Auckland, New Zealand

Leaving Auckland on the ferry

This is an account of our trip to New Zealand in January 2007.  Enjoy!

Our travel to NZ was pretty uneventful and we made a few forays into urban Auckland on the bikes. We managed a little sightseeing and a

Marlborough and the Marlborough Sounds

Huia Vineyards, Marlborough

Tuesday was our day for wine tasting in Marlborough. After checking out of our peaceful B&B, we pedaled out for some wine tasting. We hit a number of spots, found some excellent Sauvignon Blanc, discovered

New Zealand Travel Summary

Stats:

Distance from SFO to Auckland:  10,560 km

Campvan mileage: 2561 km

4 internal flights within NZ including two grass field landings

8 boat passages

7 campervan nights

Mt. Ventoux

The formal start of the climb of Mt. Ventoux

Friday was the day we had chosen for our “assault” on Mt. Ventoux. Dawn came with light showers that turned heavy as the morning progressed. Undaunted, we headed to Bedoin to pick up the bikes and climb the mountain. By the time we arrived at La Route du Ventoux, the bike shop, the skies had cleared and we had reasonably cool conditions for the ride.

The folks at La Route had the bikes ready to go when we arrived. We had previously sent them detailed measurements of our own bikes, and they found the best matches amongst their inventory and made the necessary adjustments. After installing the pedals and making some slight adjustments to the seat heights, the carbon fiber Scott bikes were ready to go and the ride was reasonably comfortable.

Gigondas

Welcome to Gigondas

Wednesday was our last day to tour around Provence. The day dawned with the Mistral wind in full force. We decided to head out and use our rental bikes one last time. Figuring that the hills around the town of Gigondas might give us a decent shot of avoiding the gale, we headed there.

After parking below the village, we rode our bikes up a short hill into the small central square of Gigondas. Gigondas is a tiny, out of the way town in the Rhone wine country. It is at the base of the Montmirail Massif, a hill area within in eyesight of Mt. Ventoux. The hills are capped by a distinctive rock out cropping laced with holes called the Dentelles (dentelle means lace). In amongst the hill and along the slopes, green vines tinged with the orange and yellows of the coming autumn and loaded with deep purple clusters of grapes nearing harvest are abundant.