After two nights and one day in Queenstown, it is time to head home, our original 6 buddies now whittled down to three, Craig already in Rarotonga, Mickey flying home with the ladies (pressure of other commitments, another holiday booked) and Chris, celebrating a wedding anniversary with wife Mary, flying in especially. Hard men Mel, Butch and Moth planned depart Queenstown in the predawn, and to blast through to Nelson today, booked on tomorrow's first ferry. After some thought we decided that since we only had 550 kms to cover, we'd opt for a slightly later departure. Imagine starting a ride with the hairpins on the steep side of the Crown Range, then coasting through to Wanaka for a bakery breakfast and coffee, making sure that no early morning Policeman was going to get the better of us - spectacular (including the bakery!) The views from the road across a glassy Lake Hawea were surreal, and no wonder people want to escape the rat race of city living - probably pretty cold in the winter, but I guess that's why God gave us the Gold Coast. Might have to come back and have another look... I've never experienced Haast Pass in the dry (I don't think it happens very often) and it was just magnificent - we'd left reasonably early and the roads were not too busy, allowing us to make good time, stopping only for gas and the obligatory whitebait fritters. we hooked into a long line of fast moving Harleys for the last 80-90km into Greymouth and really enjoyed a quick transit, although one impatient rider took off, and we later passed him by, stopped on the side of the road by a young cop, blues and reds flashing, looking very embarrassed, an ignominious way to pass the day. Comments are closed.
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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