Departed on first light at about 7 am , a clear sky after a stormy night in which there had been a light snow on the tops . Was wearing long sleeve polypropylene leggings and top , plus 2 cycle garments , gloves and boy it was oh so cold . Everystop to take a photo I had to remove one glove and the fingers and toes suffered for the first kms until I stopped and added a puffer jacket , relegated the helmet to luggage and had the puffer top hoody keeping the head warm .

So many photo opportunities, was spoiled for choice

This remarkable country is particularly beautiful in the early light of dawn where the shadows are accentuated revealing the contours in their full majesty . Seemed I was more off the bike than on with another beautiful vista that needed a photo taken .

Some good climbing today with Upcot saddle cresting at 867 metres . Higher still tomorrow .

Road conditions are pretty good as it does not get a huge amount of traffic due to limits of when the road is open . Only saw a small handful of farm vehicles and a MOLESWORTH 4×4 tag along tour .

Initially I’d only anticipated stopping here for an hour or two to gather a bit of charge , but I’m so captivated by this place I decided to slow things down and stop here. The major enticement that sealed the deal is the possibility of getting more early light photos as I move on thru the MOLESWORTH tomorrow morning on the way to Hamner Springs

The sounds to sounds Brevet riders are now moving thru , didn’t actually see any in person today , but tomorrow I’ll see heaps . Maybe even some stopping here tonight maybe . Will be a busy day methinks .