Christchurch to Rakaia Gorge - Glenroy Wool Shed Detour

It's now Tuesday, February 12th and rain is coming. The skies are turning grey and threatening. Our ride out of Christchurch went inland on the scenic route per Brad and Sue's recommendation. Otherwise we would've been riding on SH1 which would be a road filled with traffic. The inland scenic route would take us through southern Canterbury, heading west toward Mt. Cook. All day long the weather was building. We stopped at noon and hid in some brush while one shower hit. Got back on the bikes and rode a false flat for about 50 miles until we started seeing dark, scary clouds and flashes of lightening ahead. Stopped at an intersection to see which direction the weather was going. Thought maybe we could plan an escape route...or hope that it would pass without us escaping at all! Noticed signs for a "lodge" 4 km west. Thought that might be the escape route for the night. Desperate for some direction we stopped "Harold" at the intersection to see if the lodge was still running. He said it was but it was $600.00 a night. Instead he offered us his dry, warm wool shed to stay in for the night. Offer taken! We were lucky...once in the building it started to rain in buckets. We would never have made it to the gorge, set up our tent, and made it through the night without getting everything soaked. Thanks so much Harold! Another New Zealander saves the day!

Harold runs a farm with 2,000+ sheep. He ran us through the whole sheep shearing process. The wool is separated into type and then batched to sell. Harold also talked about the cattle industry and competition between imports/exports with sheep farming. The states are definitely threatened by NZ wool/lamb. On occasion he raises cattle but prefers sheep farming. He said he doesn't like the cattle industry. He was told recently by someone whom he was doing business with that more money is made from a cow for its by-products/fat. He said that most of the fat is added into soy/burgers/food, etc. to give flavor. Yum. Harold would recommend lamb over beef anyday.