Shakedown ride

(50 KMs)

Friday 3rd March

Queenstown

Shakedown ride

No alarms this morning, and we woke around 8:30 NZ time.  We enjoyed a leisurely coffee whilst finalising our plans for the day - which was to cycle to Jack's Point.  Then I found an alternative route via Arthurs Point which was in the opposite direction to routes we had explored on our last visit. As a bonus enticement, I found an highly rated cafe that we would pass on the way.  

It was a gorgeous morning as we set off, and were able to take back streets to the cafe.  We almost missed it as it was contained within a print shop.  The Queenstown cafe was certainly quirky with a fully functioning printing business operating in the same building.  But the coffee was excellent and we stocked up on some rolls for lunch.  

We headed up Gorge Road for another 200m before turning off to a wetlands track which took us off the main road for a couple of kilometres before rejoining.  The gradient was manageable, though roadworks meant that we had to stop for a prolonged period.  This worked in our favour as we crossed the Shotover River, as the traffic came in bursts, leaving the road quiet between signals.  

We watched a few jetboats come down the Shotover River before continuing on a few more kms and then turning on to Littles Road.  The turnoff to the track to the river was not meant to be easy to find, and we sailed right past it and up a massive hill that peaked at around 18%. By the time we realised we had missed it, we agreed it would be easier to continue on the road.  We picked up the Countryside trail about 5 kms on and then the Twin Rivers trail.  

It was beautiful cycling along the Shotover River, which was the most gorgeous blue colour.  We crossed the Kawarau River and joined the track to Kelvins Peninsula.  We stopped outside the Hilton hotel for lunch and enjoyed views back towards Frankton.  

The track was quite undulating along the lake.  We took the loop track around Kelvins Peninsula, passing some sculptures along the way as we cycled around the golf course.  There were a few other cyclists on the trail, but not too busy.  The return route seemed a lot more uphill than down with a few sharp pinches and blind corners, where you hoped no one was coming at speed from the opposite direction.

We detoured via the One World supermarket on our way home.  The highlight was the pineapple peeling machine so we had to buy a pineapple just to see how it worked.  

As we passed through Frankton we tried to find the bach we had stayed in on our previous trip.  There had been a lot of development along the lake foreshore, including a large campground so we assumed the little cottage was no longer there.  

Back home we washed our cycling gear to take advantage of the wind that had picked up and settled in to enjoy our craft beers and another glass of Pinot Gris before having leftover Indian takeaway for dinner.