Sprain stops Play. Whataroa/Lake Mahinapua/Greymouth/Reefton/Maruia Springs/Hanmer Springs/Kaikoura/Picton/Wellington/Wanganui (18/2/10 to 1/3/10)

Yes we are back in the North Island after cycling up the stunning west coast to Greymouth and then getting over Lewis Pass to Kaikoura. En route we popped in to see Brian and Julia who we'd stayed with 2 months before and we had a lovely chat over a cup of tea and some cake.

The weather continues to be roasting hot. We spent our last night in the South Island in lovely Kaikoura and then got the train to Picton and the ferry to Wellington. Very sad to be leaving the South Island but looking forward to doing some fun stuff in the North.

We got off the ferry and headed on the dual carriage way to the city centre with a huge tail wind when I slipped on some railway tracks and fell heavily on the road. Luckliy the traffic stopped and we got me and bike (and broken-off saddle) off the road. I got some first aid at the IT store next to us and then we pushed our bikes for about and hour to the hotel.

Anyway, I've got various aches, pains and bruises and I've sprained both wrists. The right one is pretty much OK now but I've done something to the left one which means I have to rest it for 10 days!!! This means no cycling. We got the bus from Wellington to Wanganui and instead of 2 nights we'll be here for 4. On Thursday we plan to do a canoeing trip on the remote Wanganui river and Nic will paddle whilst I sit and enjoy the view!

Can't believe we only had 2 weeks of cycling left to do and this happens. We've now cycled nearly 6000km and only had 600 left!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the nice sunset photos; these will have to keep you going until we do something worth photographing! Keep following us.