The Little Bike That Could - Or The Old Bloke That Still Can

 Number one daughter finally made her first move out of home a few months back. Her work gave her a position in its Cairns office. They gave her time and expenses to drive her car the 1700 kilometres from Brisbane to Cairns (yes, 1700ks and still in the same state!) but her bike was another story. Initially she was going to ship it up but “someone” mentioned that they might ride it up for her and that seemed to plant the seed that it wasn’t going to be trucked up.

Now, in “someone’s” defence, that someone had never been further north than Rockhampton via ground transport (apart from the far west in the early 1990’s) and thought it might be interesting to see what more of the state of Queensland looked like. 

I……er…..someone decided last week would be a good time as he had a string of days off which gave time to get back home for work on the Friday. Bike loaded lightly - check, riding gear selection sorted - check. Pre ride photo - check.

Unfortunately Monday coincided with the weather gods deciding to break the drought that had persisted for many months. Now I’m not begrudging the rain, lord knows it has been sooo dry and farmers are suffering badly this year but it absolutely flogged down for much of the first few hours! After riding mostly adventure bikes on 80/20 tyres the last few years I was pleasantly surprised at how well the little Z650 shod with Michelin Road 6 tyres handled the wet conditions. They ploughed through standing water at highway speed, cornered so surefootedly that I could have been on dry tarmac - a far cry from how the front tyre on the Desert X feels in the wet!

I rode non-stop for a few hours until I came to a fuel stop just west of Oakey. No fuel was needed yet but I decided to pull in to use the bathroom, grab a coffee and a warm sausage roll. “Pieface” sausage rolls? Yeah, give them a miss - probably the worst sausage rolls I have ever eaten.😬

Pressing on I soon passed what I would later find out was Oakey power station. It looked far more impressive on this dark afternoon than the photo shows.

In fact, the few times I stopped for a photo because of the brooding sky/landscape the photo didn’t look half as dramatic as it did on the day.

I made a quick stop in Dalby for fuel then kept going.

Leaving Dalby the heavens opened again and with the camber-less road I was soon splashing through deep water. While the tyres were faultless I slowed to maybe 70km/h for a while as it was seriously more like jet skiing than motorcycling. 

I stopped under the awning of a petrol station in Chinchilla as the sky was black with another approaching storm. It began to bucket down again so I killed the time trying to get my Cardo to work again as it has abruptly ceased operation a while back. Button presses were having no effect so I gave up and pressed on once the rain eased.

I stopped briefly at my neighbour Dan’s road to their old family property for a photo. Some lady driving out of said road mouthed “are you ok”? to which I gave a thumbs up. Just a dumb motorcyclist standing in the middle of nowhere in the rain. Nothing to see here! 😆

Back in Dalby when I had helmet comms I had asked Lucy to book me a motel in Miles. I saw a message that this had been done and I sure was pleased to get into that room and remove my wet gear. I should say cold, wet gear for it was cold today. Well, cold for a Queenslander, probably not so for a southerner.😉

The Klim jacket had leaked a bit but it was torrential at times.

After a warm shower I wandered up the street to the first pub I came to, the Hotel Australia and after a cleansing ale, I had a very nice lamb shank and red wine for dinner. 

Wandering back to the motel I was soon in bed with the alarm set for first light. I wanted to get as far as I could today and I had two targets. A modest one that would see me needing a big day on the third day or a big one tomorrow which would allow some more wiggle room for things to go wrong on the third day.

Seeing as I didn’t leave until 1pm today, 348km in the rain wasn’t too bad.

Waking to threatening skies this morning I loaded up quickly. The tried and true plastic bags in the boots was getting another run today.

 Then I was up the street to the Ampol petrol station for a top up and a quick breakfast sausage roll n coffee. This one was a known quantity and was tasty. That done I choofed out the road towards Roma. 

You may ask why I was going this way rather than up the coast via the Bruce Highway? Well, the Bruce is the main trucking route, is in poor condition, has many many roadwork sites as a result, has massively more traffic and speed zone changes with police to catch you out with all those speed changes. This outback way might be a little longer but it is almost traffic free, especially once clear of Roma.

The 141km to Roma went by pretty quickly even though I was just sitting between 100-110km/h. I didn’t want to flog the bike so kept to this speed the whole trip.

Fueling up in Roma I turned north for some looong sparsely populated stretches. It was going to be 264km until my next stop in Rolleston. The road surface deteriorated in places along this leg. There were some shockingly bumpy section and the Z650s rear shock definitely didn’t like the square-edged bumps, kicking me hard in the arse many, many times. I did get off for a photo at one point to quickly stretch my legs and give my bum a rest. Having said that, the seat was actually pretty comfortable. My only grip being the foot peg to seat distance was short so my legs were pretty folded up.

Anyway, I rolled into Rollestone several hours later. Passing the BP servo I noted how run down it looked with no pumps out the front. “It must have been closed and a new one opened” I said to myself and cruised through town looking for fuel. Coming to the other side of town I thought “shit, maybe there is no fuel here”? 

Rollestone is population 132, so actually, highly likely!!

Riding back past the BP I then noted pumps down the back of the block. Phew! They had obviously moved them so that modern longer vehicles could drive through without knocking their shop front down. I filled up then moved the bike around the front to take a break. 

A fine Chiko Roll and coffee milk was the best I could find here. Living like a Truckie! 😆

Heading out of Rollestone the next town was Springsure. I wasn’t expecting much but was surprised at the very well maintained, pretty little town that it was, nestled at the base of an imposing escarpment. No photos of the Main Street but I tried in vain to capture the escarpment.

Next stop was Emerald which made it a 140km leg from Rollestone. Just outside Emerald I had to stop for my first roadworks of the trip and as I accelerated away I noticed a certain “snatchiness” to the drive train. Uh, oh. That’ll be the chain!

Rolling into Emerald I fueled up and inspected the chain. It was like a loose licorice strap. Shit!

Luckily there was a Honda shop next door so I went in and very politely explained my situation. "Could they tighten the chain or could I rent some tools to do it myself please"? The blankest of blank looks was all that was given back. 

“Oh, we couldn’t fit it in until tomorrow”. 😆😆 

A chain tension would take literally five minutes max! I thanked them and turned to leave. The woman siting at the desk pushing a sandwich into her face, who I got the impression was the owner, said to try the Can Am shop next door. I kept being nice and said thank you.

Fcuk Morgan Motors Honda in Emerald. Never go there as a rider in need.

Anyway, I wandered into the Can Am shop and asked very politely, like I had next door if they could tighten the chain or if I could rent some tools to do it myself. The lady here said “bring your bike around the back into the yard. I’ll meet you there”. As I rode into their yard she was rolling a huge tool box out to me! “Help yourself” she said.

 Bloody awesome!!

I quickly had the chain set to the best tension I could get as it had a wicked tight spot in it. They even gave me some chain lube to squirt at it. I spoke to the owner for a bit about bikes, travel, rain and the road ahead (which he said was in shocking condition). I thanked him profusely and gave him some cash (which he refused) but I made him take it as he and his wife really saved my bacon.

If you need motorcycle work done in Emerald, please go see the guys at Fat Man Small Motors. They are awesome people!!

I only lost about thirty minutes with the chain issue and as I headed out the road I told myself I had best unweight the seat when I went through the arse kicking whoops that made up this highway. The reason? Well, with that tight spot in the chain I didn’t want to snap it out here as I would really be in a tight spot then!

Rolling into Clermont another huge downpour was just beginning and I raced a council garbage truck for the shelter of the awning over the pumps of the BP servo. Just in time again as it tipped down! 

I wasn’t worried though as it had been pretty hot for the last few hours so a cooling shower was welcome. Some soggy chippies washed down with a Powerade helped pass some time as I gave my arse and legs a rest while waiting out the rain.

I topped up to the brim here as the next stretch was 378km to Charters Towers with just Belyando Crossing roadhouse at the 176km mark. Their fuel was supposed to be the most expensive anywhere (because they are literally in the middle of nowhere!) so I was planning buying only enough from them to get to Charters Towers in the morning. The little Z650 was getting about 23km to the litre with me sitting up in the wind, so about five or six litres is all I would need from Belyando. Yes, Belyando was my goal for the night and I made a call from Clermont to make sure they had a room for me.

Rolling out of town I was treated to some really nice road surface but also loads more bumpy, potholed, whoopy stuff and I was getting pretty fatigued from the concentration on the road surface and from doing a squat over every larger whoop and bump. I was certainly questioning life choices for most of the last 176 kilometres!

Finally rolling into Belyando I put 5.9 litres in at $3.80 a litre, paid for it and got my room key. The rooms were transportable dongas but the shower was good and the air conditioning excellent which made me extremely happy as it was pretty damn hot this afternoon. 

After cooling down I headed for their bar area where it was happy hour with cheap beers. That eased the pain of the cost of fuel. 

The place was full of mainly road workers with the occasional tourist like me sitting around watching the sunset. I grabbed a massive beef burger for dinner and hit the hay pretty early again. I set an alarm for 0530 which was a bit of a sleep in. Tomorrow wouldn’t be as big a day.

Up and at ‘em for the final push and I was away before 6am. The air was cool with that dusty-sweet smell of dew on the grass that brings up memories of many early mornings for work from decades back. The best time of the day in the outback for sure. To cap it off the road surface was mint as I had crossed into the Charters Towers shire area just a few hundred metres north of Belyando Crossing roadhouse and I had it completely to myself this morning!

Cruising along some epic long straights I stopped for a couple of quick photos. Yep, worth getting up for!

I did need to be a bit careful as there were more kangaroos out this morning than I had seen for the entire trip so far. Just blasting along at 100km/h I had no terribly close calls. This 202km section alternated between good,  new surface and sections of that old, lumpy, shitty goat track. I was back to doing my squats for many,  many kilometres.

I eventually rolled into Charters Towers and not seeing a petrol station, stopped to check maps. Finding one near the centre of town I made my way in for a fill up. It was a very busy station so might be one of not many in town. They had a cabinet full of fresh looking sandwiches which was a nice change from sausage and Chiko rolls so I grabbed one, with a coffee and stood out the front watching the comings and goings of Charters Towerians this fine morning.

A car pulled in towing an immaculate old Yamaha Tenere' in a trailer. You don't see them in this condition very often!

Here I needed to make a decision on weather to continue the inland route via Greenvale and Atherton to Cairns or cut across to the coast and do the last bit on the Bruce Highway. It was another 515 kilometres to Atherton with nothing in between on these lonely, bumpy roads. I decided I had had my fill of hours of nothing and as a bonus, going via Townsville I might be able to grab a coffee with Warren of Motorcycle Paradise fame. So, I sent Warren a text, hopeful that he was in town AND might see it in time and set off towards Townsville.

The road to Townsville was much, much better even if it did have tons more traffic on it. It  was initially hilly and a bit twisty compared to the last two days of my ride then it passed through the craggy hills to the south of Townsville that I have looked down on for so many years while flying into The ‘Ville.

Townsville is the big smoke, with just over 200 000 people calling it home so it was a bit of a shock coming into the outskirts and dealing with traffic. I pulled into the first convenient servo to check my phone for messages. Nothing there, unfortunately. Maybe Warren was still overseas on another ride?

Oh well, pressing on north I was pleasantly surprised at the smooth, smooth road. This bit of the Bruce seemed to be in good condition and once I got 30km or so out of Townsville the traffic thinned right out. The scenery also changed around here from dead and brown to green and lush. Finally the tropics looked like the tropics!

I pressed on until Ingham where I topped up for the last time and sipped a Powerade for morning tea. A quick stop in the Main Street for a photo with a big old tree and I was off again.

The hills to my left all had their heads in cloud today but I couldn’t find a good place to stop for a photo. I did eventually stop in Cardwell for a look back southeast across the bay though.

I had been passing farmers harvesting their sugar cane either side of the road and the cute little sugar trains were here and there, scurrying to the mill. I stopped just off the highway to get a photo of the only cane train holding yard that I had seen.

Coming into Tully there were several sections of road works which slowed progress. It gave me time though to quickly duck off to the left and have a look at the outskirts of Tully. 

There was a big sugar mill here. Grabbing a photo I high tailed it back to the highway, turning left for the final leg. 

As I went further north the terrain became more hilly and the traffic thicker. We were being held up in long lines, stuck behind the slowest vehicle on that section of road. As we passed through the tiny village of Meriwinni I spied the pub on the right side of the road, looking across cane fields to Bartle Frere, Queenslands tallest mountain at 5299ft. What a great spot to stop for a break and get out of this boring conga line of traffic! I whipped the mighty Z650 around and parked up out the front. Wandering in there was only one local sitting at the bar and he wanted to chat. It was hard to get away so that I could get some photos out the front. 

Soon after going back in a cane train rattled along the line outside the pub and I couldn’t get away from mr chat-a-lot to get some photos. Bugger.

Anyway, back on the road and I felt very relaxed…..too relaxed? 😬 but it made for an easy ride into Cairns. The last hour or so was very pleasant riding with tall, lush, green mountains flanking either side of the road and cane fields in between. 

If you haven’t been to Cairns before, do yourself a favour and check it out. There is so much to do in the region with the star attraction, obviously, being the Great Barrier Reef.

Rolling into Cairns I found Lucy’s apartment complex easily and only had to wait fifteen minutes before she arrived home from work. She was pretty pleased to finally have here little bike there….even if the chain was now flogged! 

I was surprised at how well the rear tyre held up. There was barely a flat spot on it after these almost 2000km dead straight kilometres.

 I booked it in for a new chain and sprockets, plus a service for her, so it should very soon be riding like new. The bike itself hadn’t missed a beat at all. Every time I thumbed the starter it leapt into life. Just a typical, dependable Japanese motorcycle like all of the ones I’ve owned over the last 35 years. I had been running around town on the Z650 for a few weeks before this trip and liked its ease of handling and low stand over height. It also had plenty of go if you twisted the throttle a bit. Now that I had a bare place in my shed…….what to do….?

Anyway, two and a half days of riding and ~1850 kilometres on the little Zed had been interesting. Like I said, the bike didn’t miss a beat (the chain was stuffed before I left home tbh) and I was sort of pleased that I came through the ordeal pretty well. I still had it in me to do big days in the saddle through the mind numbing nothingness of the Aussie outback! I’m not sure of the actual value of this knowledge but at least I know I can still do big lumps of dumb, pointless stuff! 

Cheers and thanks for reading.

Mid Winter New Zealand

 So, if you were going to tour the South Island of New Zealand what months would you choose? I reckon most would suggest anywhere from October to March would be prime touring time - though you could still strike full on winter conditions at any of those times - but it would be the smart bet.

Just to tempt fate, how about going in the first few weeks of June? 

I like a challenge, so yeah, why not?

This being part time at work is delivering me with periods of ten days or so off in a row. So, with ten days off from the 7th and a weather outlook that was decidedly NOT normal winterish weather I bit the bullet and pulled the trigger (too many idioms in a row? 🙄) on a quick trip to the southern bit of the land of the long white cloud.

I don’t really have serious winter riding apparel though. Living in Brisbane where winter is generally on a Tuesday in July (which I tend to just not ride on that day 🤣) there is no need for warm riding gear, much the opposite actually. However I reckoned that my Klim Carlsbad suit coupled with multiple merino under-layers and my trusty old North Face puffy jacket worn under said suit would probably do the trick. It wasn’t forecast to rain but just in case it did and/or if my clothing system didn’t stave off the cold I also took my cheap plastic rain suit as a last resort/backup.

I rented a bike through Te Waipounamu bike hire after the recommendation by Warren at Motorcycle Paradise earlier this year. I went with a Yamaha Tracer 9 GT because I have always wondered what they are like and it was one of their cheaper hires. It had panniers, heated grips, hand guards and a decent screen which might help keep the cold at bay. I mentioned that the forecast looked clear all week but the slight down side was that daily temperatures were forecast to be between 1 and 12 degrees Celsius around the island . I would need to keep the breeze off me to help my gear cope but I also wanted to keep the cost down a bit, hence the Tracer 9. Hopefully it is the right balance.

Flights into Christchurch from Brisbane get in at ungodly 1240am. By the time I got to the hotel it was nearing 2am and with a scheduled bike pick up time of 10am I wouldn’t be getting much sleep. That’s ok, because I had planned a pretty easy day with a rough plan of making Greymouth on the west coast today. While I was being flexible with my route plan, the weather forecast was looking favourable for a run down the west (wet) coast. I figured if I went to Greymouth on day one if the forecast proved to be unreliable I could pivot north and east from there.

A quick breakfast at the Coffee Club next to the hotel brought an unexpected encounter with a group of NZ’s finest motorcycle posties. They were having a meeting at the next table and the bloke in charge was dispensing sage advice to what must have been a bunch of new-to-winter-riding posties. Of course, I eavesdropped for any intel from the local gurus. 😏

Breakfast done I grabbed a cab to the bike hire place and was immediately impressed with their friendliness. Wayne showed me the bike and its pre-ride safety checklist then let me get my gear sorted.

 All the blokes in the shop said I would have a blast as the weather looked great - of course it did, otherwise I would not have come over to do this ride - but Wayne also let slip “we never hire out bikes at this time of year”.

That I did note…..

He also mentioned that tyre pressures had been set but in the hustle I forgot to ask “set at what”? 

Loaded up, I rolled out the door taking mind that there were panniers sticking out either side. The initial feel rolling out the drive as the bike tried to fall over was that the front tyre pressure was low. But I told myself they had set it and it must just be the bike geometry or the tyres.

I wanted to grab some new gloves and while yet to read Warren’s review of his Richa Hypercane Goretex three season gloves (come on mate!) I thought I’d grab some as I would be able to try them on and get correct sizing. As an added bonus they had 15% off all stock so I managed to save $50ish as well!

New gloves donned, I set Google maps for Hanmer Springs and set off into traffic. Something I noticed right away was that Kiwi drivers turning right across traffic at intersections were very impatient! Best be careful here!

I was soon on the motorway northbound. The bike had cruise control, which I set so I could look around. This is such a pretty country!

I noted my first issue with riding NZ at this time of the year. - the sun was at a ridiculously low angle in the sky! Riding north at any time would prove to be like riding into the setting sun at any other time of year. The inner sun visor on my Shoei Neotec II plus a bunch of squinting would be the go for this trip!

The roads quickly became bereft of traffic once I turned off SH1 toward Hanmer Springs. The terrain slowly began to morph into hills, then bloody big hills. The only problem with using my Neotec helmet is that I can’t use my camera on my cheap chin mount as it blocks the chin fold release button. 🤨 The next best option was to clamp a camera to the crash bar which certainly wasn’t going to provide primo photos or video…..unfortunately. I’d just have to work with what I got. 🤔

Another thing I noticed quickly was how poorly this Tracer handled on bumpy corners. I was taking bends at my normal pace but any corners with bumps (which is most in any country) had the Tracer rocking from side to side while heeled over. Not weaving, rocking…which was very disconcerting. At this stage I wasn’t sure if it was the tyres, Metzler Roadtec 02’s which seemed to have no feel, or the bike. So I just slowed up a bit - not that I was going that quick anyway. It was intrusive to the enjoyment of the ride though. 🤨

I was originally planning to blast over Arthur’s Pass to Greymouth but it was due to be a bit windy today so after asking Wayne’s advice, I decided on Lewis Pass as it was more sheltered in the trees.

 Hence my heading for Hanmer Springs. I diverted into Hanmer despite it being nine kilometres off the highway for two reasons. One, it was lunch time and two, I had to bid for the following years holidays at 12pm Brisbane time via the work iPad.

The divert was certainly worth it as this was the view right after the turn off !

I think YouTube will lower the quality of these even though they were filmed in 4K. Anyway, I'll learn how to do video properly one day - these are just a taster of what it was like.

So a pie, a coffee and a hotspot off my phone to the work iPad and job was ….done….sort of. The work site crashed because every man and his dog was also trying to bid for holidays but I did get in an ask for a couple of weeks off in November for a ride Steve and I have arranged.

 

I also got my first taste of how expensive things are here in New Zealand these days. The pie was the better part of $10 and even a tomato sauce sachet was $1!! Even with the slightly positive exchange rate, NZ is an expensive place to holiday these days.

The down side to this faff around was that it was now just after 1430 local time and I had quite a way to go to Greymouth. Did I mention that the days are comically short here in NZ at this time of year? No? Well, sunset in Greymouth was slated for 1710 today and Google Maps said I had a 2h 53m ride in front of me! Two thirty-ish plus two hours fifty three minutes is a bit after dark.😬

To add insult to my lack of planning , as I got out near Highway 7 I noticed that the fuel gauge on the bike had dropped to one bar. Shit, what was the range on this thing? I had already done about 140 kilometres and it was about another 200 kilometres to Greymouth. Surely a touring bike can do 350 kilometres on a tank? Grrr, I better do the 5 kilometres back to the fuel station just to be sure. I don’t want to be that clown stuck on the side of the road in the high country because I couldn’t be bothered fueling up!

Did I mention how expensive NZ is?

So, I finally hit the road at about 3pm. Less than ideal….

The ride from Hanmer Springs to the west along highway 7 is spectacular, following the Waiau Uwha river valley. I didn't stop along here for any photos. I just hoped I might get something off the Insta 360 later on.

I could do this! What I didn’t count on was that as I climbed into the alpine that was lined with trees, the road was wet. Mistake number 1 was that I had presumed no rain meant dry roads. Not so it would seem! With the temperature dropping to 3C as we climbed there was simply not enough sun or wind to dry the dew from the road up here. With a new to me bike that handled poorly and an unknown level of grip I took a conservative approach. Add to that fact that whenever the road opened up to the sky I had the sun not only low in the sky but it was reflecting off the wet, shiny tarmac. 

Sun glare from above and below! Close your eyes and point for the gap in the trees!

As I was somewhat “winging” this trip and hadn’t booked anything,  I had asked my wife while in Hanmer Springs to book me some accommodation in Greymouth as I would be arriving late-ish and being tired and cold didn’t want to be fusing around trying to find somewhere to stay.

I took a very quick stop at Springs Junction to check my phone for messages and to stretch the legs.

The scenery was still spectacular now that I was off the pass but it was cold and slowly getting colder. Another quick stop in a pretty place for a "comfort stop" took the pressure off, if you know what I mean!

Pulling into Reefton I called my wife to see if she had indeed booked anything as I spied several likely places here. She said she had booked the Aachen Place motel in Greymouth. I was ready to be done now so was slightly bummed. Reefton would have done but now I had to press on. 😔

The last 45 minutes or so was in more open country and I wound the speed up a fair bit. Rolling into the outskirts of Greymouth I was greeted by an amazing sunset as I crested a rise. Having a car right up my backside I couldn’t stop for half a kilometre or so. When safe I turned around and headed back to the view point, did another u-turn and took a photo….but the sun that was half above and below the horizon had slipped fully below and I missed my money shot. This was what was left.

I filled the tank on the bike (always fill up the night before 😉 especially in earthquake territory) and then trundled down to the motel. They had me checked in in literally 30 seconds. I highly recommend the Aachen Place motel for their service and their clean, no fuss rooms. I unloaded the bike then jumped into the hot shower for about twenty minutes. 

Yeah, no surprise, I was a bit cold.

 Interestingly I was wearing some new to me Moto Skiveez tights which I thought would help me stay warm. The unintended (more untried) consequence was that the leg on them went to just below the knee. My old Alpine Stars socks, whose elastic is now 15 years old, proceeded to drop and I had the new to me sensation of cold shins all afternoon. The new gloves weren’t up to the 3-5 degree Celsius either so the digits were cold despite maximum heat being set on the heated grips. No problem, as I had my winter weight Dryrider gloves with me. Interestingly, there was not a single bug splat on my visor. Too cold for them as well?!

The beauty of this motel is that it was an 8 minute walk from the awesome Monteith’s Brew House. I enjoyed the walk, noting the strong smell of coal smoke in the air. Yes, I was in coal mining country.

 The brew house was a massive affair with a huge fireplace burning brightly. I ordered a beer and settled  myself at a table quite near the fire.😏

The beers and the food were very good. Bangers and mash went down a treat, as did a glass of local merlot.  

The walk back to the motel was just what I needed and I passed an interesting display relating to a local hydro-electric project that I know my electrical engineer daughter will be interested in.

I had a great first day on the bike and 364  kilometres under the wheels.

  

I had a rough, modest goal of making Haast tomorrow. This was so I wouldn’t be rushed because sunrise wasn’t until about 8am and sunset would be around 5pm again. 

DAY 2

With a short day, both distance and daylight wise balancing each other out I didn’t rush to get up today. After yesterday’s cold-ish ride I rejigged my clothing setup. Instead of a merino singlet, merino long top and a t-shirt under my jacket I opted for the merino singlet, topped with my Aldi thermal long sleeve, then my North Face puffy jacket, all enclosed by my Klim jacket. Downstairs it was Moto Skiveez again, this time overlaid with merino long John’s and my long Aldi bike socks. 

Cold? BRING.IT.ON!

As I had bugger all gear with me it only took a minute to load the panniers and I was off in search of some breakfast. I found a small cafe’ in the main street and grabbed a warming poached eggs on toast washed down with a flat white coffee. I also booked my motel room in Haast while eating. I was set for the day!

Motoring out of town with my new winter setup I was toasty and warm even though the ambient temperature was 5C. 

A short time after leaving Greymouth I caught my first glimpse of snow capped mountains off in the distance. We are not in Kansas any more Toto! I stopped at an old disused railway bridge for a photo of said bridge and then the mountains in the distance.

A stop at Lake Ianthe for some photos and droneage as I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. The water was so still. It was so peaceful and I must admit I started to feel the stress of life melt away somewhat here.

Riding through the tiny hamlet of Hari Hari I saw some sort of aviation memorial by the side of the road. Swinging around I discovered it was a mock up of an Avro Avian and information boards telling the story of Guy Menzies, the first person to fly from Australia to New Zealand - solo! Crazy stuff!

I couldn't get a decent photo of the plane through the windows but the sign boards make for interesting reading!

I stopped at the Whataroa river bridge for a few photos and some more droneage. The photos do no justice to how huge and in-your-face the mountains look.

 

Stopping in Whataroa for fuel I met the first of a few pay by credit card fuel pumps. The price was slowly climbing as things got more remote. 

Even though it is a small country, how do the locals afford these prices?

 I motored along, making several u-turns to take photos. With only 317 kilometres to cover today, u-turns were eminently do-able. 

So with this in mind I took the road into the Franz Josef glacier car park. I didn’t plan on walking at all but I could see the glacier sliding down the mountain side in the distance. Tick! Good enough for me.

Next stop was Fox Glacier.

 I rolled into the Heartland Hotel car park and de-robed , thinking I would grab a bite to eat. Alas, the place was closed and didn’t open for hours yet! 

So I put all of my gear back on and cruised the Main Street, finding a likely looking cafe’ to stop at. They had hot pies and beer on tap, so I grabbed one of each then sat out the front in the sun. I don’t think a single car went by during my visit! Yep, things are quiet on the west coast at this time of year!

Leaving town I quickly pulled into the Fox Glacier walking track car park but didn’t bother getting off as I knew from my 2014 visit, the glacier has retreated far up the valley. Good or bad, who knows? All I know is change is the only constant in this world and people hate change. If a glacier melts? It’s nature in action. 

Moving right along…..I had a fair bit of winding, twisting road still to ride. It was sooo much better heading south because I wasn’t squinting into the sun, hence much less tiring. The road was mostly wet in the shade but I wasn’t squinting and was used to it now. While concentration levels were still high, I was taking it pretty steady and enjoying the view.

A quick stop at Knights Point Lookout where a monument comemorates the completion of the Otago to Westland link road.

The Haast River bridge is a long one, with some pull-outs as it is like many in NZ, a single lane. I stopped for a minute to take in the majesty of the scenery...and to soak up a little sun.

Rolling into Haast I was quickly checked into my motel room. I had purchased some cheese and crackers plus a small bottle of local Pinot in Fox Glacier so I sat myself on the bench outside my room and enjoyed the green, green grass on this lovely dead calm winters evening.

Dinner was at the Hard Antler hotel. Sitting close to the fireplace with a beer, it started out very quiet but the place quickly filled.

After my late afternoon snack I wasn't very hungry so just went for the sweet potato soup and bread tonight, washed down with a local pinot again.

Today’s total ride was only 339 kilometres but they were jam packed with beautiful sights and plenty of corners.

DAY 3

I was planning on sleeping in a bit today so that I might give the temperature a chance to rise for my assault on Haast Pass but I also had the idea to loop around to Mt Cook while the weather was still clear. The forecast for this afternoon was for increasing cloud and indeed, cloud was blowing in from the west right now! If I waited I might not see Mt Cook but if I left early I would have cold temperatures to deal with. Hmmmm, what to do?

In the end my impatience won out. I backtracked slightly for fuel (yes, I broke my cardinal rule last night by not filling up). The most expensive fuel of the trip yet. How do the Kiwis afford to live here?! But I did only put six and a half litres in as I figured this would get me the 140 odd kilometres to Wanaka.

Riding off up the valley it quickly became very windy and very cold. My handlebar mounted phone decided it wouldn’t charge because it was too cold! 

Funny thing was that once I got into the trees on the climb proper, the wind died to nothing. Yes, it was still cold and yes, the road wet but at least the wind was gone. Frost was starting to appear in the roadside ditches though.

The view along here is mostly tree lined but every now and again I would have a majestic view. I would stop, take a photo and enjoy the short break from concentrating. 

The bike’s temperature gauge was alternating between 1 and 0C for quite a while here. Now and then I would see frost in the roadside ditches and the road was constantly wet. I rode slow and smoothly and thankfully had no moments.

This was pretty much as warm as it got for the next few hours.

The roads we all signposted with the orange Ice/Grit warning signs and when I came upon a grit truck on the side of the road just before the last climb to the Gates Of Haast, I stopped and asked him if it was ok to continue on a bike. He said “yep, just take it steady”. Steady Eddie was my middle name by now and as I approached the bridge over the gates and encountered roadworks, I stopped on the steep, wet incline for a photo. How awesome was this?! I had the place to myself! I bet not many visitors can make that claim!?

Crossing the bridge I kept climbing to the official Haast Pass. It is a bit of a non event as it is encased in trees and feels like just another hill. If it wasn’t for the signage one really wouldn’t know.

I wonder if there was a discernable foot trodden path over the pass back in the day?

The road follows the Makarora river down from the pass which flows into Lake Wanaka. The road follows the lake edge, twisting and turning until it crosses a brief saddle into the next valley where it follows high above the edge of Lake Hawea. This is simply epic, stunning riding!! Who cares if it was still cold?! My heart was warmed by both the view and the road.

More epic views along the shoreline of Lake Hawea.

Approaching Wanaka I entered a fog bank which lasted right to the edge of the town. I rode through some road works were I spied a young-ish girl standing on the side of the road, controlling the traffic lights via remote control. She was hopping from foot to foot, trying to keep warm in the 1C temperature. I gave her a knowing nod, which she returned. 😬

I pulled into the very new looking BP service station to fill up. 

That done I parked up and went inside for a gas station pie and coffee. While warming myself up with this sustenance I also charged my helmet comms at the charging table - much like what they have in airports these days. 

This gave me a chance to watch the locals come and go as this was a very busy place. I must say I was surprised at the number of quite underdressed for the conditions people that rocked in! I’m sure they would melt in a Queensland summer if they were wearing almost nothing in 1C temperatures!

Yeah, it was cold and thank the stars I had my pinlock in the visor or I would have been permanently fogged up!

I wanted to go for a look in Wanaka but I wanted to see Mt Cook in the clear more, so I headed out towards Taras and the Lindis Valley. Initial fog leaving Wanaka soon cleared and I had a great run up to Lindis Pass. I stopped at the first outlook to put the drone up and let some slow traffic move along. It was a perfectly still afternoon and the view was typical NZ - outstanding!

I took it easy through the pass as there was the possibility of grit(gravel) on the road.They seed the roads with grit to give grip in icy conditions. I was ok with this and I really didn’t have any close calls during the whole ride with loose grit as it seemed to be used sparingly.

 

I rolled through Omarama and like a well trained Aussie slowed to the 50km/h limit because as I rounded the corner into the Main Street the Highway Patrol with its lights flashing had a car pulled over - most likely for not slowing down in town. I had noticed that the locals don't slow to the signposted limits coming into town, what with several cars roaring up to the back of me over the last few days as I entered a town's 50km/h zone. 

Passing Twizel I took the left turn and rode along the shoreline of Lake Pukaki toward Mt Cook. It was around 2pm now and I was squinting into the sun as I rounded up several cars and camper vans. This was the most traffic I had seen all week but to be expected with such a tourist magnet drawing us all in. 

I could see Mt Cook from miles away. I was looking to get close enough for a decent photo but I didn’t want to ride all the way in to Mt Cook village proper. I soon found a spot to safely pull off the road that had a clear view of the mountain. Again, the low sun made for getting a clear bright photo impossible but it was impressive just to be viewing the 12 218 foot massif, set a the end of the long lake and amongst the towering southern alps. 

A couple of photo and a quick Neo flight and I was headed back to Twizel.

I found a cheap-ish motel which had once been hydro workers accomodation that was a fifty metre walk to the pub. Very handy! The room was pretty cold (it only got to 10C today and it was about 6C by now) and I wasn’t confident in the little oil heater to make much of a dent in the chill. 

I went for a short walk around town and ended up in the supermarket where I bought a curry and rice to zap in the microwave. By the time I got back to the room the small upright oil heater had warmed the room quite nicely. I enjoyed my curry, washed down with a local Pinot Noir and caught up on Steve’s latest YouTube offering via the motel's wi-fi.

It was meant to rain tonight but clear by morning so I thought I would have a little sleep in tomorrow to let the roads dry before getting on with it. 

Another 375 somewhat challenging kilometres on the Tracer today but I was still loving the ride!

DAY 4

I woke up around 8am which was about sunrise time again. Looking outside the ground was barely wet. They had predicted very little rain from the fast moving front and the  Met Service was correct. I loaded up and went in search of a tyre pressure gauge. I was sure the tyre pressures  must be whack as the bike just didn’t feel right. Alas, every Kiwi serve station that I had tried in the last few days was just like this one - equipped with the old fashioned straight metal connector. One that you simply cannot get onto a straight motorcycle valve on a cast metal spoked wheel.

Oh well, just deal with it. 

Leaving town I quickly stopped at the “play park” where several large earthmoving machines were on display, showcasing Twizel’s hydro electric heritage.

I headed south again toward Omarama. The back end of this weather front was shading Twizel this morning but clear blue skies beckoned to the south. Which was to the better because after finally perusing the Hema “Where to ride in NZ” map book that I have owned for ten plus years, I noted some interesting little side roads that I could take on my way to Dunedin today. Well, that combined with some recent intel I sourced from Warren’s blog post of his ride here.

Once turning east at Omarama the road followed a river valley. I crested a rise and Lake Benmore was laid out below me with verdant green crops showing starkly against the yellow-brown grass of the surrounding hillsides. I cursed the fact that I didn’t have a chin camera and there was no shoulder to stop on to take a photo.

I did manage to stop at the southern end of the lake and while very pretty, the angle just wasn’t the same. The crackingly clear, still morning made for some stunning views this morning. Sorry I stuck my mug in that one....

I continued southeast on the 83 then took a left onto Loch Laird road at Otematata. I soon passed a lovely view across a lake(river?) to a power station at the base of a dam wall. The power station wasn't the lovely view but the hills surrounding this mirror like lake were amazing. I turned around and rode onto a dirt track by the side of the lake. It turns out this is the Waitaki Motorcycle Rally Site according to Google Maps. And what a great little site it is!

This was the view if I swing 45 degrees to my left from the above photo. The contrast in the scenery in New Zealand can be vast!

After faffing with my drone and taking various photos I followed Lock Laird road up, over the dam wall then around the eastern bank of the Wataki river, which went for a considerable distance. The road was wide and in good condition but it was wet in the shadow of the towering hills on the eastern side. Add to that the road seemed to be covered in mossy growths in these areas and I was on high alert with regard to traction. I had no issues though and continued to enjoy the view until I rejoined the 87 highway at the Aviemore Dam junction.

I continued southeast again before turning right just outside of Duntroon to take the Livingstone Duntroon road. I got the tip off to go this way from the Hema map book as well. I passed the Elephant Rocks area....

 and the Valley of the Whales (more info in the links) but I didn't stop as there really wasn't anywhere to pull over and the grass by the narrow verge looked wet and soft. These screen grabs from the Osmo 5 will have to suffice.

I followed various minor back roads through Five Forks, Incholme to Maheno, where I joined Highway 1 down the coast to Palmerston. The amount of slow traffic on SH1 was a bit of a shock after being on quiet backroads for a few hours but once the road opened up a bit I soon had empty road ahead again by utilising the power of the mighty Tracer!

I stopped in Palmerston for a fuel top up and managed to find an air hose that would fit the bike. Thus I was finally able to check the tyre pressures. They were down a few psi on what I would consider cold pressures (considering I had been riding for a couple of hours now) but the tyre and rim felt cold to the touch so I think topping them up a bit was warranted. The bike certainly felt better as soon as I rode off to find some morning tea. On the way I saw a few odd sights like a huge engine on a trailer and one for Warren, the non-smoking Japanese canned coffee man.

Morning tea was had at the nice little Coffee Cup cafe'. Here I organised my accommodation for tonight in Dunedin. I broke my personal rule and joined their loyalty club thus saving $15AUD off my room for the night. (more on that later)

From Palmerston I headed back inland on the 85 Highway toward Ranfurly. The road was very quiet and I felt like I had the country to myself again.

 The road was wide and flowing here with majestic views over yellow grassed hills. I will admit to turning around a couple of times to photograph and re-ride some of the better sections of twisty tarmac. 

It was magic up here but the best bit was that the road surface was dry. Too many good roads had been wet all day in the shadows, which is to be expected in winter but boy, it was fun to be able to finally enjoy some smooth, fast, flowing tarmac without worrying about the surface or the Tracer's propensity to wallow on bumpy corners.

A quick lap through Ranfurly which looked to be a nice little town and I was heading out to Waipiata to check out this pub on the rail trail. 

On the way I spotted this cool looking church on the corner.

It didn't take long to get there and the pub was actually pretty busy. I guess it was a Friday afternoon. I took a look at the cenotaph for the fallen of the district then crossed the road to the pub.

A quick Speight's Gold Medal Ale and a chill (quite litterally!) on the front verandah of the pub was a nice respite from riding all the time.

Once finished up I took to the dirt (ssshhhh) and headed east to Kyeburn where I rejoined the 85 very briefly before turning right again onto the 87 towards Dunedin.

But Dunedin was still quite a ways away. I had to take care of more glorrious tarmac while trying not to be distracted by the almost "Golden Hour" glow of the hills.

The Rock and Pillar Range (Patearoa) towers to the right of the road along here and I guess I was lucky to have such a nice, clear afternoon as it is known for having an almost permanent lenticular style cloud hovering over it.

South of Middlemarch the road enters the rolling hills again and delivers superb riding with wide open views forever. Fun stuff.

With such a low sun all day, Golden Hour is more like Golden 3 hours so I had plenty of time to stop for photos...but which ones to stop for? There are so many views and I did have to get to Dunedin today - preferably in the daylight so I could find my hotel more easily.

I finally rolled into Mosgiel at around 4pm. Probably not an ideal time as it was BUSY! I stopped to put my Google Maps on so I could listen to the turn by turn prompts and I soon found myself on a "motorway" of sorts into Dunedin. I managed to navigate the quirky one way and divided streets, passing the Speight's Ale House and brewery on the way to the hotel. 

The hotel proved to be easy to find and while initial impressions were of an old, run down building on top of a hill my room proved to be modern and excellent. Excellent as in a top floor, east end of the building overlooking Dunedin kind of way!

Below is a photograph of a photograph of the hotel, on the wall inside the hotel.

I wandered out for dinner, seemingly pulled in the direction of Speight's Ale House. I mean, the Monteith's in Greymouth was excellent so I had better compare Speight's product, right?

Even though it was dark, it was quite early still and the place was pretty quiet with maybe twenty people having after work drinks on what was already Friday night.

I ordered a beer and sat down. I was very surprised that they wouldn't take money for the beer, they run a tab system!! Try that in Australia and you'll be broke in no time flat!

I ordered sausages and mash to keep the comparison fair. When the meal came out it was clear that Speight's was a clear winner over Monteith's. Look at the size of that plate!!

In truth I couldn't quite finish it and left 1/3 of a sausage behind. I can certainly vouch for the value for money at Speight's Ale House Dunedin!

Even though I was feeling tired I decided to walk around the city for a look. I had never been to Dunedin before but had heard it was an interesting place so I best make the most of my visit.

There seemed to be some midwinter festival/show going on at the huge old church on the top of the hill. There were hundreds of people watching the show which seemed to take up the church's whole grounds, with some young ladies gyrating in cat costumes on small stages along the fence. I tried to get some photos but it was dark and they were moving...anyway, it was interesting for a while.

Wandering back to my room with a bottle of local Pinot Noir that I picked up from a bottle shop near the hotel - did I mention that New Zealand does some bloody nice Pinots - anyway, I had a glass as I contemplated what to do tomorrow. I was pretty tired tonight, feeling quite fatigued and I really liked the look of Dunedin. I liked this hotel and decided that if I felt tired tomorrow that I would stay another night and explore more of Dunedin.

Another 464 kilometres of riding - and some of the best riding yet!

DAY 5

I woke quite early feeling very refreshed! Going to bed at 8pm paid off! 

~8am Saturday morning.

I decided to have breakfast in the hotel dining room and I was so glad I did. Remember yesterday when I mentioned that I broke a personal rule and joined their loyalty program....well, I found out this morning that it also entitled me to a full cooked breakfast. This was on their menu for $30NZ and would have cost me more at any cafe'. Winning!!

Because I felt fresh again today I decided to push on. The weather was starting to look iffy with strong winds from midday tomorrow and rain on Monday. 

But first I was going to take another walk around town as the architecture of Dunedin was something to be admired.

The short walk to the "Octagon" (the centre of the city essentially) presented some interesting buildings.

Continuing down the hill toward the railway station was the Otago Daily Times building.

Then the crowning glory of Dunedin's architecture, the railway station. It looked almost gothic in the pale morning light today.

It was early enough on a cold, clear winter's Saturday morning that there were very few people around, so I was able to get uncluttered photos of it.

I wandered into the station and marveled at it's interior decore. So well maintained - they just don't look like this any more!

Continuing through to the platform there was an old diesel warming up to tow a tourist train for a scenic ride. The Taieri Gorge run was about to depart. I enquired but it didn't return until around 2:30pm. Damn, I should have stayed the extra night.

Continuing the wander around I passed the former Dunedin prison and police station. Nice old building(from the outside).

Then there was the Otago Settlers museum (which didn't open until 10am) which I photographed some trains through the window. Sub optimal photos sorry.

Then I walked back up and over the hill past what I now know to be the "First Church of Otago" which I stood at last night watching the midwinter pageant.

Then I was down around Queens Garden park and took a look at the Chinese Garden entrance.

Heading back to the hotel I climbed the steep incline that the Speight's brewery is built upon, noting that like West End in Adelaide, the public can fill up with the same water as they use to brew their beer.

Nearing the top of the hill was yest another church. They certainly were a god fearing people here back in the day to build these incredible monuments.

Back at the hotel I packed up my meagre possessions. I only had some underwear, two t-shirts, one knitted jumper and a pair of jeans to pack away. I was wearing everything else. Oh, I did have to pack the remains of my Pinot and that went into my nifty new spirit mixer bottle (think 2-stroke motor mix bottle) but made of food grade plastic which means I don't have to cart heavy glass around with me if I would like to have a drink close to hand.

As mentioned above, I was hitting the road north today as the winds were due to pick up quite severely from tomorrow afternoon. I decided to head for Methven as an easy day of cruising the flat Cantebury plains with the mountains off to my left sounded nice. It would also put me close to Christchurch on Sunday morning as the bike was being dropped back Monday morning.

But first I had to go check out the steepest street in the world. It was only a five minute ride. Yeah, it looked steep but nothing too crazy. Surely there are steeper streets in the world? Put it this way, I wouldn't plan a trip to Dunedin solely to see this street.

Starting out on the main road, SH1 I took some advice from Warren's recent NZ ride and turned off onto the coast road to get away from the traffic and because, why not? I had all day to go ~350km. The Coast road turned out to be a narrow, bumpy little thing with what felt like thirty railway crossings! It was slow going but still enjoyable. I soon came to a little carpark/lookout and the view was pretty special, so I stopped for a few minutes.

There were views in pretty much every direction from this Puketeraki Lookout.

While soaking in the sun for a few minutes I was looking at the front tyre of the bike and with the sun at just the right angle it really highlighted with shadow how scalloped the front tyre had become. That couldn't be helping the handling either.

Jumping back on the Tracer I pretty much just motored on now. I stopped for fuel on the outskirts of Timaru and to have a drink of water. I had found all trip that with it being so cool that I had little natural desire to drink during the day and I was a bit dehydrated as a result of this each day. I really had to think about getting the water out of the pannier each time I stopped.

I eventually did stop in Geraldine. Now I hadn't been through here since about '07 or '08 and I recalled a quiet little town but today, early Saturday afternoon, it was buzzing! I found a funky little cafe', The Running Duck, were I ordered what I didn't know at the time would be the worlds biggest toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich and a coffee.

It really filled a hole! While here I booked some accommodation at the Blue Pub in Methven. It was cheap at just $100NZ.

I resisted the temptation to check out the Humdinger Distillery which was located right across the road from the cafe'.

I pushed on into the flat plains where it felt like I could see for miles. With tomorrow's forecast I could see why all of these windbreaks grew along here.

The mountains slowly drew nearer and some cloud was starting to stream off the peaks, cutting the direct sunlight and sending the temperature plunging. This was Mt Taylor. (I believe)

Mt Hutt soon hove into view and I decided to keep going past Methven to try to get some golden hour photos of both Mt Hutt and Rakaia Gorge. There wasn't much snow on Mt Hutt but that was a good thing for me over the previous week.

I kept stopping but I couldn't quite get the shot that I was hoping for but it was spectacular nonetheless. Photos just don't do the scale of mountains justice.

I had really hoped to get a still photo from my drone of the Rakaia River without my shadow in it but the damn thing would just not find satellites to allow it to fly....so this was the best I could do. It was stunning in that light at the time and would have made for a great drone shot.

The colour of the river is just something we don't see in Australia. Brown is our default river colour.

Heading back into Methven the cloud had enveloped the mountains so photography was done for the day. I checked into the Blue Pub and was pleasantly surprised at the size of the room and the facilities on offer. Vastly better than most Aussie pub stays.

I'm not sure what Shrek has to do with anything though....

I took a stroll around town, which didn't take very long. Both pubs in the one photo - one Brown and one Blue!

I ended up with another microwave dinner and a takeaway beer before hitting the hay for the night.

It was a shorter day on the bike today. It felt a bit like I was done with this ride now which was fine because I almost was....

347 kilometrers today.

DAY 6

I was up early today, well before sunrise anyway which was easy as the sun didn't rise until just after 8am! I loaded up and rode the short distance to a coffee shop. Ordering a small flat white with an extra shot might have been a mistake as it was bloody strong!! 

That had me awake!

I sat here in the sun on this dead still morning and tried to come up with a plan. I had already decided on Christchurch tonight so that I didn't have to ride in the rain tomorrow but what would today bring? The high winds from lunch sounded scary but with it so deathly still this morning would they occur? The Met Service had been pretty spot on so far though...but it was a gorgeous morning...

I headed for Rakaia Gorge again, thinking I will loop through Sheffield, Oxford and Rangiora on my way to Christchurch. Not far out of Methven the wind sprang up and it was buffeting me around quite a bit. It was only 9am. It wasn't meant to get windy for hours yet...then I thought "shit, it is going to get up to 90km/h today and this would only be 30-40 at the moment and that is scary enough on this bike". It was also unusually warm all of a sudden. The bike was saying 20C!! Crossing the Rakaia bridge it was very windy. Bugger it, I'm heading for the city! Shortly thereafter, without any real climb or descent and nothing seemingly changing the temperature was down to about 5C and dead calm conditions prevailed. I got brave again and turned back toward Sheffield. From there I went to Oxford via the Waimakarri Gorge road and I enjoyed the few tight bends down toward the river very much.

Not far out of Rangiora I came to an absolute wall of fog! It was so thick and white I stopped before entering it so I wouldn't get cleaned up while changing my GPS route. Stuff Rangiora, I was going straight for Christchurch again.....very slowly....

It was a real pea souper and I couldn't see more than about fifty metres at times. I ran the headlight on high beam and hoped people were driving sensibly this morning.

I really don't know what roads I took, I just listened to the turn by turn and somehow popped out onto SH1 and was immediately in the clear again.

Somewhat relieved I motored toward Christchurch thinking I might go past the airport for a look. That was when I noticed my fuel guage flashing at me. I was getting low! I turned off into town and found a petrol station. It was a rude shock to be back in traffic again after a week of almost solitude. After topping up I thought I might go check out Littleton harbour as it seemed quite calm here in the city still. Plus, there was tunnel to go through. I like tunnels.

So, in no time at all I was basking in the bright sunshine at Littleton harbour!!

Sitting here it was only late morning and a thought occurred that I had never been to Akaroa. Well, the road around the harbour looked fun and the day was a corker here, so why not?

Once I got as far as the Gebbies Valley area it began to get a little windy again. It was still quite a distance to Akaroa but the Little River Inn wasn't that much further now. I decided that if it looked inviting I would stop there for a drink then turn back.

It did indeed look inviting.

And it looked even better on the inside. The staff were super friendly and the calamari fresh and hot. I was going to have one beer but hey, I had nowhere to be so allowed myself to be talked into another as I took in the view.

Turning back I retraced my steps until Dyers Pass road, which I took up and over the Port Hills into Christchurch. It was a fun road but super busy this morning.

I checked into a cheap motel near Te Waipounamu bike hire and went to fill the bike up. Riding back past their shop I noticed that the door was open and a bike outside. Riding in I enquired if I could drop the bike off now, instead of in the morning. The gent said it wouldn't be a problem and thus I could avoid riding in the rain in the morning.

So, just a short one today at 272 kilometres but there was a variety of riding packed into it! That made it a total of 2162 kilometres actually ridden on the trip - all without getting a single drop of rain on me!!

I walked into town from my Colombo Lodge digs and found a nice warm pub, The Dux, to sit in and reflect on the last week. One of their own cold, smooth stouts and an excellent slow cooked beef and vegetables went down very nicely and was a fitting end to this very impromptu trip to New Zealand.

 

Carpe Diem!

Cheers.