Came down from Arthur's Pass and down Oturo Canyon. WHAT A DESCENT! The road twists back and forth and is VERY steep. It would be hell going up the west side. It's about 10 km of super steep hill.

At the bottom, I took a side road (Old Christchurch Road) which looked good on the map but turned out to be gravel. At first I thought it would be very un-fun but it turned out just fine. The beginning was uphill and rolling through a forest that was almost a jungle. Lots of trees with moss, palms, bushes, ferns, it was beautiful. Towards the end it flattened out and I went by some farms. The last couple of km were no fun. It was through thick gravel. Very slow.

Guess what: I walk into a shop that has an information sign out front to ask about a campsite and a woman invites me home. She is from Portland and fell in love with a Kiwi. Now she lives here! Such nice people. We just went to the beach with their dog and played Frisbee. It's an awesome dog that is best friends with their cat. Something rare. We had fish & chips for dinner, their traditional Friday meal.

[If I ever get a chance to build my own house, it will have a shower like these guys had. The shower head was on the ceiling and the water rained down from above. What a difference this makes compared to water that jets out of a wall-mounted head. No stooping/crouching, etc. You just stand there and enjoy it.]

Training Diary Comments: Overcast, windy & warm. 5 hrs. Today I was tired from yesterday, I also couldn't sit down very long: sore crotch.