Family cycling the length of NZ
There’s mum, Steff, dad, Adrian, and the three children Jazz, 11, Mahe, 9, and Charlie, 7.
They’re the Braaksma family, and they’re cycling from Bluff to Cape Reinga.
They had intended to travel overseas, but when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, they decided to look at other options.
And with ‘‘lots of chatting and yarning to people’’ along the way, the 4000-kilometre slog is proving a good way to promote their hometown of Te Anau.
‘‘There’s a lot of spotlight on places like Queenstown, [but] a lot of those little towns like Te Anau and Tekapo, those that don’t get much publicity, they’re struggling just as much,’’ Steff Braaksma said.
The family estimated the journey would take about eight months, but they would take a break over winter to look after a hunter’s hut in Fiordland.
Massage therapist Steff said business was booming in Fiordland before Covid, but a lot of places were now on the brink of closure.
Mahe described Fiordland as a place with two towns, with a lot of mountains and rivers. He said Blenheim was the busiest town they had been to so far.
The family arrived in Blenheim on Tuesday, having come through the Molesworth Station. They had chosen to go inland via Hanmer Springs rather than through Christchurch.
Marlborough was also the first region where they had to pull out a rain jacket.
The family were using as few main highways as possible, as it was safer for the children..
‘‘We’ve only done 100km on highways. It’s quite mentally draining on highways, you’re trying to keep the kids left and keep them concentrated,’’ Steff said.
They intended to travel to Picton via Port Underwood, which would take around four to five days.
They had already covered around 2000km, and the majority being on gravel or cycle trails.
Adrian, who worked for the Department of Conservation, said it was a ‘‘pretty neat’’ time to travel New Zealand.
‘‘Everyone has a connection with everyone, it’s a shame for tourism, but at the same time it feels like you’re travelling New Zealand 30 years ago,’’ he said.