Time for reflection
I am glad I did the trip. Some have described it as a great achievement. It wasn't. It was just a journey, a pilgrimage through the land of my birth and upbringing. Some of it was hard work. A lot of it was interesting - a different way of seeing this land. There were some quirky little things that you see on a bike going slowly that you might easily miss looking out the window of a car. It is very satisfying knowing I went to those places, met the people I met, using the simple technology of a 21 speed steel-framed bike.
Among my heroes is the gentleman from Oamaru who did the same ride a month earlier on a home-built penny farthing bike. Or the family from Switzerland I met in Invercargill who did a similar ride with 2 children under 5 and a 3 room tent. Or the couple I met from Germany setting off from Bluff walking the length of the South Island.
I am extremely grateful to the wonderful people who hosted me on my journey. They were so welcoming and friendly. Thank you.
I have no guilt feelings at all about the trains I caught. There were good reasons for choosing those options. My Scottish friend John takes great delight in reminding me that I didn't ride the whole distance He does it regularly. In the same breath he reminds me of the bad grammar and spelling in this blog that results from using my Android phone to enter the data. While predictive text is useful, it does have its drawbacks. I am now going back over the posts and correcting the errors.
I am very grateful to the Board and Management of Melville High School for granting me the time off to do my trek. It has not been easy for them to deal with the disruption and I am sorry that my time away has had that effect on the students and staff. Thank you for your forbearance.
It is a fabulous country we have been gifted with.
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