I get up and have the free continental breakfast that came with the room. After, I get laundry done while working on more writing. At this point I’m only 4 days behind and will be caught up soon. It’s time to find a places to help change my tires. In the package that was delivered to Queenstown, NZ I had a spare set of tires that I’ve been carrying in my bag the last 4 cities. The closest bike shop is by the highway and will need to take a cab to get there. I find a place close by that does bike rentals, Toddy’s Backpackers. About a 10 minute wheel down Todd Street is Toddy’s. I meet Brett, who is building a deck for the pool and will help me out but I need to come back around 6pm. In the mean time I go to the Reptile Center. They have 7 steps to get to the entrance but they have a door by the steps that takes you through the outside exhibit to the inside area. One of the handlers does about a 15 minute presentation on the bearded dragon, blue tongued lizard and python. After each presentation I was able to hold each reptile

I have my good M-100 headphones I use on the plane but I also have ear buds that I like to listen to music while I wheel around town. The ones I brought broke in Sydney, AU and I bought a pair that lasted about 2 weeks. I’ve been without ear buds since Christchurch, NZ. I head to Kmart for a pair of headphones. They don’t have ear buds so I try the in ear headphones. With the long trip to Uluru tomorrow I’d like to have music to listen to. I also buy a 16GB SD card because I’ve taken over 2,600 photos and don’t know when my current card will be full. Preparing for the worst I get what is to be “the best” fly repellant, Desert Blend, and an insect net for over my head. By now it’s almost 5pm so I start heading to Toddy’s with a stop on the way for a happy hour beer at Ibis Bar. I make it to Toddy’s by 6pm and Brett is still working on the deck. He see’s me coming and meets me with a chair to transfer to. It only takes about 15 minutes to change my tires and I offer to buy him beer for helping me out. He says “No, More than happy to help you out”. I thank him again and as I’m leaving he starts back working on the deck. I’ve meet some very nice people willing to help me out on this trip from changing tires, inflating my tires and pushing up/holding me back on hills. I head back to Ibis for dinner and an early night with a long day to Uluru Friday.