The dawn was very clear and frosty , max 1 c when I hit the road just after 7 am . Mary , the Stations mistress had given me half a dozen eggs and I had risen before 6 am to prepare for the big day . With a few slices of cheese I made myself a 6 egg omelette which was to be the only food I had till after the ride ended at the Hamner Top 10 campground . After setting up my tent I set off for the supermarket and purchased a bit more essential supplies including some nice beef .. still carrying venison and it stayed frozen such was the day.

Fingers and toes were particularly painful over the first 10 kms but with the climbing starting to get serious as I headed up to the biggest climb of the day , Ward’s Pass , my blood flowed and out to the extremities and warmed the pinkies.

The farm is currently not permitting tourist vehicles because of fire risk , but cyclists are OK and great not having to contend with other visitors. Only one fully locked gate that meant I had to completely unload my bags and get the bike over and reload .

The Ward Pass was pretty steep and a hard climb . For me it was a 3 bites of the cherry hill , with pauses standing over to let the breathing and heart rate settle a bit

Saw a bunch of brevet riders as I passed them all , just so much faster way to cycle tour despite the considerable weight difference with my 40 kg load compared to these minimalist 10 – 15 kg payloads . was conserving battery with eco setting but found I had heaps of reserve as after Wards the parcours were generally flat and for me very fast . I arrived at Hamner Springs by 1:30 pm , happy with that .

The ever changing vistas had me stopping for photos . The land is sensuous, curvaceous and simply a bit stunning .

It’s all too beautiful… it’s all too beautiful

The day warmed up , off came the puffer jacket and back to only 3 layers . The final part of the ride goes over a place called “ Jollies Pass “ and it’s an unpleasant goat track with water bogs of unpredictable depth followed by a long very steep , potentially dangerous descent all the way down to Hanmer . A great test of brakes as I couldn’t afford to have a runaway brake issue . A torturous slow descent but finally achieved .

Been a fantastic day that will be long remembered.