Day 2 of our journey to Queenstown.

We followed the same road as yesterday, and found that it was part of the Around the Mountains cycle route. This day blew out of the water any of the cycling we had done on this trip. It was gravel, there were hardly any traffic (maybe 5 things along the whole day), and the views were spectacular.

We quickly cycled into a valley that just kept on going, with huge mountains on either side. There were quite a few cows, including some on the road…the bull was pretty annoyed at us being there, so we got through there pretty quick.

We stopped for lunch where the valley met the lake. Above us was an airfield with a plane taking off every 15 minutes to spray fertilizer in an adjacent field. It would take off from the top of a hill, fall down towards us and then bank right. Lots of fun to watch while we ate our sandwiches.

We then met a family from Dunedin who were also bike packing, saw some incredible antlers on some native deer, and then ran into a New Zealand traffic jam…a lot of sheep.

We made it to Walter’s Peak soon afterwards, which is a little farm run by the big tourist group in the south island. Tourists are shipped in by ferry and then tour the farm. There’s also a primitive DOC campsite overlooking the lake, which had an incredible view. That’s where we spent the night.

The family we met were also camping here and recommended going for a dip in the lake. Best idea ever. We had been cycling for two days without a shower. The lake was glorious and so so so cold, since it’s fed by mountain streams. So worth it.