Friday January 24, 1997

Hello from camp at Lake Paringa

The site is on the shore of the lake. The lake has several different trees, the silver beech, rimu and N.Z. tallest tree the kahikatea. A great source of information about N.Z. past and present are the offices of Department of Conservation. The office are located throughout N.Z, and offer free advise on all the sites .Also, they provide historical info, weather updates, and track descriptions of back country adventures. I would recommend contacting one nearest your point of arrival in N.Z. . The route today was 98 km of beautiful scenery on one side the Alps and the other was the Tasman Sea. The pace of ride was very fast; only a few climbs along the coast make for some fast kph as average time. Tomorrow will be heading to Glacier country. The Fox Glacier and Franz Josef .What is so special about these glaciers is they descend almost into the forest-a mere twelve km from the sea . Twelve km in the opposite direction take you to the top of N.Z. highest peaks. Glaciers have shaped all of this country. Beautiful lakes have been left behind by previous ice age retreats and the low hills are old moraines. Stay tuned to see what happens and for beautiful photos of the glaciers.

Saturday January 25, 1997

Rode from Lake Paringa to Franz Josef Glacier. It was brutal, the rain never let up. Then the wind blew at about 40 mph the rest of the day. Decided to spent night at backpackers to get some form of dryness. Sometimes traveling is tough and the Big Dogs survive.

Sunday January 26, 1997

Hello from Lake Ianthe Forest

Camping at lake side. Visited Franz Josef Glacier this morning, it was impressive. The Glacier is one of the fastest moving in the world. It moves at an average of one foot a day. The name "Franz Josef " was given by a Swiss explorer. The ride was GREAT today! About 100 km from the Glacier to the lake Ianthe. I cycled thru one beautiful valley after another. However, I was rolling along so smoothly that my mates got left behind. I may be, solo for a while now. I must say the friend- ship was nice. But, I have to say this moment has been a little over due. Traveling alone can be rewarding in the regard of self accomplishment. The reception from people is much warmer being alone. Well will see what happens. I must get some rest an hope the Patriots have a chance in the Super Bowl.