If you have a letterbox in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, you’ll find a copy of the Upper Hutt Leader inside on Wednesday (NZ Time).

The front page should feature a couple of grubby cycle tourists who arrived home over the weekend.

For those of you who don’t live in Upper Hutt then please move here. We need more friends. Before you pack your worldly possessions and set sail for the green grass of the valley, you can read the story online here.

It’s been great being home and we have ridden our bikes every day so far. We just can’t shake this bug yet. Riding our bikes just feels normal.

Our homecoming podcast should be online later this week or early next. There will probably be one more podcast where we review our trip, some of our gear and muse on our future plans.

We also want to provide the cycle touring community with a decent gear review portal so keep coming back and hopefully we will have extensive reviews of how our kit list stacked up after 13 months on the road.

We’re almost a stone’s throw away from home in this week’s How Are You? Where Are You? podcast.

A lot of road has been traveled between Christchurch and the top of the South Island and we’ve been blessed to meet some brilliant people as well as enjoying outstanding autumn weather.

We thought we had left all the beautiful scenery behind when we left the West Coast but the mainland has continued to delight especially when riding the lonely Rainbow Track through the country’s biggest farm. The weather tried to spoil the party that day but like what has happened so many times on this journey, the following day’s bright and brilliant sun erased any memories of struggle 24 hours earlier.

Two of the most moving things to happen to us since we arrived back in the homeland occurred on this final leg. One was a visit to Baden’s old stomping ground of Christchurch to see all the positivity to arise from the trauma of a devastating earthquake in 2011. The other was a visit to the Te Awhina Marae, the Maori meeting house in Motueka where we were privileged to be formally welcomed on but also to hear cycling comrade Nick sing.

Peanut butter is the fuel that has kept our wheels turning since we arrived in New Zealand so we went to inspect the Pic’s factory in Stoke for any performance-enhancing qualities.

Oh and something shat on Baden’s face.

Rediscovering Christchurch

Clockwise from top left: Rita Angus’s ‘Cass’ at Christchurch Art Gallery; Shelley and Baden on route to Hurunui; our digs in Governor’s Bay; brilliantly shot photo with Baden and buddies Katie and Conan; Baden and his other mate Lola

Riding the Rainbow Track

Clockwise from top left: Rainbow Track day 2; Nick and Guk smash a stream crossing; Fowler Hut interior; Nick tries to show us the way to go; break at Fowler Hut; on top of Island Saddle, NZ’s highest accessible road pass.

Motueka Inspires

Clockwise from top left: Motueka mural; Sean from Te Awhina Marae; the famous “Moist Maker” sandwich; Baden and Nick ride the backroads to Motueka; Te Awhina Marae.

Final Days on the Road

Left to right from top: Monica, the tour leader at the Pics factory; something shat on Baden’s face; a provincial curry in Picton; illegal drinking in Picton; day 2 on the Rainbow Track; Rainbow Track river crossing; dog whistle; movie watching in Nelson; Nick and Pikiora at Te Awhina Marae; Sedgemere Hut on the Rainbow Track

Our Final Leg in the South Island