A big day in the mountains...

It's going to be a big day today. I don't usually plan mountain passes on only the second day of a tour, but it is in between where I am and where I want to be so there is no choice really. 

The former Ranfurly railway station is now the tourist information centre.

The hotel made me a nice cooked breakfast but the coffee was terrible. Luckily the cafe next door was open early so I called in for a decent cappuccino and got a great big muffin for later. 

I headed off through farmlands again to the foot off the Kakanui Range and after a brief stop to eat my muffin at the old Kyeburn Diggings reached the remote Dansey Pass Hotel just after midday.

     

     

I lingered only long enough for a coffee and cake, as I knew the hard work was about to start. It's an 11 kilometre climb up to the pass, followed by a brief but steep descent, then the sting in the tail - a short but impossibly steep hill to really test tired legs. I managed both with little walking, but many, many rest stops. 

     

 

Eventually I arrived at the Dansey's Pass Holiday Park just as the sun dropped behind the hills. The temperature was already down to 8 degrees as I arrived. Just in time too - I could barely stand when I got off the bike.