Oamaru proved to be a hit with the team, lovely rooms, and a courtyard to ourselves - for which the other guests would have been pleased, particularly post dinner.
We wandered 10 minutes into town, and lobbed into the first place we found, being Fat Sally’s - pub fare, and other than Mickey who, even after three attempts, has yet to find a decent fish meal. After a couple of nights of steak, the chicken, Camembert and apricot was the preferred option, and not too bad either. The walk back to the motel was quite therapeutic, but caused one or two to work up a thirst. Mickey proved that he is in fact multi-lingual, albeit in Swahili. As prophesied, Jeff was packed and off to Wanaka and Lisa not long after the sun rose this morning - must be love. It is Chris’s birthday (and one of Mike C’s sons) so something else to celebrate. The rest of us headed off at 8:30 as planned, bound for Gore via a circuitous route that took in the Catlains, part of the country well worth a visit, yet known to most. In deference to the fairly severe change in temperature, we all dressed in multiple layers, some soon realising that even more was required. Our day started with a “fruit salad” of traffic cops - why a fruit salad? Well, we saw a red one, a blue one, an orange and bouquet of whites - and a camera van. Fortunately our new found semi adherence to speed limits, combined with hi tech evasion equipment kept us on the right side of the law. Whilst we provided little trade for the constabulary, no doubt many of hundreds other bikers would inevitably have fallen foul of their presence, and I suspect those on “go fast crotch rockets” would probably provide better pickings than mostly old guys on mostly Harley’s ( Craig is yet to see 50, and in his youthfulness, still rides an Indian...). We experienced a bit of everything, more strong winds, some rain, a little hail (apparently), a bit of sunshine, and whilst the temperature varied dramatically, it was downwards from 15C to 11C, before slowly climbing back again. As I write, the sun is streaming into my room, and it is delightfully warm, hopefully drying a few things I washed earlier. Breakfast in Palmerston provided a reintroduction to cheese rolls, that yardstick by which cafes are measured in this part of the country - to besmirch someone’s cheese roll is to make an enemy for life. To date, I have yet to find a bad one, and have come to the conclusion that the amount of butter smeared on the outside is critical. Today as everyday, we’ve enjoyed fabulous scenery, great roads, and plenty to be pleased about. Stopping at the Tapanui Pub was a reminder - a shithole, but it is the “locals local”, there for them 365 days a year, not as a waypoint for rich pricks from Auckland on their Harley’s. In addition was a guy and his wife on a 3 wheel Can Am, a machine I normally revile mercilessly as anything but a motorcycle but in this instance, perfectly suited to a guy confirmed to a wheelchair... humility restored. Once back on the road we found a secondary route to Gore, a road untroubled by traffic or traffic cops, one where previous judicious adherence to speed limits went out the window for a few minutes, providing half an hour of some of the best riding to date... Our lodgings for the night, the Heartland Hotel in Gore, are a an enigma, two absolute contrasting faces of the same coin. Rather fortuitously I was separated from the rest of the team, displaced by a bus load of Chinese tourists. My accomodation is in part of the hotel that may have been designed by an architect of the 1960s, style that anyone old enough to appreciate the Thunderbirds will understand. So, renovated in a retro kitsch manner, blacks, Browns, and oranges, but all new and good quality, and a million miles from what my buddies have to endure. In contrast, the lads are in another wing of the hotel, very much pre renovation, and certainly long overdue for a significant overhaul - to describe as “budget” would be to over salt the description, and in reality, well below a standard any worldly traveller would expect. I have just arrived back in my room after dinner, and whilst the clock shows that it is 21:22, darkness is still some way off. Dinner is a highlight of our day - a time for reflection, appreciation of the events of the day, and that we are as fortunate as we are to be able to do the things we do. Everyday we see and experience things that are simply awesome, but we’re also reminded of our own limitations, and perhaps a little of the humility that this brings. Tonight’s favourites included a quite acceptable seafood chewy and a very nice pork belly, with those who order lamb chops also extremely happy. Time to go, tomorrow Queenstown to meet wives arriving for a couple of days, then back to Wanaka. 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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