Hitcher
26th May 2004, 20:26
It had been a couple of weeks since our last excursion, and our steeds were restless and pining for the highway. So we wangled a couple of days leave at short notice, booked ferry tickets and decamped to the top of the South Island for a long weekend.
Thursday morning dawned fine and clear. Our luggage prepared for extremes of climate, we downed the Ngaio gorge to the waiting 9:30am Arahura sailing. Riding towards the loading lanes, the rising sun dazzled me so I did not see a looming pothole of Lake Taupo dimensions until it was too late to avoid. Fortunately nothing broke, nor did I drown. But this event served as a portent for what is becoming an increasingly shabby inter-island service.
The vehicle deck where bikes park was wet and very slippery. Fortunately we took our own tie-downs, as none were in evidence and none were offered. On the positive side, the Strait was a flat as the proverbial mill pond.
After you’ve done this trip a few dozen times, it loses much of its appeal and new forms of entertainment have to be found to fill in the most boring bits – like the bit between Wellington Heads and Tory Channel… A hand-held GPS? Perfect! 33.2kmh flat-out is what the Arahura did the other day… The great thing about GPS is even when you’re lost, you know EXACTLY where you are!
Gas and coffee at Picton and by the time we were ready to roll the ferry traffic had long since cleared. A short stroll later we were passing through Blenheim and preparing to sample SH1 between there and Waipara for the first time on bikes.
The Dashwood pass has to rate up there amongst New Zealand’s best stretch of twisties. Recently-laid hotmix, no off camber or tightening corners, clean and dry with the sun on your back… Enough to make you want to go back and do it all over again.
Mrs H had recently fitted Michelin Commanders to her Marauder, replacing the OEM Dunlops. She had begun to quietly enthuse about their performance prior to this trip. By the time we stopped for a ride review meeting at Seddon, she was positively effusive. Any cruiser riders who are considering new rubber should check these out!
We stopped for gas at Ward, again for a photo opportunity outside Snoswalds at Wharanui (St Oswalds, the stone church adjacent to the main road) and again shortly after for coffee and cake at the Kekerengu “Store”. The afternoon was windless and sunny. The barren hills of Marlborough glistening in the sun. The Kekerengu Store has a great restaurant but we were there between meals.
Then we were off for Kaikoura – our destination for Thursday evening. The road out of the sun was quite cool but the ride along that stretch of coast between the mountains and the sea takes a bit of beating. The sun was still up at Kaikoura when we arrived, so after finding accommodation overlooking the sea, we did a two-up tour around the township and peninsula. It is amazing the difference tourism has made to this town. There is a real vibrancy about the place and property values have skyrocketed in recent years. There is a multitude of great cafes and eateries.
For dinner we went to Donegal House – a few km out of town heading for Blenheim and down a well-posted side road. A great Irish pub and restaurant. Great food and ambience. A biker-friendly place to stop and owner Murray Boyd is a very genial host. Donegal House has an attached B&B as well, and Murray’s cousin owns another B&B almost straight across the road – Ardara Lodge.
Friday morning at Kaikoura was worth getting up to see the sunrise (OK, so it was after 7:00am but we were on holiday, alright?). After some breakfast and a hot caffeinated beverage, we were off southwards.
The coast road from Kaikoura to Goose Bay is a great trip at any time, but we struck one of those mornings where there was just enough of a breeze to hold the sea spray up against the cliffs. The road (and the railway) is the only barrier between sea and cliffs. The road is nicely twisty (not much room for error on a few corners) with some beaut tunnels for tooting in!
Turning inland, we stopped immediately to Pledge our visors, removing all of the accumulated salt spray.
The Hunderlees have been progressively straightened over the years and the run up to the top now happens in no time at all. However the descent to the Conway River is an entirely different proposition, with several good hairpins.
From the Conway to Cheviot the road has been transformed over the past five or so years, to a point where it’s hard to remember exactly where the old road went. Consequently this trip has lost most of its charm. But straighter roads make it easier to take in the North Canterbury countryside which becomes less rugged and more groomed the further south you get. Parnassus has been completely bypassed.
We stopped for gas in Cheviot. A perfect autumn day, and the local market day. A multitude of vendors were selling their wares beneath jauntily coloured beach brollies. We took a detour out to Gore Bay. What a scenic spot this is. Quite subtropical, based on our experience and by the vegetation happily growing there. The 8km ride out from Cheviot is on a scenic country road, windy and mostly flat. This had recently been resealed and there was a pronounced ridge of pea gravel down the middle in a few places. Exciting.
After using up the last of the camera’s battery (bugger, forgot to take the charger) we retraced our tracks to Cheviot, whereupon we resumed our southern pursuit.
Just north of Greta Valley the air temperature rose noticeably, adding even more appeal to a stunning day and scenery. Our lunch stop was at the Canterbury House vineyard on the left-hand side of SH1 immediately south of Waipara. The ladies there were most friendly and interested in the exploits of a couple of Wellington bikers. The food and wine was superb. Highly recommended. A gravel carpark, but nothing too unmanageable for bikes.
We then returned to the Waipara turnoff (SH7 to the West Coast) where we were soon reacquainted with the wonderful Weka Gorge. This stretch of windy road had impressed me mightily while heading in the opposite direction back in March. As a wee challenge I set out to see if it could be traversed at a steady 130kmh, and I am pleased to report that it can - quite easily!
Keen to take in a bit of new countryside, we turned left at Waikari and headed for Hawarden. At Hawarden we misread the roundabout in the middle of the village and headed off into the wilds between Medbury and Lake Sumner at the headwaters of the Hurunui River. There are a lot of large dairy farming conversions on irrigated country in this region and the valley looked extremely lush and loved.
After riding up a straight stretch of road for about 10 or so km, it was clear that we had missed our turnoff. So we turned around. Stopped at the end of a nicely sealed straight stretch of road with no wind and the sun warming his back, what was a boy to do? A handful of redline changes later, the Zedrex was travelling at a comparatively brisk pace (Mrs H said she thought I’d been shot out of a cannon). Yes, brothers and sisters, I sinned. And it was good…
Shortly afterwards we found a road back to SH7 near the Hurunui pub and soaked up the afternoon sun taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the Hurunui valley. Lots of happy sheep and pine trees.
Our evening’s accommodation was at Hanmer Springs which, given it was a Friday evening, was rather quiet. After parking up and checking in we went for a stroll around the town, culminating in a rather good pizza dinner at Saints Bar. Hanmer is a real oasis of wealth in the middle of nowhere. Property prices would make Aucklanders feel right at home!
Thursday morning dawned fine and clear. Our luggage prepared for extremes of climate, we downed the Ngaio gorge to the waiting 9:30am Arahura sailing. Riding towards the loading lanes, the rising sun dazzled me so I did not see a looming pothole of Lake Taupo dimensions until it was too late to avoid. Fortunately nothing broke, nor did I drown. But this event served as a portent for what is becoming an increasingly shabby inter-island service.
The vehicle deck where bikes park was wet and very slippery. Fortunately we took our own tie-downs, as none were in evidence and none were offered. On the positive side, the Strait was a flat as the proverbial mill pond.
After you’ve done this trip a few dozen times, it loses much of its appeal and new forms of entertainment have to be found to fill in the most boring bits – like the bit between Wellington Heads and Tory Channel… A hand-held GPS? Perfect! 33.2kmh flat-out is what the Arahura did the other day… The great thing about GPS is even when you’re lost, you know EXACTLY where you are!
Gas and coffee at Picton and by the time we were ready to roll the ferry traffic had long since cleared. A short stroll later we were passing through Blenheim and preparing to sample SH1 between there and Waipara for the first time on bikes.
The Dashwood pass has to rate up there amongst New Zealand’s best stretch of twisties. Recently-laid hotmix, no off camber or tightening corners, clean and dry with the sun on your back… Enough to make you want to go back and do it all over again.
Mrs H had recently fitted Michelin Commanders to her Marauder, replacing the OEM Dunlops. She had begun to quietly enthuse about their performance prior to this trip. By the time we stopped for a ride review meeting at Seddon, she was positively effusive. Any cruiser riders who are considering new rubber should check these out!
We stopped for gas at Ward, again for a photo opportunity outside Snoswalds at Wharanui (St Oswalds, the stone church adjacent to the main road) and again shortly after for coffee and cake at the Kekerengu “Store”. The afternoon was windless and sunny. The barren hills of Marlborough glistening in the sun. The Kekerengu Store has a great restaurant but we were there between meals.
Then we were off for Kaikoura – our destination for Thursday evening. The road out of the sun was quite cool but the ride along that stretch of coast between the mountains and the sea takes a bit of beating. The sun was still up at Kaikoura when we arrived, so after finding accommodation overlooking the sea, we did a two-up tour around the township and peninsula. It is amazing the difference tourism has made to this town. There is a real vibrancy about the place and property values have skyrocketed in recent years. There is a multitude of great cafes and eateries.
For dinner we went to Donegal House – a few km out of town heading for Blenheim and down a well-posted side road. A great Irish pub and restaurant. Great food and ambience. A biker-friendly place to stop and owner Murray Boyd is a very genial host. Donegal House has an attached B&B as well, and Murray’s cousin owns another B&B almost straight across the road – Ardara Lodge.
Friday morning at Kaikoura was worth getting up to see the sunrise (OK, so it was after 7:00am but we were on holiday, alright?). After some breakfast and a hot caffeinated beverage, we were off southwards.
The coast road from Kaikoura to Goose Bay is a great trip at any time, but we struck one of those mornings where there was just enough of a breeze to hold the sea spray up against the cliffs. The road (and the railway) is the only barrier between sea and cliffs. The road is nicely twisty (not much room for error on a few corners) with some beaut tunnels for tooting in!
Turning inland, we stopped immediately to Pledge our visors, removing all of the accumulated salt spray.
The Hunderlees have been progressively straightened over the years and the run up to the top now happens in no time at all. However the descent to the Conway River is an entirely different proposition, with several good hairpins.
From the Conway to Cheviot the road has been transformed over the past five or so years, to a point where it’s hard to remember exactly where the old road went. Consequently this trip has lost most of its charm. But straighter roads make it easier to take in the North Canterbury countryside which becomes less rugged and more groomed the further south you get. Parnassus has been completely bypassed.
We stopped for gas in Cheviot. A perfect autumn day, and the local market day. A multitude of vendors were selling their wares beneath jauntily coloured beach brollies. We took a detour out to Gore Bay. What a scenic spot this is. Quite subtropical, based on our experience and by the vegetation happily growing there. The 8km ride out from Cheviot is on a scenic country road, windy and mostly flat. This had recently been resealed and there was a pronounced ridge of pea gravel down the middle in a few places. Exciting.
After using up the last of the camera’s battery (bugger, forgot to take the charger) we retraced our tracks to Cheviot, whereupon we resumed our southern pursuit.
Just north of Greta Valley the air temperature rose noticeably, adding even more appeal to a stunning day and scenery. Our lunch stop was at the Canterbury House vineyard on the left-hand side of SH1 immediately south of Waipara. The ladies there were most friendly and interested in the exploits of a couple of Wellington bikers. The food and wine was superb. Highly recommended. A gravel carpark, but nothing too unmanageable for bikes.
We then returned to the Waipara turnoff (SH7 to the West Coast) where we were soon reacquainted with the wonderful Weka Gorge. This stretch of windy road had impressed me mightily while heading in the opposite direction back in March. As a wee challenge I set out to see if it could be traversed at a steady 130kmh, and I am pleased to report that it can - quite easily!
Keen to take in a bit of new countryside, we turned left at Waikari and headed for Hawarden. At Hawarden we misread the roundabout in the middle of the village and headed off into the wilds between Medbury and Lake Sumner at the headwaters of the Hurunui River. There are a lot of large dairy farming conversions on irrigated country in this region and the valley looked extremely lush and loved.
After riding up a straight stretch of road for about 10 or so km, it was clear that we had missed our turnoff. So we turned around. Stopped at the end of a nicely sealed straight stretch of road with no wind and the sun warming his back, what was a boy to do? A handful of redline changes later, the Zedrex was travelling at a comparatively brisk pace (Mrs H said she thought I’d been shot out of a cannon). Yes, brothers and sisters, I sinned. And it was good…
Shortly afterwards we found a road back to SH7 near the Hurunui pub and soaked up the afternoon sun taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the Hurunui valley. Lots of happy sheep and pine trees.
Our evening’s accommodation was at Hanmer Springs which, given it was a Friday evening, was rather quiet. After parking up and checking in we went for a stroll around the town, culminating in a rather good pizza dinner at Saints Bar. Hanmer is a real oasis of wealth in the middle of nowhere. Property prices would make Aucklanders feel right at home!