snodpete

The slowest NZ traverse ever. [5]

Returning to the correct route without further mishap, we headed up the amazingly wide gravel of Styx-Patearoa road. I wondered ruefully if the heavy rain that drenched this country the day before would have made much of Dunstan Trail II as nastily greasy as 'our' puddle... It turned out OK, I was probably more cautious but rain held off (though we did have a hail shower) and I was pleased to see the Clark valley woolshed and gravel under our wheels again. We were cruising along nicely at about 80km when an off-camber crest led to a pants-soiling moment as I 'gently' applied the rear brake - it would have been gentle if the pedal wasn't now 2 cm higher... there was a moment of tail out, opposite lock action; I got a mysterious whack on the back of the helmet after that one.

That bit of road from Clark Valley into Dunedin has go be be one of the nicest motorcyling roads in NZ; high up with long views and sweeping corners. We stopped at Clarks Junction pub for lunch, but no one bothered to emerge to serve us so we used the dunnies and left again. Next stop was McIver & Veitch on the way into Dunedin where I got the brake pedal sorted (needed a bit of gas on the cheese), then to our mates place for her birthday barbeque and a bed for the night.

We had to be back in Westport by Saturday, so the idea was to get to Bluff and beyond via the Catlins on Weds. This started well, but on emerging from a visit to the Owaka information centre I noticed the rear tyre looked a bit sad; it wasn't flat but certainly softer than it should be. So off back to the gas station where we had just fuelled up for some air - some went in but more was coming out... Closer inspection of the Shinko showed tread blocks lifting and splits forming in the casing - this was the SECOND Shinko 705 on the DL that has failed like this, the first after our northern trip - that was replaced by the retailer now this one has done the same. Seems these tyres aren't suited for heavily laden adv bikes. The woman at Owaka Motors helped us track down another tyre via Balclutha - I settled on a Michelin Anakee (silly name) which cost $400. all up and would hopefully be delivered from Chch next morning. Our saviour from the garage, poignantly named Charitee, drove us and our gear to Pounawea and found us a bed in the old Christian camp there. Our unscheduled stop at Pounawea was very pleasant, it's a lovely place with great bushwalks and abundant birdlife.

Weather next day was iffy with misty drizzle but the tyre news was good: Michelin arrived about 10:30 was fitted by gruff mechanic Perry (who rode bikes for Anthony Hopkins in 'World's Fastest Indian' apparently...) and we were mobile again just before 12 with Bluff in our sights. We rode to the end of SH1, took some evidential photos, then found a cafe for lunch - no oysters alas. The weather had brightened as we moved east, heading towards Riverton and beyond, pausing at Cosy Nook and Monkey Island and finally fuelling up at Tuatapere. We no longer had time for a side trip to Te Anau / Milford Sound (now filed away for a future adventure), so swung back east through Ohai and Nightcaps aiming for Kingston. Those Southland coal towns looked poor and shabby the way Buller ones did 20 years ago: closed shops, paint peeling off houses, idle youth shuffling aimlessly in the streets. It's a timely reminder that Buller's current relative prosperity depends entirely on the fleeting appeal of shiny blackstuff that will be all dug up eventually... then will it be back to shabby and idle for us?

The Kingston Flyer Tavern was busy but we found a table for some great pub food and interesting conversations with the skinny incoherent Irishman sporting a Harley-Davidson leather jerkin but no bike... Friday we were aiming for Okarito on the coast near Franz Josef, the forecast threatened rain and as we heading up the lake towards Queenstown the northern skies were dark. Made a detour into the Q'town CBD which was a mistake: got tangled in one-way streets and dawdling Mercedes 4WDs with drivers too rich to indicate; took a pic on the shore and bolted for Arrowtown, altogether a town of more friendly scale and pace. Found Ruth sometime later and she said Arrowtown had the best lolly shop in the universe. We then crossed the Crown Range, now one of my fav roads (amazing surface, you could skateboard down it!) to lunch in Wanaka. Moving on towards Makarora the expected rain began half way up Lake Hawea, we stopped to gear up then continued through intermittent showers all the way to Haast. It eased and we had a good run right to Speights in Franz - a favourite dining spot. There were outside heaters on so we dried a bit while the skies opened again as only they can in South Westland as we made our final run to my dad's house in Okarito.

Saturday was a bit dryer and we grew warmer as we rode north, Hokitika was a lunch-and-lose-the-wet-weather-gear stop, then on to sombre Greymouth and a quiet ride up the coast road to home. We made Westport in sunshine and time for Ruth to attend her singing group rehearsal. It had been a great week; some wonderful roads, new sights, a sprinkling of drama and adventure but no life threats...