Guest post by Millie who is rebelling after the Weld pass downhill…
The penultimate day of pedaling has brought us to the lovely campground at Spring Creek, North of Blenheim.
A minor miracle that we got here what with the 389 wineries (estimated) between Ward and our campsite. We were helped by the fact that we left Ward at the crack of dawn to avoid the wind and the traffic so none of said wineries were actually open as we sped past in the mists of the morn. OK, that last part is a lie. We didn’t speed.
The hills seemed bigger than expected, and we pushed up one pitch beside the ubiquitous vines.
Seddon was the first coffee stop: much anticipated after the hilly start to the day. Sadly Seddon lacks hipsters and the coffee wasn’t quite the hit we were hoping for, so we set off again to tackle Weld Pass to reach Blenheim.
Now, for those of you who have never sat clinging to the back of tandem while your mad partner speeds you down a windy road with oncoming trucks and brakes that don’t work very well and which scream with terror every time they’re applied… the descent was … well… character building.
We lived though and quickly saw the first welcome to Blenheim sign. Blenheim is a sunny spot, with a lot of wineries, but don’t be fooled, it doesn’t start at the welcome sign. Not that one, nor the next, or the one after that.
So, after 87 more kilometers (estimated) we finally found Blenheim. Blenheim, bless it, DOES have hipsters so our inner radar directed us forthwith to a fine cafe where we recovered from our hill mission.
Blenheim has some cool things going on. They have beanbags in odd places around the town where we saw people knitting, and reading in the sun. They have a river with nice tracks and seating. They also have a really cool craft shop called Fabric Creations run by really cool people, and a cycle lane all the way to Spring Creek! If we were slower on that last leg, it wouldn’t have anything to do with yards of gorgeous fabric and inspirational books finding their way into the coffin. Hem hem.
Our biking day over, we found books and a spot on the river bank to do some slothing, careful to keep our toes out of the water lest Eddie the eel, resident star attraction, take a liking to our toes! Short day to Picton tomorrow… assuming the wineries are still shut 😉