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Thread: South Island safari -- days 4 to 6

  1. #1
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    South Island safari -- days 4 to 6

    The safari continues:

    More thoughts...

    -- South Island moteliers (well, the ones we found) are generally very biker friendly. Some even let us park the bikes in their garages.
    -- If you like custard squares, and other traditional kiwi fare, then the South is the place for you!
    -- If you took all of the tourist traffic off the SI's roads, there would be nobody else there!
    -- When you get your bike serviced and the filter is changed, check the oil level to make sure they've put enough oil in to compensate for a new filter! While a Suzuki Marauder has 1700mL stamped by the oil filler, it needs 2100mL if you change the filter!!

    Day 4: Despite a long day yesterday, we woke early to take photos of the sunrise across the Akaroa harbour, which was breathtakingly perfect. We saddled up our mounts and rode the Banks Peninsula crater rim road. Despite a gusty norwester, the air was clear and we had unencumbered views to the horizon in all directions -- as far north as Kaikoura and the hills south beyond Timaru. This is a must-do ride for any biker visiting the Christchurch area. We stopped for coffee at Little River, before heading back over the hill to Diamond Harbour, Lyttelton and through the tunnel (woo hoo) to Christchurch, where we parked up for the night after (eventually) finding a motel. The harbour ride was again scenic and great fun, apart from getting stuck behind and then amongst a convoy of diesel school buses transporting some expedition from a North Canterbury high school. Lyttelton itself was disappointing -- when we last visited a few years ago it had a vibrant arty cafe thing going on. This time it was just a seedy down-at-heel port town. Poster of the trip was spotted here (a Speights one of course): "I could murder a Pinot Noir". "You hold it down son, and I'll shoot it!"

    Day 5: A shorter day today. We had a great yack first thing with a bunch of Christchurch bikers who were using the Caltex station at Yaldhurst as a rendezvous prior to heading off on a ride to Westport. Some great classic bikes in top condition, including a mint Honda CB750 four, and a Suzuki rotary! Mrs H and I rode to Darfield before heading for Ashburton via the Rakaia Gorge and Methven. While Canterbury is largely breadboard flat, this back road has some nice ups and downs and twisties (even if they are only short and sweet). We stayed overnight with the inlaws (Mrs H's folks) in Ashburton, where our steads were much admired (the wheeled grandkids).

    Day 6: Our longest day of the safari, as it turned out. 640km, Ashburton to Dunedin via Mrs H's old family farm (at the Ashton rivermouth), Geraldine, Mt Cook, Omarama, and Oamaru. The first part of the day was cold, little wind and high dank overcast. If anybody wants to stretch the legs of their mount with zero risk of intervention from Joe Law, then the Hinds to Geraldine road is for you! And it goes for miles dead straight! A good chance to get the dust off the top of the speedo needle! We stopped in Geraldine for a coffee and a pie at the same time as we were caught from behind by three bikers from Nelson on a latte run. We had a great yack with Chris (Suzuki GN1000), Mike (BMW K100), and John (Ducati Monster 1000). The day got gloomier as we approached Fairlie but at the top of Bourkes Pass the cloud disappeared entirely and there was "alpine grandeur for Africa" in every direction. By now we were starting to encounter adjective depletion syndrome! We met Chris, Mike and John again at the Tekapo Caltex station and they invited us to ride with them to the Hermitage via a hydro canal road we knew nothing of. This hydro road is off to the right about 12km south of Tekapo (the road to the salmon farm) and is a stunning ride. From the main road about the only decent view of Mt Cook is from the arse end of Lake Pukaki. On the canal road you get dress-circle views of Aoraki for mile after mile, not to mention a great panorama of the McKenzie basin. We stopped for photos at the penstock end of the canal before returning to the main road and the Hermitage turnoff. The run up the Hermitage road was a motorcycling epiphany. No wind, no clouds, bright sunshine, views of Mt Cook, a perfect motorcycle road, a ZRX ticking over nicely doing about 150kmh in the middle of a line of bikes... it just doesn't get any better!! We stopped for photos at the Hermitage, as well as a flat white ($4) and a pie ($4.50). We said our goodbyes to the Nelson boys who had graciously allowed us to "share the moment" with them, before they left ahead of us (they went to Dunedin that night via the Lindis Pass). The run back down the Hermitage road to Twizel (for gas) was also a wonderful experience, as was the run down the Waitaki river valley -- the lakes are stunning. The roadsides are also festooned with anti-Project Aqua hoardings. The day started to cool notably between Duntroon and Oamaru, letting us know that summer was now a distant memory... After dinner in Oamaru we left for Dunedin in what was now the southern twilight, but still enjoyable riding. Honking along the coast south of Moeraki, a silver Commodore SS that I was catching up did a u-turn in front of me and then I noted did a u-turn dropping in behind Mrs H. I had already intercommed a warning after the first u-turn, so we had an extremely legal trip to Palmerston, where our silver friend disappeared up a side street. Joe Law in a marked HP car was shooting fish in a barrel in Palmerston -- policing a 30km piece of roadworks on the south end of town. We escaped unscathed to Mrs H's brother's place in Dunedin.
    "Standing on your mother's corpse you told me that you'd wait forever." [Bryan Adams: Summer of 69]

  2. #2
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    Nice account Hitch ... making me very jealous for one ...

    Have ya spotted anyone on a TDM850 on your travels?
    THe hand's farster than the eye ... keepan eye onda feet .. .

  3. #3
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    SOB!

    I need a holiday
    If a man is alone in the woods and there isn't a woke Hollywood around to call him racist, is he still white?



  4. #4
    Join Date
    5th September 2003 - 12:00
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hitcher
    -- South Island moteliers (well, the ones we found) are generally very biker friendly. Some even let us park the bikes in their garages.
    -- If you like custard squares, and other traditional kiwi fare, then the South is the place for you!

    we were caught from behind by three bikers from Nelson on a latte run. We had a great yack with Chris (Suzuki GN1000), Mike (BMW K100), and John (Ducati Monster 1000).

    they invited us to ride with them to the Hermitage via a hydro canal road we knew nothing of. This hydro road is off to the right about 12km south of Tekapo (the road to the salmon farm) and is a stunning ride.

    We stopped for photos at the Hermitage, as well as a flat white ($4) and a pie ($4.50).
    We find the same with moteliers - most offer their garages.

    Denheath Custard Squares....Pleasant Point.....yum, yum, (expanding waistline) yum. (they now export them overseas did you know?? they no longer bake them at Pleasant Point as the cafe couldn't cope with the number they had to bake, so they've got big new premises in Timaru)

    Think we met those Nelson guys at Ruapuna a few weeks ago - was the Monster a Dark?

    Canal road is great, but be aware it's a private road (though the public is allowed use it) and the speed limit is 70kph. Also can get very windy (so exposed) - camper vans have been known to get blown right off (honestly!). However, we often use it and (touch wood) haven't seen Mr Plod there yet. (they obviously haven't twigged to easy revenue)

    The Hermitage is one of the most expensive places to eat/drink in NZ. However, when you sit outside sipping/eating your expensive latte/sammie, in the shadow of Mt Cook, with all those wonderful mountains around, it somehow seems irrelevant how much it costs.

    Great writeup Hitcher, looking forward to the next instalment and some piccies (even though my skin tone has increased in verdicity (is there such a word??) from yesterday.

    PS: anyone keen on a Custard Square run to Hastings one weekend? They fly the Denheath CS's up to Hastings at sparrow fart each morning, to the cafe in the Art Gallery there.

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