Returning home

Our epic honeymoon is drawing to a close and so it seems fitting to cast down a few insightful pearls of wisdom (cough cough) I've gleaned over the course of our travels.

1. Never put on a brave front when offered a mountain bike with a hard narrow seat designed for a man, it's just not worth it.

2. Be wary of any doctor who tells you to wear a moonboot for a month, especially when they don't express any concern that you can't move two of your toes.

3. Your Spanish teacher is incorrect when she warns "you will die" if you continue to enjoy the odd Hiram Walker gin and tonic.

4. La Ley y El Orden or Law and Order is pure television gold..."chung-chung"

5. Don't touch the shower head when it's connected to a 30amp current as you will have a dead arm for at least half an hour.

6. The Settlers of Catan is an addictive boardgame if you play it with the best people.

7. You will always meet friendly, generous and inspiring people no matter where you travel in the world.

8. Beware any foods that look like tofu - appearances are deceiving and reconstituted fish remains make not for an enjoyable soy substitute.

9. Aotearoa is beautiful and I feel lucky to call it home.

It has been a pleasure writing this blog.

Until the next journey, with love,

Mrs R

7 haikus for 7 days and 280kms

Vancouver to Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island

















Bus, skytrain, ferry
Bike, ferry and bike some more
Icecream in the sun!


Cowichan Bay to Lake Cowichan

















Box of granola
Fresh coffee, harbourside ride
Bumpy railway path


Lake Cowichan to Port Renfrew

















Lonely logging road
Skinny dip in Lizard Lake
Albacore tuna


Port Renfrew to Point-No-Point

















Meaty uphill grind
Sunset dining with vino
Utter luxury


Point-No-Point to Sooke

















A meagre breakfast
Red log bridge to Point-No-Point
Love that buttertart


Sooke to Victoria

















Galloping Goose Trail
Tea and toast with Colina
Peach and apple wines


Victoria to Vancouver






















Easy riding now
Hearty luncheon at Roost farm
Missed the bloody boat


The Rs

Vancouver Island - bring it on!!

We have been living in Vancouver for 9 weeks! Packing up our small furnished apartment has been a little sad but also revealing... check out all the coffee and tea we have been through!
Tomorrow we head over to Vancouver Island where we have 7 days of cycling to look forward to. Travelling by bicycle seemed like a cost effective and fun way to explore. Having said that, I suspect we have some (enjoyably!?) challenging days ahead of us given that we decided not to hire panniers and are instead opting to ride with a small backpack each. Kiwi-ingenuity and a certain sense of oneness with each other and each others sweat and possibly increasingly smelly cycle gear will have to dominate!

The basic check-list looks good though:
- decent weather report
- wet weather gear, down-jackets, gloves etc in the bags just in case the weather turns sour on us
- spare tubes and associated repair kit sorted
- accommodation booked - showers/baths/even a spa pool on one night - so we can go to sleep smelling of roses even if there isn't always the opportunity to wash our cycle gears!
- coffee - bound to get headaches if we go without
- almond and peanut butter plus plenty of nuts, dried fruit and chocolate!

Ben is currently attempting to consume as much cereal as he can based on his motto ... you never know when you're next going to get a meal. If I'm anxious about the cycling he is beyond anxious about getting hungry!!!

See you on the flipside

Mrs R