Whanganui to Vinegar Hill

Sunday March 18, 2018, 44 miles (71 km) - Total so far: 4,369 miles

(7,032 km)

A lovely day's riding (albeit hilly, and into an enormous headwind!) Our route took us straight up the hill out of town, which was quite a warm up - we found out later that there's an elevator you can take! We then spent a lot of the morning with a high vantage point, and the bluebird day meant for wonderful views. The road undulates through pretty farming country, all nestled in cosy valleys…..this means lots of climbing, however! The small backroads were wonderfully quiet, with drivers more likely to wave than try to run you off the road.

We thought our route was pretty good, and in combination with tomorrow, makes it well worth taking the detour to ride to Palmerston North away from SH 2.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1460372817

The last part of the ride was along SH 1, which was surprisingly ok. Somehow all of the traffic seemed to be going in the opposite direction. We noticed that you could camp at the domain in Hunterville (it looked free) which might be convenient, but is right next to the highway. We continued to the lovely spot that is Vinegar Hill, just off SH 54. Free outside peak season ($9 each otherwise) it's huge, pretty and even has cold showers.