Queens Town

We had a quiet day in Queenie today while Paul & Arlene V went for a fly in a Gypsy Moth by-plane, cool eh? We mooched around the town and had a chill.

In the evening we went on the TSS Ernslaw for a cruise on the lake followed by dinner and then a demo of sheep herding and shearing, which was great fun. Tomorrow we head for Te Anu and the second largest lake in NZ all 350 sq km of it !

The rain forest to Cadrona - 15.11.09

I awoke to torrential rain at about 6am and looked from my room with dread at the thought of a day riding through this but by the time we had finished breakfast at 8am it had died down. We set off towards the rainforest which was beautiful but named with good reason. Soon we were back in the rain and wind, which stayed with us right through until about 2.30pm.

We stopped at “Bruce Bay” and again we were treated to more dramatic scenes as big waves crashed against the shore driven on by the wind. Driftwood was all along the beach and by the side of the road people had stacked piles of small stones; there were many piles and I think they may represent souls long departed?

The Gates of Haast provided our exit from the rainforest, the haast is a powerful river dropping from the mountains that host much of the forest. Once out we rode onto a plateau that took us in land and past lake Wanaka. This was the most spectacular thing I have seen so far, equal to the Grand Canyon as a spectacle. Snow capped mountains fell to the shore of the bluest water I have ever seen; fantastic!

We have now covered around 3500 km and are halfway through our trip. We are staying the night at Cadrona an old gold mining town, which hosts a river to hold the record for having had the most gold ever extracted from it! The hotel is great, like an old western style building with old furniture; it gives you a real feel for the 1800’s, which is when it was built.

Tomorrow we hit Queens Town, it’s only a 40-minute ride away and we have the day off there. It will be nice to have a day off the bike and chill out around the town.

Haere Mai Te Wai Pounamu

Well in case your wondering, the title says welcome to the south island in Maori and what a welcome it has given us. By comparison to the north island where the sun shone all day every day it has been overcast and either cold, windy, rainy or even snow!

We have had a little sun but nothing like the north island. Baz tells me its 25c further south...lets wait and see?

Today we made our way to Fox Glacier and should have taken a chopper flight up the mountain but weather conditions prevented us from getting a landing on the Glacier so we didn't bother. We drove up as far as we could and got up close and personal with the huge Glacier, which is about 10 miles long. It has receded greatly over the past 100 years with global warming being blamed.

Along the way we stopped at a craft centre that sold Maori carving, which was a little treasure trove for gift shopping. We have had a nice relaxing day, which has been well received by myself in particular as my shoulder has become really sore with all the riding. I'm on Ibuprofen and hope it does not worsen? I would hate to have to take a day off the bike but if it gets more painful I might have to .

Baz tells us we have a long ride tomorrow and I am looking forward to reaching Queens Town in two days time, I hope it has stopped raining by morning ?

Four seasons in one day !

We left Hanmer Springs in fine sunshine but with a poor weather report. An hour into our ride the wind blew, the rain fell and poor Arl S had to take the van again as she was being blown all over the road. We had 375 km to ride and it took 9 hours but through the dramatic Arthur's Pass, which is 3000ft above sea level. It is a massive area, remote and rugged but fantastic to experience. While stopping to have our team picture taken it began to snow !

As we made our descent from the pass, out of nowhere came a plod who pulled us over and fined poor Arl S for going over the white line in the centre of the road $150, what a jobs worth!

We stopped for lunch at Aurthur's Pass Cafe and watched wild parrots landing all over the cars, roofs and railings. I think they were Kea's, look that one up on google for yourselves. We eventually reached our destination after 9 hours, exhausted but exhilarated and happy in the knowledge that we have a short ride tomorrow.

The Lewis Pass and Hamner Springs (Thurs 12th)

We had a short day today, only had about 240km to do. Paul informed me our total km so far is 2600; so clocking up the miles now. Thanks to our Jen who after a quick call to Terry this morning Hexed us some sunshine right across the Lewis Pass.

We climbed high into the Southern Alps on wonderful roads, stopping to take lots of pictures and video before reaching the hick town of Reefton where we had lunch. Best ever BLT sandwich !

Then we charged on to the summit at St James walk before beginning the descent. Long straight roads then sweeping bends with the occasional hairpin made the ride down pretty close to heaven. Fantastic scenery has accompanied us throughout this trip and each day brings more breathtaking sights. Once into Hamner Springs, where once again the accommodation is brilliant, we went to the sulphuric thermal pools for a soak, what a pong though ! The water was 41 degrees so like a bath. You know I could get used to this life ???

Hope all you Vultures had a good meeting at the Horns, it was funny speaking to Terry at 8.30 this morning and it being the evening back home. More blogging tomorrow as I am now off for a Swedish Massage.... tuf life eh ?

Wed 11th Nov - Picton to Westport via Buller Gorge

Well I could not get a network connection yesterday so catching up today. We left wellington at 7am and caught the ferry at 8.30. It is a 3 hr crossing so we had time for food and lots of sight seeing from the decks. The water was calm so no up-chucking by any of the team and we got off at Picton where I had a new bike to collect. Lucky me he he he !

The weather looked poor so we all put our wet gear on and set off. We had 295 km to ride which took us about 4 hours. As we rose into the mountains the weather worsened, rain, and cold wind chilled us all to the bone. Poor Arl Stevens had to be put in to the van to warm up and then could not continue to ride so Baz today's driver let Arl drive the van and he took her bike. It was almost snowing as we reached a fuel stop. This was the first sign of life in about 2 hours of riding. We had a hot drink, something to eat and then gathered ourselves for the remainder of the ride. The weather seemed to be getting better, roads drier and soon we had forgotten the bad weather and enjoyed the ride in, Poor Paul got very wet despite his wet gear and the cold really chilled him to the bone. We were pleased to see our B & B but John and I had a ball as Baz cracked open the throttle for the last 45 Min's and we were caning it around the empty roads,....Fantastic !!!!

Lovely B & B set in 36 acres, good meal from our host Noleen and then bed, we were knackered

Napier to Wellington

Well I had the ride of my life today, the roads just have no traffic on them and we had another sunny 380 km into Wellington. We stopped at mount Bruce where we had lunch at Pukaha wildlife centre, which looks after some Takahe birds, see picture, and from there we crossed over a mountain range and down into Wellington. The ride across the mountain was probably the most exhilarating of my life and I felt really alive. How I wish more of my VSOC friends could be here - it's not quite the same without you all.

Up at 6am to ride to the ferry and our 3hr crossing the the south island. We enter the land of the Ork and the riders of Rowhan in the morning...... whats that I hear ???? My Precious !!!