Rainbow to Picton

The day after the Lees Valley mud bath I decided to go to Picton for another 10days work, so rather than waste a 700km round trip on tarmac I wended my way through the Rainbow Road, famous in the South Island for crossing some amazing and rugged terrain and connecting with NZ's largest farm, Molesworth Station which is at least 2000 sq km.
Jollie's Pass
The pictures speak for themselves. Desolate as it seems, I saw four other vehicles during the 106 km route, plus one lone female cyclist. It was 7.30pm and getting dim. I took a few pics of the Molesworth boundary and ate a sandwich. As I proceeded down the hill the other side I saw a blond female figure at the waters edge with no shoes. No equipment or anything else in sight. I stopped. "Have you been swimming in that?!" I asked incredulously. It would have been about 4 degrees.

We stopped and chatted. She had just stopped her bicycle after a long trek into the area and had dived into the stream to cool off. If I had arrived 30 seconds earlier, she said, I would have had quite a surprise apparently - a naked Scots woman paddling in the freezing currents. Not what you need when trying to concentrate on gravel bends.

After talking for 15 minutes, I passed on through the valley and out to the farmhouse, paid my $10 toll fee and made steady progress to Blenheim then Picton. Exhausted. Good preparation for another week of marine farming, early starts and questionable sea legs.

[See More Marine Farm Pics in the gallery, and the toilet we added to the barge.]