Brass Monkey Adventure

[The Pink Panther]

got pinky going last night am back in the chase

[far queue]

Have a great time guys and good luck with the weather.

[RedKLR650]

Have a great time guys and good luck with the weather.

Radio weather says it's already raining in Omarama

Here in Timvegas, forecast still crap, barometer is going down faster than a punctured tire and it's still dark, but can see the stars currently, so at least the sky is clear for the moment


Cheers, Stu

[NordieBoy]

So is it cold enough to shiver the rain off a Brass Monkey yet?

[Jantar]

No, its still quite warm. 10:25 pm and still 8.3 C outside.

[RedKLR650]

So is it cold enough to shiver the rain off a Brass Monkey yet?

MattsDakar and I both did todays ride but turned around and skipped the Brass due to work tomorrow . We returned via the Danseys in the dark, aided by a full moon ( where's warewolf when you need him ? ) 460km today, nearly all of us, myself included, had a spill of some magnitude, most at low speed due to parallell ruts and lots of mud :-) The river crossing at the end proved tricky with water OVER top of the 21'" front wheels, and one of the KTM's trying to cross, ending up with a water filled engine. Most other bikes were pushed across by 4 men up to their thighs in the water. A good team effort.....

Pix coming soon, Stu

[PLUG]

hurry up with 'em pictures Stu ... no frost over nite, clear fine day ahead ... off hunting tracks & trails off the old Dunstan Rd today ... bring it on

[RedKLR650]

hurry up with 'em pictures Stu ... no frost over nite, clear fine day ahead ... off hunting tracks & trails off the old Dunstan Rd today ... bring it on

OK, here goes......

A few of the Chch adventure boys decided a while back on a bit of an offroad adventure heading down the direction of the brass monkey. The general idea was to meet at Albury ( near Fairlie ), proceed to Black Forest Station on the shores of Lake Benmore then to proceed through the farmland on the pylon access road to the Benmore dam itself.....

I met up with the Chch fellas at Albury at around 11, andwe headed through the beaut shingle curves of the Mackenzie pass on the way to the meeting point at the Haka Pass / Haldon road intersection where we were to meet with Mickeyboy and others. Mackenzie Pass monument provided the opportunity to get the wet weather gear on until we got to the shelter of a bridge over a dry riverbed on the Haldon Road

A billy was brewed by the guy on the wee 500, and the rain finally stopped just before mickeyboy arrived......

Then the adventure began......

Pix attached from Part 1.....

[RedKLR650]

MattsDakar and I both did todays ride but turned around and skipped the Brass due to work tomorrow . We returned via the Danseys in the dark, aided by a full moon ( where's warewolf when you need him ? )

Oops, just heard from Matt, picked up a $230 ticket heading through Timaru....

[RedKLR650]

After Mick arrived we headed up the road, with a quick photo op at the Haldon Station sign......

[RedKLR650]

We then headed on past the Haldon school, much to the delight of the kids playing outside , and made our way down the road to the Black Forest Homestead where we collected the fees for the property owner before setting out on the really fun part of the day.......

[RedKLR650]

The farm tracks gradually transformed into a surface made up of large sharp rock fragments, so going was a bit slower than anticipated, when one of the crew on the smallest and oldest bike in the team ( Jules on a TT500 ) had a bolt come loose resulting in the back brake drum rotating and breaking the lever linking to the back brake pedal After a quick repair he made good time with only a front brake and on some bloody steep sections too !! Eventually we came within sight of the main lower section of the great Lake Benmore.......

[RedKLR650]

We eventually got to the Dam, locked the gate back up for the farmer , and meandered our way to Omarama for some fuel for both man and machine.....

[RedKLR650]

Mick decided some tire photos were in order to show Dunlop how they were wearing. We then headed south out of Omarama and took the first left to the end of the shingle road which took us onto the path shown on the maps. A dirt track turned to large rutted rocks up over the ridge, then back to slippery deeply rutted clay tracks. Apart from Matt ( Mattsdakar ), I think we all ( myself included ) had a wee liedown while still on the bike

No major damage though and we were all having lots of fun until........

[RedKLR650]

........ the river crossing. Yep, right at the southern end of the track was a fast flowing river about 700mm deep at the shallowest point we could find. On the other side was one of the KTM's which tried and failed, tipping over and swallowing a bit of water. After inverting it on land, and some mechanical work, they managed to empty most of the water out of it, and quickly got it re-started. As for the rest of us on the wrong side, it was quickly decided that a 4 man escort was required and each bike was pushed across with 2 men on each side to hold it against the current. As you can imagine, it was getting dark, and with everyone wet up to their n@*$ , the fun was going out of that leg. The crew then split up at the end of the road, with some heading to the Brass, and Plug and a crew heading for Naseby and the warmth of a warm cabin. Matt and I headed back North due to work committments on Saturday, so we decided on a South to North traverse of the Danseys in the dark, aided by a full moon. We stopped for a Pie and drink at the Danseys Pass Pub ( Bloody nice place and people, must head back there...... ) and then pushed on through the pass to Duntroon, hung a right towards Oamaru, taking 7 mile road back to SH1 and just made fuel in Timaru before Matt's Dakar was about to run dry of fuel. I've since learned Matt got stuck with a $270 ticket not long after leaving my place, but considering earlier high speed parts of the ride, that may not have been so bad.....

Thanks for a GREAT day out guys, catch you all again next time

And please feel free to add the names and fill in the bit's I've missed out anyone else that was there

Cheers, Stu......