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Thread: Waikato rides

  1. #16
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    I have no life.
    For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Keep an open mind, just dont let your brains fall out.

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by unstuck View Post
    I have no life.
    Dont feel bad, you do live in Gore, remember.

    To be honest, I have never been to Gore so I shouldn't take the piss. This November, I hope to spend 3 weeks in the souf izland so will visit. I'll get in touch when I know for sure, then you can arrange to be out that day
    " Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by awa355 View Post
    Dont feel bad, you do live in Gore, remember.

    To be honest, I have never been to Gore so I shouldn't take the piss. This November, I hope to spend 3 weeks in the souf izland so will visit. I'll get in touch when I know for sure, then you can arrange to be out that day
    Sounds like a plan.
    For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Keep an open mind, just dont let your brains fall out.

  4. #19
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    I've just stumbled on your ride reports. Good stuff I went past that ice-cream place the other week and wondered if they really were that big, thanks for confirming

    Like the others said.... Dont stop !!
    And I think you should ditch the thermos and carry a cooker with a pot. Maybe a coffee bag or 2, as recommended to me by Moi

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by awa355 View Post
    To be honest, I have never been to Gore so I shouldn't take the piss.
    What you have never been to the golden guitar awards? And I would have picked you for a country and western fan!


    Quote Jan 2020 Posted by Katman

    Life would be so much easier if you addressed questions with a simple answer.

  6. #21
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    They talk funny

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Murray View Post
    What you have never been to the golden guitar awards? And I would have picked you for a country and western fan!
    I like c & w music but not a bunch of amateurs wearing white stetsons, lacy shirts, cowboy boots standing on the deck of a freight truck at the local A&P showgrounds trying to yodel.

    My sister sings at a local club, can sing a couple of songs nicely, but can murder a heap more.
    " Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by awa355 View Post
    I like c & w music but not a bunch of amateurs wearing white stetsons, lacy shirts, cowboy boots standing on the deck of a freight truck at the local A&P showgrounds trying to yodel.

    My sister sings at a local club, can sing a couple of songs nicely, but can murder a heap more.
    Not quite the back of a freight truck.

    For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Keep an open mind, just dont let your brains fall out.

  9. #24
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    I wasn't talking about the Golden Guitar awards in Gore. At that level they are as good as any. Was thinking of a couple of local 'big days' years ago, when I attended as a zambuck. Just a shame when a singer picks the wrong song for their voice.

    I hadn't picked up on Murrays reference to the golden guitar awards until re reading his post.
    " Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by awa355 View Post
    I wasn't talking about the Golden Guitar awards in Gore. At that level they are as good as any. Was thinking of a couple of local 'big days' years ago, when I attended as a zambuck. Just a shame when a singer picks the wrong song for their voice.

    I hadn't picked up on Murrays reference to the golden guitar awards until re reading his post.
    I have been here 21/22 yrs now and have never been to the golden gutars, so don't feel bad.
    For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Keep an open mind, just dont let your brains fall out.

  11. #26
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    Nothing at all to do with riding (well, I had just ridden home from work), but got a quick shot of the sunrise behind the houses across the road.

    When in the car I have sometimes stopped on the way home and taken some nice early morning photos of the sun just breaking across the farmland. Low rays of sun back lighting the wispy mist and trees.

    " Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"

  12. #27
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    Ngatira ride.

    My wife was having a Toastmasters meeting this afternoon at home so it was time to head for somewhere, anywhere .

    I have a sister in Putaruru so phoned up and told her I'd be over for a cup of tea after lunch. Rain seemed to be on the way so I slipped the rain gear into the tank bag which resides on the pillion seat and headed off. Got to Arapuni so rode around the streets of what was once a lovely Hydro Electricity village. What a shame to see the place now. I don't think the place has seen a tin of paint in 30 years. Turned down the side road that drops down to the power house. You used to be able to drive up the service road above the power house and come out at the dam.

    This is part of the view across the tail race towards Mt Maungatautari. Well it's part of the view. The editing programme wouldn't match up my photos.



    At the bottom of the road a bridge crosses the Waikato river below the power house. The swinging bridge above the main building was put in place about 1929 to give pedestrian access for the workers to the construction site.



    As a kid I was always too chicken to walk across the bridge. First time I crossed it was as a 16yr old, pissed as a fart, I rode my XS2 across it late one night. Got to the steps on the village side and God knows how my mate and I got the bike turned around. Another mate also rode his H2 750 Kwaka across behind me. The silly idiot backed his bike all the way off the bridge. Dumb arses maybe but good fun. A sadder side to the swing bridge history is a number of people taking their lives by jumping of this bridge, hence the high netting sides nowadays. This photo is looking down stream from the road bridge. This spills out into the head of Horahora lake or Karapiro lake, depending which end of the lake you live closest to.



    On to Putaruru and after a break at my sisters, I decided to go visit some local back roads that are part of my history of growing up at Putaruru. Headed south and turned left into Ngatira road. The Litchfield hall used to stand here, scene of Saturday night Scottish dancing, Strutting around in front of the girls trying to look 10' tall, getting eyeballed from the fathers, local cops Alf Gyde and Jack Lopdell searching our cars for booze etc. Talking the next day about getting laid ( we all knew we didn't). Just along from the start of the road is an inconspicous house on the right. This was moved here by 'Bull' Holmes way back in the late 60's. His wife started grizzling about living in a paddock, and wanted a lawn. Bull owned the Ryolite quarry just down the road and a cocky who owed Bull some money offered to level the lawn out and sow the lawn if Bull bought the seed. Duly done, a month or two later Bull decided the lawn was full of weeds and crap. Turned out his two quarry workers had mixed a heap of turnip seeds into the sack of lawn seed.
    About 8 k's or so further on, the road petters out at the Ngatira Marae. Many years ago there was a large mill here down in a deep gully. There was quite a thriving settlement here but that's all long gone now. My father told me of one chap here who had a '39 Dodge. He took a very sick man into Putaruru to the doctors. The chap died while there, so they sat the deceased in the back seat of the Dodge and drove him back out to the family home. The railway from Putaruru to Rotorua runs past Ngatira. This water tower still stands, surrounded by blackberry and gorse.



    The end of the Ngatira road.



    On the way back I tried for a long distance zoom shot of a horse on the skyline. I had bought my old camera and the zoom is not as great as my new camera.



    Half way back towards SH1 I turned into Kokako road. This road ends in a pine forest where I used to run a logging gang many years ago. I cover the ride home in the next post.
    " Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"

  13. #28
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    Ngatira ride part 2.

    Along Kokako road I turned into Cox road. This meets up with Te Rere road and comes out on SH1 just south of Litchfield. Cox road winds and climbs but lots of corners and in good condition. I stopped and took a picture looking back across the Mamaku plateau.



    Looking the other way out to the sth Waikato, not much to see in either photo, but I can't be arsed looking for something more interesting at midnight.



    Most of this farmland is now dairy farming. It used to be mostly dry stock country. Out on the main road, I turned back towards Litchfield until the Wilstdown road. Past the dairy factory and a brief stop at the bridge over the Pokaiwhenua stream. This was known locally as 'Taxi' bridge as my uncle had crashed his Morris Oxford taxi here leaving him badly crippled.



    Further along I passed the site of the old Wilstdown mill. There used to be lots of houses coated in the black creosote with the white trimmings. This was a common feature of many early mill settlements. My fathers logging trucks used to travel this road up to 7 times a day carting logs into the PTY mill. A lot of the tight corners have been taken out over the years. Just before the mill site there was a narrow wooden plank bridge with no sides. At the Wilstdown cross roads I turned right into the Old Taupo rd. I described this section in an earlier post. At the next crossroads (Hodderville) I turned left and rode through to Waotu, then followed Lake road up to Darby rd. I love Lake rd. lots of sweeping corners. From the dam I could see heavy skies ahead. Past Pukeatua I pulled up and pulled on the rain gear. Just out of Kihkihi, it bucketed down. I think some decent rain gear might be in order. Got home and hung everything up to dry out.

    This morning I had changed the gearing on the 250 down from the 'upped' ratios I had installed. I now have a decent top gear that pulls much better over the 70-100kph range. With the previous gearing, 5th was pretty much an overdrive gear. I'll leave it as it is for now. If the weather is fine on Sunday, I may look at a ride out to Kawhia.
    " Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"

  14. #29
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    More good pics, and some good history. Cheers.
    For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Keep an open mind, just dont let your brains fall out.

  15. #30
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    I always enjoy your reports - sounds very official that... interesting photos and chatty and informative commentary.

    Arapuni is an interesting hydro - the power house used to have great marble panels with the switch gear and the control room used to be all marble panels as well... wonder if it is still like that? As a child the powerhouse there seemed so huge in comparison to Karapiro. Remember the days when if you turned up at the door of the power house someone would happily show you round, they had great pride in what they did and the villages were always immaculate.

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