Our stop for the night at Kumara is only a couple of km from the start of the famous Coast to Coast, and is old mining town full of history and hardship, and home of an early and larger than life (ex) Prime Minister, “King Dick” Seddon.. Days end appeared out of the worsening sleet, a welcome respite after what should have been a relatively short day of just over 300km. We’d stopped at Springfield for lunch and a cold drink(where the cafe is for sale just in case anyone is looking for a change of pace). We’d encountered many stretches of road works, most of which were controlled by “stop - go” people, most of whom were interested and quite keen to chat. It seems that this is now a very established and acceptable occupation, one ideally suited to those in rural communities not interested in anything overly academic. If nothing else, each stop (some a minute or two, others 10-15) presented an opportunity to stretch the legs and enjoy the view. The northern Canterbury towns we passed through, Amberley, Rangiora and Oxford are quite delightful, almost a step back in time. Arthur’s Pass was our next box to tick, again something to look forward to, and another opportunity to put into practice Mel’s advice. Those of us with Radar Detectors had been getting excellent value for money with several close calls being avoided, but all good things come to an end, and our tour leader fell prey to a blue highway patrol car, but with an outcome that was surprisingly acceptable. Fortunately others in the bunch took the hint and kept going, otherwise a few more demerit points and revenue dollars could have been added to the total - as above, the cop was surprisingly generous, lowering what could have been an embarrassing total into a bracket that we both considered better reflected circumstances. What a marvellous place Kumara has proven to be, the renovated old hotel offering rooms with character and history, Mike C delighted to be allocated the room once belonging to a famous local lady of questionable morality, she like he apparently being very boisterous and enthusiastic. Kumara also seems to be a Mecca for cyclists of the pedal variety, with several groups arriving, soaked and self righteous, and whilst outwardly interested I suspect they look down their noses at Harley people. Whilst unable to join us for the first few days of our journey, Mickey arrived from Christchurch in a rental car not too longer after we did, determined to make up for lost time, keen to be a recipient of the hard arse trip badge we intend getting made to celebrate- we’ll possibly vote on this, not sure thay his assurance that he has been with us in spirit qualifies him. A few drinks in the bar, then into dinner, duck wontons proving to be a very popular entree, most again opting for steak, although a couple of outliers showing a for duck confit or pizza, with the pavlova and sticky date being highly rated by those who could tackle dessert (your humble scribe showed remarkable restraint). Another fabulous meal. The West Coast has a reputation for rain and the forecast assures us that this will be the case, some light, some heavy, between here and Cardrona, 470km southwards - we’ll dress appropriately and take it easy. We’ll also be extra vigilant and careful when leaving town this morning - last nights rain showed that a truck had left a trail of diesel along the road.... to edit. 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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