We last saw our bikes late Saturday at Ace Rentals at Christchurch after a quick 500 km blast from Queenstown. They'd all performed magnificently, never missing a beat the whole time we were away.
The new tyres I'd had fitted two weeks prior to leaving are new no longer, with over 5000km of hard riding apparent - but I never begrudge paying for new tyres. The good people from Biketranz were a bit cautious about promising delivery before Easter, but I received a call this afternoon and half an hour later a very dirty Sabrina was back in my garage, up on the jack, and after so much great service, deserving a super clean. Hours later I have finished, at least for tonight, with more TLC to follow tomorrow. I love my bike! There are very few towns, no matter how small or insignificant, that don't have a memorial to those young men who went off to war and never returned.
On some the list of names is short, on others, all too long, with many families making multiple contributions, brothers and cousins dying together. As we travelled about it was easy to become immune to the fact that each memorial and each name came at a cost far in excess of the marble and granite, in many instances the only place grieving families had to record their loss. So, rather than blasting past these scared places on my next Road Trip, I'll take the time to stop to respect those long passed, and to record each one. "Lest we forget " We'd arranged for our bikes to be collected and transported back to Auckland home Friday afternoon. Rather than hanging about and punishing ourselves all over again we decided to bring forward our departure to 1425 Friday. Unfortunately someone's enthusiasm overshadowed their competence and we ended up booked on a Saturday afternoon flight - 24 hours later than we wanted, quite a problem as accomodation was an issue. We realised our predicament over brunch (by then we were back on soft solids), and after much tooing and fro-ing found only only option was ex Christchurch, 502kms away. We got our act together and headed off, arriving 6 hours later - more fabulous scenary on great roads, and the added bonus of a late lunch at the rightly famous Fairlie Bakery. Another quick but safe ride, considered a bonus by us all. We're now in the Koru lounge replenishing fluids, and looking forward to a quiet weekend Two retrobates on our deck at Peppers Queenstown prior to hitting town Friday night.
We have been making our plans whilst on the run so it was not until lunch in Bluff that we decided to book accomodation in Queenstown- it was about then that we found Queenstown was chocka. It took a fair bit of effort (on the behalf of others) but we finally scored an apartment at Peppers. We made the obligatory stop at E Hayes in Invercargill, home of Burt Munro's world famous "Fastest Indian ". What a treasure trove that place is! The ride to Queenstown was right up there with the best of them, the last 30km of fast, tight and windy corners being a real rush, with very little traffic to distract us from the sheer joy of being on the road . For the whole of our adventure, 7 days and nearly 4000km, My radar detector has provided sterling service and kept us (perhaps undeservedly) from too much unwanted attention, and for that I'm very pleased. We may have gone fairly fast from time to time, but never st a risk to ourselves or others - the odd errant sheep being the exception. so, what to do on St Patricks Day in Queenstown? A few drinks whilst wearing silly hats, a couple of successful hours at the Casino then back into the bars, being conspicuously amongst the oldest party people in this town full of young travelers.
Not quite sure where the time went but it was well into Friday morning before we scored freshly baked meat pies to much while we staggered back to our room. This morning has started very slowly as we contemplate our moves for the day. One or two are mindful that blowing into the bag could be embarrassing . After a morning of hard riding we have arrived in Bluff. We're at a restaurant paying Auckland prices for Oysters!
Jack the pub dog welcomed us this morning, looking forward to a walk around the blue lake We woke to a very chilly morning, ice on the bikes a warning to delay departure until the sun rose.
Multiple layers kept out most of the cold, although Craig looked at our screens in envy. Once underway A lone sheep appeared out of the shadows, nearly becoming a judder bar. I also know that bunnies cannot out run a Harley. We're enjoying a late breakfast in Roxborough getting a bit of sun and caffeine enroute to Invercargill Two Don Malcolm's, only one of who owns Mt St Bathans Station, 25,000 acres of high country & 10,000 stock. A great night at the Vulcan Hotel with hosts & publicans Michael & Jude Cavanagh.
We had a great ride from Oamaru, some of Otagos finest roads, almost no traffic and fast riding - awesome! The Constables cottage is perfect for we three bikers, tranquil and beautiful, and hundreds of bunnies! We enjoyed a great night at Gusto Bene Italian Restaurant, the real deal, antipasto and too much chianti, so what was supposed to be an early night went by the board.
It was still raining and very cold when we left Christchurch, with no specific plan in mind. It is now 2:30 and we are enjoying lunch in Oamaru We're having technical issues with Webby. Unfortunately the blogs are not posting in date order!
Apologies! The run from Taupo to Wellington was fairly straight forward, and reasonably quick despite the rain. We ran the gauntlet of traffic cops along the Desert Road and emerged unscathed... There were a bunch of bikers already waiting when we checked in for the ferry, but we were soon waved aboard and lashed down the bikes before retiring to the lounge -$45 well spent, food, drinks, comfy chairs (floor in Mikes case) and no screaming kids (!!!). Off the ferry, a tank of gas in Picton then a quick run to our motel in Blenheim. I was again reminded why I am not a travel agent - I'd made our booking was for a week hence, and they were full. Not to worry, we were soon checked in just across the road, and only 100m from the Speights Ale House. Just for a change we stayed away from beer and pinot. I had a dodgy curry on the ferry so was impressed when vodka soda settled things down - topped off be the best Caeser Salad ever - goos stuff! We started the day at the Warehouse, replacing socks and jocks discarded along the way - we travel light. The forecast was not good anywhere so we opted for the east coast, leaving Blenheim and the burnt soil of Marlborough (and these guys would really love some rain) bound for Kaikoura. The smell of the sea completes the transition from wine to crayfish country, with hundreds of resident seals adding to the economy, a real tourist attraction. The pups frollic in sheltered pools, mum's fairly close at hand, dear old dad sunbathing away from the racket. Brunch in Kaikoura, great all day breakfast and achance to rethink the day. Whilst the forecast was awful, the sky was devoid of any clouds at all, and the sun was turn on full blast. We opted for Hanmer Springs rather than the straight route to Christchurch and were treated to a fabulous day of unbeatable riding (the scenary was ok too!). We're in heaven, (especially me), the bark of my engine instantly becoming a magnificent snarl with the merest twist of the throttle, reminisent of the Spitfires V12 Merlin- very cool, but 100km/hr passes in a flash and before you know it there is the very real and ever present risk of walking home... All good things come to an end, and the last hour or so brought with it the rain we'd been promised - worsened by having to negotiate Christchurch's rush hour traffic (and nearly dropping my bike in the process - phew). |
Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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