Scottie

Scotties South Island Blog

This is my blog of our trip around the South Island. In all 6 cruisers from Auckland when on the trip: Scottie (Trostsky) and Helen, Kevin and Kathy, Terry and Sue, John and Janine, Dave and Kirsty and Johnny and Lo.

Day 1 – Auckland to Wellington

Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet.

Hey what happened to Cliff? Oh dear there is smoke coming out the back of his Harley

Bugger my GPS broke.

Why are Dave’s brakes making that funny noise? Oh dear no brake pads.

Yay – Wellington.


Day 2 – Picton to Methven

After a blustery crossing of the Cook Strait, we headed south for gas at Blenhiem. After an aborted lunch stop at Subway we headed south. It was a shame to fly right past the seals at Kaikoura and an travesty to fly right past the crays for sale on the roadside – oh well, it’s about the riding after all – maybe next time. The coastline was a real joy to ride along and certainly justifies more attention for a later trip.

After a nice lunch at Kaikoura we headed off again. When we gassed up there were a few guys from the lower North Island doing their own trip around the South Island, several of whom were actually members of the Group – something I did not learn till later that day. Sorry I missed the opportunity to meet you guys.

After Kaikoura the pace got a bit too hot for us and we let Johnny/Lo and Dave/Kirsty go ahead and instead rode at a steady pace with Kevin/Kathy, and Shooter/Sue (Lovejoy having already gone ahead to pick up Janine from Christchurch). We got in about 7.00pm, with the weather having turned a bit chilly. After a long day we opted for pizzas and beers at the Lodge, met Trevor and Rob I (and his lovely wife) and turned in early(ish) after a splosh in the spa pool.

Day 3 – Lewis Pass and Arthurs Pass

This was an early start, due to the large distance to be covered (about 670 kms) and it was cold (North Island cold). After some hiccups along the way to Amberly and some interesting, if not dubious, GPS navigation we arrived at Amberly for coffee and a chance to warm up. Helen was starting to ask questions about the weather and whether it would be this cold for the whole trip. “Erm, I hope not” I replied scuffing the dirt with my boots and looking worryingly at the clouds.

The ride was long and very scenic. The beech forest through the Lewis Pass was spectacular and the interplay between the forest canopy and the dappled light onto the road was a real delight. The road was in great condition and the VTX simply purred along the road.

We had lunch at Reefton, a beautiful little town with most of its Gold Rush heritage and character still intact. We would certainly love to explore this place more one day. The real highlight for me (and I expect for Shooter, Sue and Kath as well), was the awesome whitebait fritter sandwich: A massive fritter between two hunks of white bread. Simply scrumptious!

The ride through Lake Brunner was fantastic, a new experience for us, and the scale of the southern alps kept us constantly impressed and interested. The Otira Gorge was a fun ride and having lost contact with the main bunch, we stopped just above the viaduct and enjoyed some banter with three local kea’s. One jumped on my saddle bag and was eying all parts made of rubber greedily so we appeased him with a small bag of pretzels and got snapping with the camera. Lovejoy (John) and Janine joined us and we rode together to catch up with the rest. The ride down the eastern side of Arthurs Pass was simply awesome: wide river valleys, majestic mountains and a beautiful road winding endlessly before us. John and I took this section at a steady pace, enjoying the scenery all way, not wanting it to end. We got back to the Lodge after 7.00pm again, having been on the road for almost 11 hours.

This was a long ride to do – but definitely well worth it. We were definitely looking forward to the rest of the trip which involved shorter riding distances and more opportunities to enjoy the sights.


Day 4 – Methven to Omarama

The day started off cold and drizzly. The distance to travel was only about half of the previous day so we opted to take our time with the goal of getting into Omarama no earlier than 4.00pm. Johnny and Dave we keen to get through to Tekapo in one go so we left them at Geraldine. We were delighted to be joined by Kevin/Kath and Shooter/Sue, where we stopped for a drink and a warm up. At Fairly we hooked up with John and Janine and headed off to Tekapo in one group. At Burkes Pass, the cloud and rain lifted and we emerged into the McKenzie Country to find a beautiful day and the sun shining. At Tekapo, we stopped at the Church of the Good Sheppard: a beautiful little stone building right on the edge of Lake Tekapo. We stopped for many group photos and ditched the wet weather gear – This was more like it!

We had a brief meeting and agreed that we should stop at a salmon farm and taste the local fare and then ride beside Lake Pukaki up to Mt Cook. These were two very good decisions! The salmon farm was down a long private road beside a water canal and was a great wee ride in its own right. At the salmon farm we purchased both hot and cold smoked salmon and what can only be described as a “shark feeding frenzy” ensued. I have never tasted salmon so tasty and delicious!

The ride to Mt Cook could not have been better. The sun was shining and the turquoise colour of Lake Pukaki was on full show. We stopped often to take in the spectacular view and take a few snaps. Once there, we sat under a large umbrella at the hotel and enjoyed a few cold ones, admired the view and watched the flood of tourists going in and out of the visitor centre. That night, Helen and I, Terry and Sue, John and Janine and Dave and Kirsty all booked private outdoor hot tubs. These were fantastic! They were heated by a wood burner and you sat in the open air and watched the sunset and the star rise. Watching the Southern Alps turn orange as the sun set and then counting the stars as darkness descended was a very special moment. For us this was the best day so far.
Day 5 – Omarama to Dunedin (Portabello)

We awake to a beautiful – if not chilly – morning. After a short briefing we agreed to ride via the Lindis Pass, through Alexandra and Roxburgh down to Milton and then up to the Otago Penninsula. The Lindis Pass was spectacular but very cold – we were starting to wary of these early morning starts, especially when the warm afternoons and long twilights were so enticing for riding.

Once at Cromwell the day had warmed and we all enjoyed a coffee and a stroll through Old Cromwell. The ride to Alex along Lake Dunstan was very scenic, where we stopped at Clyde to look at the dam and ride through the remaining township. At Roxburgh, we stopped for lunch and a little down the road the we picked up some fresh plums and apricots for later. The riding through this section was blissful. Great roads, warm sun on our backs and little traffic.

The ride into Portabello was very pleasant in the afternoon sun and Helen and I decided to take a detour to Larnach Castle, is it was just 5 km from our lodgings. We arrived half an hour before it closed and all we wanted to do was get a picture of the bike in front of the Castle. “$10 dollars each” said the guy eyeing us up suspiciously at the gate. “Screw you Jimmy!” I said in my best Glaswegian ascent, “I’m not gunna pay that for a wee photo!”. And with that, we left. We passed Johnny and Dave on the way down – little did we know that Dave had just had an incident on a sharp corner on the way up – but I will let him tell you that story.


Day 6 – Dunedin to Invercargill
We awoke to yet another cold but sunny morning and Helen had developed a cold and as she ground her finger into my breast bone, I knew that this would be the last early start we would be making on this trip. And to be fair, I agreed with her. The hot afternoons and long twilights offered the best riding in our view and we saw not point getting to our destination early just to sit outside the motel.

We rode as a group through to Balclutha where we met up with John and Janine (who spent that night in Roxburgh) and we rode through the Catlins National Park along the southern coast of the South Island. This ride offered some spectacular views of the coast and native forest and we were glad to have added this to our trip. After a few mix-ups on the GPS navigation front (involving dirt roads that we refused to ride on, a detour down a dead end and another “bike incident”), Helen and I made our own way to Invercargill along with John and Janine. The others visited Bluff and the Burt Munroe museum that afternoon whereas we decided to that the next morning.

We met up with DV and his wife, who I meet for the first time, and they joined us for takeaways at the motel. Nice meeting you guys.


Day 7 – Invercargill to Te Anau

On this day we had a sleep in – it was a holiday after all. We rose to hear that Johnny/Lo and Dave/Kirsty had left at about 8.00am and that Kevin/Kathy, Terry/Sue and John/Janine were all planning to leave late too. Kevin and Terry headed straight to Riverton for Breakfast and John/Janine and us did the trip to Bluff and a look at the Burt Munro bike. The weather Gods were with us and we did this without any rain, despite the gathering storm clouds about us. We would surely get wet this day and we had the wet weather gear at the ready for this. We did not get out of Invercargill till about 11.00am and by the time we got to Riverton we heard that Kev and Terry were in Tautapere and getting a drenching and that Johnny and Dave were about an hour ahead of them. Fortunately for us, the weather cleared from the south and despite a few showers we rode in generally dry conditions. However, it was cold and the wind was as strong as we had ever experienced – thank God it was summer!

We stopped in Tautapere for lunch at a café run by three hard case Southland women. Without a doubt, they had the best bacon and egg pie, chicken filo and lamb pies I have ever seen. This was Southland hospitality and fare at its best. Sights along the way included the Clifden swing bridge and the majestic Fiordland National Park on our left. We got into Te Anau at about 4.30pm with the sun on our backs to hear that the others had copped the worst of the bad weather. Hmmmm, it seemed our decision to leave later was paying off. We booked a Milford Sound cruise the next day and the weather forecast was very encouraging.

Day 8 – Milford Sound

We awoke to a glorious sunny day and rode with John/Janine and Kevin/Kathy to Milford Sound. It was about 5 degrees so we needed to stop a few times to warm up. The most eventful being at Lake Gunn where we watched several backpackers dive into the lake – at 5 degrees! John nearly fell off his bike when one girl undressed and changed into her bikini in front of him – definitely a highlight for him. So much so, he kept seeing her at other destinations along the trip!

We had never done the road to Milford before (an embarrassing admission, I know) and we were simply blown away with its scale, beauty and splendid isolation. The Homer tunnel was fun (will post video of this on YouTube soon) and we arrived at the Sound to a sunny and still day – perfect for a boat cruise.

On the ride back we stopped at all the sights including the Chasm and Mirror Lakes. Why did we wait so long to do this? Definitely our best day on the trip!