Stewart Law

By the evening, yesterdays rain had turned into heavy, heavy rain and extreme winds. There was a full storm with thunder and lightning through the night.

Hari Hari was just 38 miles form Franz Josef. A big storm was brewing, but we figured we could make it there, then take a day off to miss the worst of the storm the next day.

Stepping out today was like being in a different world after yesterday! It was bright blue skies and everything looked so beautiful.

This day was a complete washout. Oh how it rained and rained and rained. I’m amazed Stew got any pictures to be honest because my phone stayed in my pocket the whole time.

We were keen to get over the road closure and passed the landslide so we set off early this morning. We left the house at 7am and it was icy cold ❄️

Wanaka has a famous tree! It’s known as #ThatWanakaTree, so of course we popped down to take a look and take some not so impressive pictures of it.

We planned to stay in Wanaka only one night, leaving for Makarora the next day However, there were weather warnings for strong winds and rains. So, we took one day off.

With the views between Cromwell and Wanaka being so similar to the day before, I nearly didn’t write a post, but then I thought, who doesn’t want to see these pictures?!

‘I really didn’t want New Zealand to be the most beautiful country because it’s quite cliche,’ said Stew, ‘It is true though.’ New Zealand is the most beautiful country. You just can’t deny it.

Unbeknown to us, New Zealand is a hot spot for an elopement wedding, And we were engaged...

Our time in Queenstown was like a holiday! But I can’t say the same for the flight. The journey was quite turbulent, the worst we’d both experienced.

After five and half years of (impatiently) waiting, Stew proposed to me in Queenstown, New Zealand. This “Yes,” came even easier than when he invited me to cycle around the world one month into dating.

I could not believe our luck when @‌leaveit2cleave were in Sydney exactly when we were. We’d been planning a meeting for months. The four of us got talking pre-pandemic when we were both our cycle touring.

We really liked Sydney! Due to our admin error when booking flights we ended up with just three or four nights in Sydney and in that time we had to explore the city, pack down the bikes and visit some lovely friends!

We had loads to be honest and we could often find somewhere comfortable to eat, some even with a BBQ so we could make a hot drink or meal on the roadside without using our gas.

The east coast of Aus had our legs in absolute bits! I had a lot of misconceptions about Aus. I thought it was all sunshine, beaches, deserts and flat lands. Well, it isn’t 😂

Back in Malaysia I had done a TONNE of work to carry me through my Aus adventure. I wanted to make sure all my clients were ok and that I had done enough that I would not be overwhelmed in Aus. Then something happened…

We arrived in Melbourne on the 22nd August and ended up with just two nights there. We had planned for longer but it took us longer than anticipated to cycle here.

The Great Ocean Road wasn’t on my map at all before we left the UK for the second time.

Lots of Aussies told us we were crossing the country at the right time of year. And to be fair, they were right. Even in winter it did get very hot across the desert and I just can’t imagine doing it in summer.

Nullarbor Plain is the sort of place where you need to get some distance before you can fully appreciate your accomplishment.

Judith and Doug told us to visit Mount Gambier. It was already on route but we followed their advice and booked an extra night.

For me, cycle touring is the ultimate form of freedom. Hands down, it is the happiest time of my life.

We planned to ride from Adelaide to our meet point with Judith and Doug over two days. Our plan was to meet them for lunch on day two.