Tour Aotearoa Day 33: Franz Josef to Paringa, 57 miles, 2,910 feet elevation | Lucky Us 🍀

Riding Stats

Accommodations

Route Tracker

It was a gorgeous morning to wake up in the mountains.

Needing a food resupply we stopped at a Four Square on the way out of Franz Josef. We also knew we had three climbs right out of the gate this morning so we were a bit conflicted on how much food to buy. More food = more weight on the bike to schlep up and over.

In the end, donuts won but we ate them before we ever left the parking lot. I mean… that way we wouldn’t have to carry them. Blueberries, apples, nuts, bagels, oatmeal, a banana and other supplies also jumped into the shopping basket.

We must have our climbing legs by now or maybe it was just early in the day but the three saddles were over before we knew it.

Then the rest of the day it was mostly downhill through Fox Glacier and valleys with glacial streams trickling through them.

Rain threatened most of the day but the only thing we had to do was put our rain jackets on and lucky us, it pretty much quit raining shortly after.

Just before stopping at the Salmon Farm to poke around we stopped for a break at Bruce Bay. At a place that is prime for so much commercial development it remains unchanged. You’ll only find one food truck (serving coffee, cold drinks and ice cream) and public restrooms across the street. That’s it. It is unspoiled and pure New Zealand.

When we were looking up the Salmon Farm, Tom found an Air B & B cottage affiliated with the farm. We splurged for a dry night indoors and dang are we ever glad we did.

The host had homemade fudge (two varieties) and muffins waiting for us, fresh milk, museli for breakfast, coffee and an assortment of homemade jams. We were able to easily dry everything out from the night before.

Plus there was a washer and clothes line for laundry. Great find, Tom!

Just after pulling the clothes off the line we were lucky enough to see a rainbow that looked to land just next door.

We’ve begun to chart out the rest of our journey which includes one more ferry ride out of Queenstown, a couple healthy righteous climbs and even a few days of rain but we consider ourselves lucky to live these days on bicycles.

Click on the image below to view today’s video.