Day by day

My second day was quite tough: 120km with headwind on the last 50km. I was exhausted when I arrived in Methven. The cash register at the grocery shop saw it when I passed in front of hert. When I told Kate what I was doing she just said "I'm finishing in 30min. Have your snack outside and after you can stay at my house. I'm calling my husband to let him know". If only it could go like this all along my trip it would be great!
I stayed two nights at Kate and Gary's house to go to Mount Hut the next day.

Geraldine...the hardest place to find a Host. It took me SEVEN HOURS before I found someone who would host me for the night. How did I manage to find someone kind at 9 pm? I was wandering in the streets when I saw a car with its lights on. I knocked at the door to let her owner know about it. I told her my story but she couldn't host me. However she owns a caravan park outside of town and I'm welcome to stay their. She called her daughter to let her know I was on my way.

Tekapo is one of New Zealand Alps' gateway. Beside its majestic turquoise lake, Tekapo is also known for its low light pollution hence the perfect spot for an observatory. Just go to Mt John and stare at the stars and the southern lights (Aurora Australis).

It wasn't easy either to find a place to stay there. After sharing a beer with a Canadian student who was bicycle touring around New Zealand, I started knocking at doors to finally stay in a seasoners house share. The following day, riding my bike was really hard because of the powerful gusts of wind coming sideways from the Alps... and yet I know more difficulties will come!

In Twizel I faced the same problem than in Geraldine until someone I had already talked to came back to me. This person was afraid I judge him because he was gay. I could stay one night at his place and for the 4 following days I stayed at Mandi's, a super nice Maori who was working at the restaurant where I had dinner on my first night.

Fun fact: Mandi's boss hired me for the salmon festival, paid me good money, provide me food. I even finished in the newspaper the next day! After five days, I went back on the trails to Omarama.

On my wild exploration between Queenstown and Glenorchy (I'm sure you had a look at the videos on my home page!) I went through a bush to end up on a road where a Polish guy was hitch hiking. Politely I said "Hey man what's up?". After a quick chat, we realized we might see each other in Glenorchy. He's going other there for a hike and it caught my interest. When we meet back in Glenorchy after I found a host, he told me about a 5 days loop he's sure we can do in four.

It was late afternoon when we decided at what time we should go the next morning. I run to a convenience store (reduced to a single shelf in a hostel) to buy what was left: some cans of tuna and Weetabix cereals. My host (who's goal is self-sufficiency) provided me sliced bread for 4 days as well as eggs! It is not much but it's all I can get in this place after this last minute decision.

My host didn't see any problem about leaving my bike at his place. Moreover his girlfriend is away for the exact five days I'm staying. Everything is well organized in this permanent chaos to let me do this trek in good conditions.

Here is my trekking adventure

Fun fact: When I came back to Glenorchy, my parents (especially my mum) was really worry because I didn't give any news for 4 5 days (although I told her about this trekking project and there was no chance I have phone network). She though my polish mate would have killed me because... he is Polish and you never know what could happen ! ahah Thanks mum I love you.

After this exceptional and improbable trek in Mount Aspiring National Park, I went back to Queenstown and asked the same host if I could stay 2 more nights (I already spent 2 nights at his place) which he accepted. I wanted to visit Arrowtown, an old gold mining town also known for its fudge. When I got back for my last evening, the Thai chief said we should party and we ended up in several bars (with a rodeo bull machine). When I felt tired I told him I was going back and it's when he told me to wait for him in his bed. I was surprised and said "no, I'm gonna sleep on the couch" as I used to do :D

The next day I jump into the "Lady of the Lake" to take a shortcut to Te Anau as my Glenorchy's host recommended me this option to save 50km. It scared me a little because there was 120km to ride (70km on a dirt track without any human infrastructure nearby) and bad weather was on its way. It seems Luck listened to my fear and offered me a good lift an hour after I started my journey from Walter Peak.

A couple with a RV couldn't cross a stream too deep for their vehicle and had to turn around. They insisted to join them with my mountain bike at the back while eating salmon toasts at the front. We split after Mavora: they were heading to Queenstown and me to Te Anau.

Two nice german guys took me with them at the exit of Te Anau to go to Milford Sound on the second day I've tried hitch hiking to reach this destination. Milford Sound is just a dot in the Fiordland national park. I can't imagine what it is like to hike in such deep wilderness area for several days!

In Te Anau and Manapouri I struggled to find hosts and didn't enjoyed the atmosphere compared to Queenstown. For the first time I felt lost. Invercargill didn't sound amazing either, just another city with cruises to the Fiordland. Therefore I stopped going south and decided to ride to the East.

To reach Dunedin from Manapouri I chose the straightest path to save time and have more fun somewhere else. The lack of a social life is getting to me. My experience is telling me that it is much easier to have social interactions and find a host in tiny villages instead of big cities.

Dunedin seems to be a nice place to stay, but I'm in New Zealand for the mountains. After 2 days exploring the most famous attractions in Dunedin, the couple hosting me gave me a lift to Timaru as they were helpin their daugther to move in/out during the weekend. Two things were really important for my hosts: make me discover a Hokey Pockey ice cream and the Moreaki boulders . After we separated, I went back on the road to Ashburton were Kate's parents can host me (remember my cashregister host in Methven).

Back in Christchurch I struggle to find somewhere to stay until I use my last call: Annabelle (Wendy-janes' daughter I met in Waikaia and who offered me a bedroom in her motel). I remember she told me to call her daughter when I arrive in Christchurch. It was my longest day ride on a mountain bike with 160km in one day.

Akaroa is a curious place. It's one of those places where history could have changed the destiny of a whole country. Canterbury's oldest town, Akaroa was founded in August 1840 by French settlers. It has been suggested that French interest in New Zealand speeded up Britain's decision to annex New Zealand. By the time French settlers arrived, the Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and Māori chiefs had been signed.

In 1844 the resident population of Akaroa was made up of 60 French, 20 Germans, 40 British and 97 Maori. Through this first decade of its life, Akaroa was a village where French was spoken, where the buildings looked different from the buildings of other early New Zealand settlements and where French officials exercised significant power and authority, even though New Zealand was a British colony. Akaroa has french street names and the town is split between the Metric system and the Imperial system.

This kind of tiny details made the trip worth it. However I didn't planned to get stuck three days in Akaroa because of a huge sea storm which caused terrible damages.

After another long ride from Okains bay to Diamond Harbor, I stretch as usual and start looking for a place to stay. My speech got a lot better from Wanaka. I understood it was important to include people in the dream I was living to make them realize it's only with their help I can succeed. I also realized 6pm was the best time to search for a host when people are relaxed from their day at work and before they start dinner.

Using this method I found the perfect host in a couple of hours: Brent - an engineer really into the geometry of 29" mountain bikes and who loves this sport. Two days later he took me to Castle Hill for a nice day ride. He also managed to find me a box for my bike in order to fly to Melbourne.

Six years later when I'm writing those lines, I still have the sensation these two months were an entire life and changed me forever. I have the same feeling about my first year in Australia and I can't tell you who was Julien when he first landed in Perth in November 2012. A lot has been going on. I feel like the characters in Inception when they wake up after they lived a year dreaming within a dream.