West Coast, then Christchurch.

From Haast, I zoomed down the astonishingly steep hill and put my tent up at a Dept. of Conservation campsite called "Pleasant Flat". While cyclists coming the other way (i.e. heading up the aforementioned steep hill) may think of it this way, I was slightly disappointed at the leveling-out of the gradient. And the sheer quantity of sand-flies. I tried to make a small campfire in the fire-pit, but after several hours of constantly stoking and, er, "bellowing," I conceded defeat at the hands of the absolutely sodden wood.
However, I did meet a nice family from Christchurch while I was huffing and puffing on those dying flames. I talked to Ian and Sophie for a while (they had two boys, one of which was named Ben), and they helped me with the fire for a bit.
I tried my luck at fishing there, but again, no luck! The sand-flies certainly enjoyed me, though. Maybe after having ridden a bike all day the fish can smell me coming?
The next morning, I left as quickly as I could and pedaled for Haast Township. It was ever-so-slightly downhill, and I made fairly good time, stopping along the way in several places to go for short walks. I got into Haast (well, there are actually 3 places with Haast in the name within about 5km of each-other, which makes it a bit confusing) and looked at the great deal of nothing there. At the "supermarket" I grabbed a few supplies and said hello to a couple in an R.V. parked outside. After that I looked at a couple of backpackers, but in the end decided to just head on and camp somewhere that night to save the money for when it was raining.
So, I ended up doing an extra 50km until I made it to Lake Paringa, another DOC campsite, getting there later than I would have liked. As I dismounted and began unpacking my tent, the couple who I had briefly talked to outside the supermarket offered me a Roast Lamb Sandwich. It was very possibly the most enjoyable sandwich I've ever had the pleasure to consume. I guess people don't usually describe eating a sandwich as "enjoyable", but rather: "tasty", or even "delicious". But then again, MOST people don't cycle 100km with 70lbs of bike and gear and get offered a sandwich by a fellow traveler at the end!
That is definitely something I've learned: When traveling (well, it probably applies to all facets of life, actually) always be nice to everyone you meet, and get talking with them if they're so-inclined. You would be amazed at how often those random people turn out to be amazing and wonderful contacts in the near future.
Lake Paringa was an extremely beautiful spot, with (apparently) excellent Trout and Salmon fishing. Unfortunately I did not toss my line in, as the sand-flies were at their most-vicious-yet. I headed out later in the day after a swim, and continued on along towards Fox Glacier. As evening was drawing near, I started looking for a campsite off the road. From the road I saw four or five R.V.s all parked in a gravel lot, and asked them if I could pitch my tent off the road behind their caravans. I ended up getting a free dinner out of it, which was awesome.
Went to Fox Glacier the next day, and decided to go off the main road to another DOC campsite at Gillespie's Beach. It was 20km one way, with 12km being a steep, narrow, and winding gravel road. It was a nice beach, with, you guessed it, sand-flies. I cooked my dinner on the beach, and met a really nice couple from N. Ireland. After dinner I was walking past two Aussie couples near my tent-site, and they gave me a second dinner, with sausages and veggies. In the morning, the Irish couple invited me over to their camper-van for breakfast (porridge and tea), which was very much appreciated (museli is getting a bit boring). Man, I'm just cruising along getting free meals left and right!
From Gillespie Beach, I cycled over to Franz Joseph Glacier and stayed in a backpackers--at the DOC office there was a severe weather warning, with up to 300mm of rain forecasted, so I decided it would be worth the $20 to stay in a backpackers for the night. I watched "Crash" that night, which is an excellent movie for those of you who haven't seen it.
Of course, because I decided to stay in a Backpackers' for the night, it barely rained at all. I cycled along northwards a bit more, and ended up camping at Lake Ianthe, yet another DOC campsite. That night, all of the rain which didn't come the day before suddenly arrived. At around 10:30pm I decided that my tent wasn't working as well as I thought it would. Maybe the water was getting in through the zippers? So, I semi-packed and ran everything the 400m to the Men's Changing Room over 6-7 trips. I put my sleeping mat and bag on a bench inside the blessed dryness, and fell asleep. I woke up with mosquitoes all over my face. Man, this is a shitty place. What next? So, I pitched my tent (which is free-standing) inside the changing room in order to escape from those vile insects.



So, I was fairly soaked in the morning, but not quite as badly as I could've been. I cycled to Hokitika and stayed in a Backpacker hostel there. It was fairly cheap, and nothing flash. I made Chilli there, which was absolutely excellent for my first attempt. If I do say so myself. There was a fantastic sunset that night (coming to mind is the saying: "Red sky at night, Sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning"? I've been trying to think out how the colour of the sky at different times has such an effect on sailors. I have some crazy theories I've thought up.)



Afterwards I just sat in the kitchen and talked to this couple from Christchurch who were just finishing up a short vacation. They were really nice, and knew quite a bit about the surrounding area. Many days later, as he faced the destroyed rear tire, Benjamin Corner was to remember that distant afternoon when his friends-from-Christchurch told him about Arthurs Pass. Alright, that sentence doesn't quite make sense, but I felt like adding in a literary reference. It was only two days later, and the afternoon when I'd talked to them wasn't very distant at all. Anyways, my rear tire shredded while going over Arthur's Pass, and after I had been off the bike only 5 minutes they happened to be driving by and offered me a lift all the way to Christchurch! I want to reiterate to anyone traveling that they should ALWAYS be nice to people they meet along the way. They can save your ass.
They gave me a bed to sleep in that night, and a meal to eat. As we were talking at dinner, it turned out that the man, Selwyn, had won a Gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in Field Hockey! I actually got to touch it, which was really amazing. It was really cool to actually meet an Olympian. You see them on T.V. and the newspapers, but they somehow seem like an unreal, fantastic, separate group of people. So that was really neat.


Okay, going to stop for the moment, maybe I'll get to update a bit more in the near-future.