Christmas story of the odd prime

Christmas story of the odd prime

p always felt shunned as he was an odd prime.

One day an important mathematician was working on a difficult problem, and he really struggled to solve it.
After working on the problem for some time, he cried out:
“Only an odd prime would solve this problem!”

From then on mathematicians considered odd primes to be normal primes.

And p lived happily ever after.

Met woorde

Met woorde

Woorde vul spasies
spasies tussen mense
Dade maak kringe
kringe vervloei in jare
Wetes is spinnerakke
Vergetes is berou

Home Again

Home Again

Date: Friday 15 March 2013
Route: Linkwater to Picton to Home
Distance: 42km
Weather: Sunny

We had a pleasant 18km ride with lots of glimpses on the sounds along Queen Charlotte Drive to Picton.

 After booking our ferry tickets we spent some time exploring the Picton shops and eating lunch. We found out all about the Kaipupu point wildlife sanctuary – a community project where they have put up a predator proof fence across a peninsula and have now been pest free for several months. The sanctuary is opening next weekend and entry is free.

 We were on the 2.15pm ferry back to Wellington.

 Horokiwi hill is still harder than the hills we did in the South Island (a 2.5 km climb that is very steep). Reinhard was glad to see us. The cats and chooks are in good health. It is good to be home, but sad that our holiday is over.

Last Leg

Last Leg

Date: Thursday 14 March 2013
Route: Nelson to Linkwater
Distance: 97km
Weather: overcast in morning, sunny in afternoon
Accommodation: Linkwater Motel – recommended

We had some long uphills this morning between Hira and the Rai Valley. The road had too many trucks to be comfortable for cycling. The Rai River is incredibly clear, you can see the pebbles at the bottom as you ride alongside it.

We had a break for coffee and fudge at Havelock and shopped for our dinner. We were relieved to turn off the busy Blenheim road onto Queen Charlotte Drive after Havelock.

There is another long uphill straight after Havelock with great views over the sound. This part of the ride was a lot quieter and more pleasant, with no trucks.

There is not much at Linkwater – no mobile phone reception either. However the hotel is very comfortable and quiet.

Rest day in Nelson

Rest day in Nelson

Date: Wednesday 13 March 2013
Distance: 23km
Weather: overcast
Accommodation: Nelson City Holiday Park

 We enjoyed a restful day exploring Nelson city.

The Royal Hotel

The Royal Hotel

Date: Tuesday 12 March 2013
Route: Motueka to Nelson
Distance: 88km (62km to Nelson, rest around town)
Weather: warm and sunny
Accommodation: Nelson City Holiday Park

We left fairly late today, still a bit weary from the previous day’s marathon ride.

We first did a scenic ride along the Motueka beachfront – there is a rough cycle track there. We then took an inland route through farmland towards Nelson. There are cycle routes under construction here (Great Taste Trail), but unfortunately not realised yet, so we were on a road and had to ride along the motorway part of the way. We met a bewildered Swiss family on the motorway. They had their small daughter in a cart behind one of the bikes. We felt sorry for them as the motorway is certainly not suitable for this, but this was really no alternate route here.

We did a detour to go and look at Rabbit Island just before Richmond. The island is covered in plantations and the gate on the bridge closed as sunset – there is not much here – just a recreation reserve.

We picked up the bicycle trail from here again into Richmond – it was pretty rough again (what Kris calls a goat track – better for walkers than cyclists). We met the Swiss family again in Richmond and had a long chat.

After Richmond there was a beautiful (wide, tarred) bicycle route all the way to Nelson.

We spent some time in Nelson checking out the different camp sites. None are really close to
the central city – we eventually settled for the City Holiday Park.

In the evening we went into the centre and had a pizza each – very good and discounted 30% between 4 and 6pm. Then we looked around at the pubs and Kris found the Royal Hotel. It doesn’t look very promising from the outside, but Kris saw there were some interesting beers on tap. Richard, the owner has a passion for beer and stocks a selection of locally brewed beers. He took us through a tasting. We enjoyed the Mussel Inn Manuka beer (very aromatic), as well as their Dark Horse beer (beautifully balanced) – these are brewed in Golden Bay and delivered in person by the beer maker. The Lighthouse Pilsner was also very interesting with buttery caramel tones. Richard was so personable we spent the rest of the evening there. Later on we met his wife. A group came in to play a friendly pool competition and Kris was roped in to make up the numbers. We also watched a re-run of the Super 14 Stormers vs Chiefs (Stormers won). Richard only bought the bar about two and a half months ago, but he is doing a great job creating a welcoming, community atmosphere, with great beer.

If you go to Nelson – visit this bar!!