I do hope to post a link to some Picasa photos as soon as I get em up.
The Kiwi folk are treating me very well as expected.
Tuesday Jan 18 to Thursday Jan 20, the long ride over. I don't think I've ever spent so much money to have so little fun. Camped in the Holiday Inn in Auckland.
When I went through security in Auckland I had to send my tent to the bio-hazard agents for inspection. This was incase I inadvertently packed any unwanted critters in the tent. I heard one of the agents hummin this song.....I don't like spiders and snakes, and that ain't what it takes to love me, like I wanna be loved by you.
Friday (day one?). I took the train from Middlemore station to Taumarunui (in 100 attempts, I have yet to learn how to pronounce this). I did enjoy the train ride of about 4 hours. I walked with two suitcases and one backpack full of goodies for the long trip to the Honda shop. Mr. Paul was there as planned and commenced to installing the rear tip-over bars (Bydawgs of L A Bama). It was easy and all that stuff packed well into the side cases and the Givi box. The "biologically approved" camping gear went in a bag strapped on the pillion seat plus odds and ends in a small tank bag. The shop sent me to a key maker to fix the Givi box key which was bent and here is where I had my first lapse of memory as to which side of the road to ride on. That sure didn't take long but the street was slow moving with little traffic. It also didn't take long to get my arse back on the left side either. I sure don't want to die over here because it will take an act of congress to get my ashes back to the US I suppose. I got the key straightened and headed south for where ever I found a bed. I rode about 80km to a ski town called Ohakune. Got a real Hostel deal with a dorm room to myself. Sah-wheet.....the place was like new and I had plenty of room. A couple from Brazil invited me to help them eat their oven baked chicken so I brought a bottle of wine and picked up desert for the big feast. They had quit their jobs, sold their cars and took sabbatical?. They were hitch-hiking their way around New Zealand and in a few months are going to sign on to an environmental research vessel and sail around some of the lesser know islands of the S Pacific. They said they had reduced their carbon footprint from 34 tons (tonnes?) to 2 tons. I'm probably burning enough gas on this trip to cancel out their gains.......of which I do feel terrible about.
Saturday (day two). I met Carla (of Martinborough) near a place called Vinegar Hill and she led the way toward her place on her Ducati Monster...... that gal can ride and I tried hard not to fall behind. We cruised by an airshow and decided it was too wet to risk and rode to her place. Carla fixed a rack of lamb dinner for 5 of us and then she had her daughter take us to a party with some other riders. A few of the riders gave me some good tips for the trip. We turned in after the party, I was still trying to catch up on the jet lag thing.
Sunday (day 3) Carla was kind enough to lead me out of town and point me in the general direction of Wellington. It rained the whole way and I had hoped to get on the 2pm ferry to Picton but it was full so I had to wait until the 6pm ride. I parked at a McDonalds to use their wi-fi and get something to eat. While I was there I heard from a Kiwi biker Paul (BMWST) and he came down and kept me company until I left for the ferry. I sure do appreciate all the warm welcoming and such. The people here will help you most any way they can. When the ferry arrived in Picton, it was still raining and I took the first motel I saw.
Monday (day 4), After breakfast, I packed and headed for Nelson (north-west coast of the south island) It was a pretty ride through the mountains and only stopped briefly in Westport before I ended up in Punakaiki. I put the helmet cam on and shot a little video before the battery died. I took my throttle glove off to operate the shutter button. Not two minutes after I took it off, a bee stung me on my naked hand.........sh*t that hurt. (I know, all the gear, all the time). I rode toward a place called Golden Downs and an old fart on a Kawasaki Versys and a young fart on a BMW passed me. I wanted to ride with them and attempted to keep up for about 15km but it was few-tile I say. The guy on the Versys was really good in the curves, it looked so smooth, I was enjoying watching him ride. I could catch up in the straight sections but the curves, I could/would not. And then I remembered what the great cowboy enforcer, Clint Eastwood, once said. "A mans got to know his limitations". So I had to let em go. I ended up in Punakaiki, camping on the beach. Very nice and very soothing to sleep here.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011.. I had a good nights sleep listening to the Tasman sea lapping up onto the shore. I'll be hard pressed to find a better camping place than this. Leaving Punakaiki I had a thought in the back of my mind that I could come back this way on my return. I stopped at Pancake Rocks and really enjoyed the place. The short hike did not take long and I continued south down the coast at a comfortable pace. I don't think I've seen a police officer since I cleared Nelson? The weather was great and it made me feel good just to be riding to someplace I've never seen before. I stopped at Franz Josef glacier and walked a short way with a nice couple from Australia. They were here for a few more days and we had a good chat before they took off in their rented "Hippe Camper". It did seem strange walking though a tropical forest? to the edge of a glacier. Wonder where else you can do that? The scenery down the coast was great and I'm still looking forward to going over the passes going to the east. Just as I got into Haast it started to rain so I slid in sideways (just kidding Shafty) to another backpacker place. There are several families here eating dinner in the lobby. I have two beds in my room and no roommate. All is swell here in the south.
The Kiwi folk are treating me very well as expected.
Tuesday Jan 18 to Thursday Jan 20, the long ride over. I don't think I've ever spent so much money to have so little fun. Camped in the Holiday Inn in Auckland.
When I went through security in Auckland I had to send my tent to the bio-hazard agents for inspection. This was incase I inadvertently packed any unwanted critters in the tent. I heard one of the agents hummin this song.....I don't like spiders and snakes, and that ain't what it takes to love me, like I wanna be loved by you.
Friday (day one?). I took the train from Middlemore station to Taumarunui (in 100 attempts, I have yet to learn how to pronounce this). I did enjoy the train ride of about 4 hours. I walked with two suitcases and one backpack full of goodies for the long trip to the Honda shop. Mr. Paul was there as planned and commenced to installing the rear tip-over bars (Bydawgs of L A Bama). It was easy and all that stuff packed well into the side cases and the Givi box. The "biologically approved" camping gear went in a bag strapped on the pillion seat plus odds and ends in a small tank bag. The shop sent me to a key maker to fix the Givi box key which was bent and here is where I had my first lapse of memory as to which side of the road to ride on. That sure didn't take long but the street was slow moving with little traffic. It also didn't take long to get my arse back on the left side either. I sure don't want to die over here because it will take an act of congress to get my ashes back to the US I suppose. I got the key straightened and headed south for where ever I found a bed. I rode about 80km to a ski town called Ohakune. Got a real Hostel deal with a dorm room to myself. Sah-wheet.....the place was like new and I had plenty of room. A couple from Brazil invited me to help them eat their oven baked chicken so I brought a bottle of wine and picked up desert for the big feast. They had quit their jobs, sold their cars and took sabbatical?. They were hitch-hiking their way around New Zealand and in a few months are going to sign on to an environmental research vessel and sail around some of the lesser know islands of the S Pacific. They said they had reduced their carbon footprint from 34 tons (tonnes?) to 2 tons. I'm probably burning enough gas on this trip to cancel out their gains.......of which I do feel terrible about.
Saturday (day two). I met Carla (of Martinborough) near a place called Vinegar Hill and she led the way toward her place on her Ducati Monster...... that gal can ride and I tried hard not to fall behind. We cruised by an airshow and decided it was too wet to risk and rode to her place. Carla fixed a rack of lamb dinner for 5 of us and then she had her daughter take us to a party with some other riders. A few of the riders gave me some good tips for the trip. We turned in after the party, I was still trying to catch up on the jet lag thing.
Sunday (day 3) Carla was kind enough to lead me out of town and point me in the general direction of Wellington. It rained the whole way and I had hoped to get on the 2pm ferry to Picton but it was full so I had to wait until the 6pm ride. I parked at a McDonalds to use their wi-fi and get something to eat. While I was there I heard from a Kiwi biker Paul (BMWST) and he came down and kept me company until I left for the ferry. I sure do appreciate all the warm welcoming and such. The people here will help you most any way they can. When the ferry arrived in Picton, it was still raining and I took the first motel I saw.
Monday (day 4), After breakfast, I packed and headed for Nelson (north-west coast of the south island) It was a pretty ride through the mountains and only stopped briefly in Westport before I ended up in Punakaiki. I put the helmet cam on and shot a little video before the battery died. I took my throttle glove off to operate the shutter button. Not two minutes after I took it off, a bee stung me on my naked hand.........sh*t that hurt. (I know, all the gear, all the time). I rode toward a place called Golden Downs and an old fart on a Kawasaki Versys and a young fart on a BMW passed me. I wanted to ride with them and attempted to keep up for about 15km but it was few-tile I say. The guy on the Versys was really good in the curves, it looked so smooth, I was enjoying watching him ride. I could catch up in the straight sections but the curves, I could/would not. And then I remembered what the great cowboy enforcer, Clint Eastwood, once said. "A mans got to know his limitations". So I had to let em go. I ended up in Punakaiki, camping on the beach. Very nice and very soothing to sleep here.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011.. I had a good nights sleep listening to the Tasman sea lapping up onto the shore. I'll be hard pressed to find a better camping place than this. Leaving Punakaiki I had a thought in the back of my mind that I could come back this way on my return. I stopped at Pancake Rocks and really enjoyed the place. The short hike did not take long and I continued south down the coast at a comfortable pace. I don't think I've seen a police officer since I cleared Nelson? The weather was great and it made me feel good just to be riding to someplace I've never seen before. I stopped at Franz Josef glacier and walked a short way with a nice couple from Australia. They were here for a few more days and we had a good chat before they took off in their rented "Hippe Camper". It did seem strange walking though a tropical forest? to the edge of a glacier. Wonder where else you can do that? The scenery down the coast was great and I'm still looking forward to going over the passes going to the east. Just as I got into Haast it started to rain so I slid in sideways (just kidding Shafty) to another backpacker place. There are several families here eating dinner in the lobby. I have two beds in my room and no roommate. All is swell here in the south.
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