The South Island, ,New Zealand Unitour kicks off today. This is the second unitour of the South Island, 10yrs since the first!  We were taking a slightly different route this time, incorporating the new Alps to Ocean (A20) cycle trail, the Central Otago Rail Trail, Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold Trail.

We had quite a hectic morning as the riders flew into Christchurch from overseas and around the country. Unfortunately, we lost a member of our group, Eric, who couldn’t make it due to Visa issues.  Several riders had arrived the day before and picked up one of our two support vans- an 8-seater van driven by Said who travelled with our Italian riders. Dave Goodman, our second support driver arrived from Dunedin, and we spent a considerable amount of time getting our second hire vehicle sorted, a 12-seater van.

Ken, Anna and Chris went off on a big shop at the local supermarket, spending the next hour chasing their list around to find dozens of tins, loaves of bread, pasta, rice, fruit and vegetables etc. It was a mammoth effort to pack them all into boxes and load up the support van.
Then we’re off! It took us a few hours to drive to Tekapo, by which time we were all starving! Anna got things happening in the kitchen, getting the troops together to put together a hearty meal of Nachos and Chili con Carne.
We had a gorgeous view of the Lake, although our late arrival meant we didn’t get much of a chance to look around. Ken and Anna held the tour briefing, and then it was off to bed!