Can you imagine having to go back to the basics and have to relearn the essentials? I am now getting better at looking right then left when crossing the street, I am getting better at understanding Kiwi English, I still can’t pronounce the names of the towns, but the worst is navigating the cart without collision in a busy supermarket. Supermarket aisles have have the same circulation rules as the road!

Sticking to the left.

Coffee has been awesome! Every town seems to have tonnes of coffee shops and I have yet to be served a bad latte. Food on the other hand, hasn’t been exciting, I think that we need to find more local specialties.

We all know that hydration is key, so I am sampling wines. I am not a wine connoisseur, but I am looking forward to a tour of wineries.

Bike packing according to Anne-Marie…

I ride with 2 younger ladies and I am showing them the basics of bike packing, like carrying a bottle of wine in a jersey pocket, chips on the bike without breaking them, how to do laundry in the shower.…

We had an easy day today, low mileage and touristy visits. Tomorrow will be an uninteresting 70km ride to Rotorua and it seems that our luck with the weather has turned, and it should be a wet one.

Anne-Marie is the owner of Liv Vancouver, the first female focused bicycle boutique of its kind in Canada. An avid cyclist & bike packer, she has ridden down the coast from Vancouver to San Francisco twice, among other exciting two-wheeled expeditions. She is now on a bicycle tour through New Zealand with her daughter Frederique & colleague Kelsey. Visit Anne-Marie’s personal blog here.