certain key components that should be neither underestimated nor overlooked when setting up your kit for a trip such as this. Leigh has a King wheelset hand-built by Bryan King, one of the best wheel builders in the Waterloo region. Mine are a standard factory set. I have already had to replace a few spokes on mine - all on the rear wheel - and not easy on the side of the road. The wheel will never be true again so even the brakes had to be adjusted out...Leigh's wheels, no issues! Well I received a belated birthday present: a brand spanking new set of handbuilt wheels by Tristan Thomas, owner of Wheelworks NZ and an old friend of Leigh's from her racing days. They're beautiful! And my wife is the bomb! Just sayin'.
While cycling along the Rimutaka rail trail we met Janet and Brian, a couple recently back from a 15 year hiatus in Australia. We met them again at the scone shop and accepted their offer to get together for a little trek or 'tramp' as it is referred to here. On yet another beautiful Sunday afternoon the four of us climbed up to Rimutaka Peak, the namesake for the range it occupies. What a view. The photos do it better justice than my words but being there was truly spiritual. We marveled at the 360 degrees of natural awesomeness this country is known for (as recently depicted in a few movies you may have heard of...) and headed back down. Oh but wait - check the tablet, ah yes of course: there is a geocache hidden up here! Our new friends were vaguely aware of this but as soon as I introduced them to modern-day treasure hunting we were all rummaging through the nearby bushes searching for a medium-sized container. Eureka! Log book signed, photo taken, cache find #471.
Our day trip continued with a visit to some of the scene locations of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. We took a stroll through Rivendell and easily imagined the whole production taking place all around us. Then it was back to their place for a fabulous feed of homemade lasagna and cake in the backyard with their three lovely daughters. Thanks everyone, a great day indeed.
Back at the farm we spent the next few days settling in to a bit of a routine with morning coffee, breakfast for the chooks, breakfast for the cats and dog, and finally breakfast for us consisting of eggs gathered from the barn. We busy ourselves with some tasks in and around the house and balance out the day with some time just enjoying the natural beauty that surrounds us. There have since been a couple of trips 'to the smoke', the city, for some exploring and shopping for new gear.
Last weekend, we packed up and ventured back to the Rimutakas for some camping in the Catchpool Valley. The hiking in the area is supreme with terrain that isn't overly challenging with broad views of Te Ika-a-Maui (the north island) topography that make the climbs so very worth while. We brewed up a batch of morning coffee while looking out over Evans Bay (no relation - that I'm aware of).
Rancho Relaxo is adjacent to the Belmont Regional Forest which has a number of trails (and geocaches) where we take Tequila for her daily walks. Leigh has been out exploring on horseback, a significantly improved experience compared to the commercial trail horses that follow the same path at the same pace day after day. I have been learning to trot (a horse, not me personally!) but that is a work in progress. It's good to be back in a proper kitchen and the meals have been quite fabulous. One Sunday morning Leigh offered up her soon-to-be-famous blueberry-banana pancakes, served with real maple syrup and Shenée's freshly whipped cream and amazing 'oops I think I whipped this cream too long' butter. It was a true Canadian feast with a whack of bacon, homemade scones, jam and coffee in abundance.
We're thrilled to be travelling the world and seeing so many wonderful places but some of the best memories are those made over breakfast at a picnic table on a farm in the country.