West Coast (Manawatu/Kapiti) Beaches Ride

[Re-cycled]

Chook Chasers Delight

I wrote this note to record my Sunday (16th May 04) ride on my DR650 down the length of the West Coast (Manawatu/ Kapiti) beaches and thought others might also find interest in it. This is something Scrosser and I had been talking of doing for more than a year now, based on an idea originally floated by 4skins.

The beach trip was a superb day out, we did more than I had imagined might be possible. Scrosser came with a workmate Ken on an XT600. Ken's last experience on sand had been in the Sahara on a Norton ! And Andy from Levin joined us too which was a bonus as he has a lot of off road experience (and we got cream scones for morning tea when we called to collect him!)

We hit the beach at Himitangi and went all the way up to Tangimoana, nosing up the river estuary til it got too muddy. Then we returned south all the way back to Foxton where there was no choice but to nip back through the town to get over the Manawatu. Down to Waitarere, then back up to the Manawatu river mouth so we didn't miss any out, and south again all the way to Otaki. A bigger-than-the-rest river crossing at Ohau, I walked it to check the depth and it was enough to fill my boots, but that was a small sacrifice to make.

Andy led us up the stop bank to the bridge at Otaki and we got back on the beach at Te Horo, again running back up to the river mouth so as not to miss anything. There were lots of stony ridges across the sand up that part, but with Andy to show me how I soon got the hang of rocketing across them. That was a good learning experience for me.

Then we were off southwards again and didn't come 'ashore' until Raumati, by which time there were heaps of walkers on the beach and we were getting some disdainful looks from some. But I loved the old lady on a mobility scooter, ploughing along a couple of K's to the North of Waikanae village - you had to admire her spirit.

The Waikanae river was a major obstacle, must have been 50 m wide or more and no ripples to indicate shallows. But I had stayed in my wet socks with such a need in mind and I waded in again. Most of it was knee deep but no more, and with a firm bottom, so having checked that the spark plugs were somewhat higher than that we set sail. We should have some good pics from that bit, between us.

So, a complete success really and a ride to look back on for some time to come. At one point Scrosser was flagged down by a Maori fellow who told him it was a private beach and they didn't want the likes of us on it. If we weren't off it within 15 minutes we would have a bunch of Maoris after us. He headed off northwards in a van, and we figured we were getting off it anyway by progressing on south. I told the guys if there was any more such nonsense I'd speak with them, as I reckon I'm 'tangata whenua' in that area. Just a bit of silliness really, but I had half expected something of the kind.

Altogether a grand day out and it brought back memories of riding the 90 Mile Beach around 1990, on one of my first adventure ride experiences. It was quite similar on the local coast really, with the beach stretching off into the distant haze and 100 kph well within the comfort zone when no one was about (and it’s legal, there are open road speed limit signs here and there along the beaches).

[wari]

Nice post ...

InspIres one to do one ...what.

[merv]

Great trip.

Perhaps we all need to get out there to claim our beaches.

[merv]

p.s. can you scan some of your pics in, especially the knee deep one?

[Re-cycled]

Well Merv, it's just a black blob disappearing towards the middle of the ocean. I'm waiting to see what scrosser got with his electronic job.

[Motu]

Sounds like a great ride - those rivers sound a bit scary though.Show us those pics so we can see what sort of sand you were on.The wife and I were up Dargaville way earlier this year and walked on the longest beach in NZ,or so they say.I reckon I need to go back with my XT400 and 20 litre tank to see how far it goes either way.

[Re-cycled]

Well, Howdy Motu. Re the pics, trouble is I don't have a scanner. Maybe iffn you look while I hold them up to the screen .... Nah, that's not going to work. Watch this space and I'll see what I can do.
By the way, I hope you are still looking after my old XLV750 ?

[Kiwibiker]

Sounds awsome, makes me real home sick

[Ghost Lemur]

Well, Howdy Motu. Re the pics, trouble is I don't have a scanner. Maybe iffn you look while I hold them up to the screen .... Nah, that's not going to work. Watch this space and I'll see what I can do.
By the way, I hope you are still looking after my old XLV750 ?

Have you had the photos developed already? If not when you do ask for them to be put onto disk too. Should only cost about $5 extra if you shop around.

[Motu]

By the way, I hope you are still looking after my old XLV750 ?

Aaahh - tizz you....I shall go to your newbie thread.

[Re-cycled]

Hello Ghost Lemur (What the heck is one of those??)

Thanks for the tip re getting old fashioned photos put onto disk by the developer, I'll keep that for future reference. Too late this time but plan B is to con my daughter into putting them through her scanner for me. Then I just have to figure how to load them, but I guess Merv will give me a hand if I get lost.

Cheers Re-cycled

[LB]

Hello Ghost Lemur (What the heck is one of those??)

Thanks for the tip re getting old fashioned photos put onto disk by the developer, I'll keep that for future reference. Too late this time but plan B is to con my daughter into putting them through her scanner for me. Then I just have to figure how to load them, but I guess Merv will give me a hand if I get lost.

Cheers Re-cycled

if Merv can't do it, 4skins might give you a hand if you ask him nicely......

[merv]

Yep we're all here to help.

[Ghost Lemur]

Hello Ghost Lemur (What the heck is one of those??)

This is...



I actually took the name from William S. Burrough's final book called "Ghosts of Chance".
btw Lemur is Madagascan for Ghost so it's a bit of a play.



He often slept with the lemur beside him on his pallet and had named the creature Ghost…

Ghost stirred beside Mission and belched a sweet scent of tamarind fruit. Despite Babuchi’s warning, Captain Mission knew he must learn more…

He lay there in the gray light, his arm around his lemur. The animal snuggled closer and put a paw up to his face. Tiny mouse lemurs stole out of the roots and niches and holes in the ancient tree and frisked around the room, falling on insects with little squeals. Their tails twitched above their heads; their great flaring ears, thin as paper, quivered to every sound as their wide, limpid eyes swept the walls and floors for insects. They had been doing this for millions of years. The twitching tail, the trembling ears mark the passage of centuries.

As the light drained into the sponge of night, Mission could see for miles in every direction: the coastal rain forests, the mountains and scrub of the interior, the arid southern regions where the lemurs were frisking in the tall, spiny Didierea cactus. They gambol, leap, and whisk away into the remote past before the arrival of man on this island, before the appearance of man on earth, before the beginning of time.

William S. Burroughs "Ghost of Chance"

[Re-cycled]

Ghost Lemur,

Thanks for that info, now I know. Nice piece of prose too, but I don't think I want to know what happened next.

Well, don't all hold your breath, but I'm ready to have a go at loading some of the pictures from the beach ride. I'll try out a few then come back to it another time if it works. (Monday 31 May

Hmm. Back to the drawing board. All but one came back with 'file too big' messages, even after I cropped them ! Ah well, the blob in 'scrosser goes to sea' is the intrepid Scrosser fording the Waikanae river.

Okay, back to it with reduced file sizes, so here goes. The second shot I have called 'Land Ho! - Re-cycled comes ashore' The rest will have to speak for themselves, but roughly speaking they start at Tangimoana in the North and generally move Soutwards. But I will put the Waitarere shipwreck ones on a separate page for reasons which may become apparent as we go on. (Tues 1 June)

Yes well, we got a couple more to load. And yes Merv, it seems to be the dimensions now, rather than the file size. I'll be back !