Adventures Down Under - New Zealand and Australia

[Tyler]

Thanks all for joining in the fun... here comes the next installment! B)

Day 1 - Saturday, Feb. 14 - Christchurch -> Akaroa -> Methven

Since this would be our first day riding and I was concerned about jet lag plus the added challenge of remembering to ride on the opposite side of the road I'm normally used to, we decided to make this a short day. We woke early, eager to get on the road and start our adventure. Our continental breakfast consists of toast and ceral and Sally starts her day off with some Vegemite for her toast... have you ever had Vegemite? It's, um, a very unique taste and not one that I personally favor... we didn't fight over it that morning.

Sally leads which makes it a little easier for me to stay on the left side of the road but it still feels awkward. The day is overcast and cooler than we anticipated but no rain... we've got all the gear we need so pack the bikes, bundle up and head out for our lunch destination, Akaroa, a historic French and British settlement nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano.

As it so happens, the Big Money Rally just happens to have some bonus points available in New Zealand... what a coincidence! So before we head out to Akaroa, we swing by my first bonus stop, a motorcycle rental company called Te Waipounamiu (don't even ask me how to pronounce that! lol). Mission completed but sending the photo would have to wait until I was able to find Wifi.

Then it was off via 75 aka Christchurch Akaroa Rd. Finally getting out of the city, things started to get fun...

And then a whole bunch of this was going on...

Needless to say, we weren't quite as adventurous through some of the corners but we did stop to take in the views...

This guy was busy as a... well, bee!

Sally took a left turn onto a side road, Summit Rd. which took us up along the ridge overlooking the lake at Akaroa... there was virtually no traffic so we had the road to ourselves...

 

[Tyler]

Then a turn down Okains Bay Rd., a goatesque road with no center line... that was weird because I kept wanting to stay right! We both wished the sun had been out as I'm sure the lake would have been even more beautiful...

We arrived at Akaroa and parked out by the wharf and found this restaurant which we decided to try their fish and chips... how could we resist since it was world reknowned!

And I do have to say, it was pretty dang good... the fish was light, flaky, and fresh... we were not disappointed so I guess their claim was not...

Seagulls are plentiful in the towns but they are smaller than ours here in California but equally as annoying and loud...

Sated we headed back out 75 toward Methven...

Once we got past Christchurch, the roads were pretty uninspiring... lots of straight and the temperature kept dropping as we went...

And then we had about 2 miles of hard-packed dirt road... Sally's favorite (NOT!)... but we made it through unscathed...

We arrived at our apartment-styled hotel for the night, Brinkley Resort and unloaded our stuff. We asked the woman at the front desk for a dinner recommendation and in the conversation we were reminded that it was Valentine's Day... with that in mind, we decided to stay in and not deal with the throngs.

Since the Spyder has more storage space, I offered to run to the grocery store to pick up some food for our dinner. I drove out of the parking lot and turned right... well, the right I was used to making at home... luckily, there was no traffic and I quickly remembered where I was and where I needed to be on the road!

We had cheese & crackers & wine & fruit and then headed to the spa to soak in the hot tub... it was a perfect way to end our first day and gave two good friends a chance to catch up...

A good shake out ride for the start of our trip... next up, the journey to Cromwell!

 

[exskibum]

Oh yeah - not to disappoint, there is both a 2 wheel and 3 wheel mode of transportation in your plan! You're amazing, Tyler.

 

[rogdeb]

Still tuned in, watching, and awaiting the remainder

I'll honor this thread my # 3000 post real soon

. thanks Ty

 

[majicmaker]

Outstanding! That looks like a lot of fun.

 

[Tyler]

Still tuned in, watching, and awaiting the remainder

I'll honor this thread my # 3000 post real soon

. thanks Ty

Guess I better get more days posted up!

Outstanding! That looks like a lot of fun.

Ah, my friend, the best is yet to come... B)

 

[majicmaker]

Ok, now you're torturing me. Don't tease...

 

[escapefjrtist]

...standing by for the next installment!

--G

 

[lidja]

Lovin this, Tyler! Beautiful pictures and great storytelling. More! More!

 

[TestPilot]

So very glad to be a part of this. Watching and waiting

 

[El Toro Joe]

Great stuff...keep it coming

 

[Tanker]

Looking forward to the next installment Tyler. Great pictures and prose, as usual.

 

[bluesdog]

Two words: Awe some!

 

[Tyler]

These things take time... hoping to have the next installment tomorrow... patience, Grasshoppers! B)

 

[majicmaker]

These things take time... hoping to have the next installment tomorrow... patience, Grasshoppers! B)

I know they do. Look at my interests in my avatar. I know what that's like. It doesn't excuse you but, I will admit, I have a lot more patience than most, Sensei...

 

[Mudslide Miller]

Beautiful countryside! Would love to go there some day.

 

[wheatonFJR]

These things take time... hoping to have the next installment tomorrow... patience, Grasshoppers!

No worries, no hurries...

 

[Tyler]

Day 2 - Methven to Cromwell

Both of our internal time clocks were a bit off and we both awoke early around 5:30am. We caffeinate, pack up, and are on the road to cold and overcast skies.... Sally stops along the road to adjust her gear... we haven't gotten into the swing of things yet and often misplace items or forgot where we packed them... it would take a couple of days before we got that groove back...

Electrics successfully plugged in, we soldiered onward...

Lots of roadwork going on all over the place...

Have I mentioned how many sheep there are in New Zealand?? TONS!! Everywhere there were masses of them... wool is the number one export and reportedly there are 20 sheep to every person in NZ... Barry would be in heaven...

Finally we reached some twisty bits and our spirits soared with the sight of blue sky starting to appear...

Our first tourist stop for the day was Lake Tekapo...

This was a frequent experience whenever the Spyder stopped anywhere there were Chinese/Japanese tourists... they flocked to it like bears to honey... at one point, the bike was surrounded by about 25 of them when a tour bus pulled in shortly after...

Can you find Sally by the edge of the water?

There she is... soaking in a zen moment... it was gorgeous...

There was a small stone church toward one end of the lake with a window looking out toward the lake... I would think that would make a very fine backdrop for a morning worship although I personally don't need the building at all to worship the world's beauty...

No respect...

 

[Tyler]

We were finally starting to feel like we were finding what we came for... we gassed up in town, chatted with some folks, and then continued along 8... NZ has been experiencing a drought this year (it's their summer over there) and it was quite evident with the golden brown dried grass...

Until we came around a corner and BAM... Lake Pukaki came into view... and yes, the water really is that blue...

Mount Cook is looming behind it... we didn't have the time to ride the road to the top of Mt. Cook so we'll put that on the list of things to experience next time...

There was a young couple that seemed to be stalking us along the way as everywhere we stopped, they turned up shortly after... finally they gathered enough courage to come and ask if they could take a photo of the bike... they also found it quite unique that a woman was riding it so I was usually asked to be a part of the photo as well... when I offered to the young woman to sit on the bike, I thought she might wet her pants she was so excited... well, actually at first she was terrified but I assured her that the bike wouldn't go anywhere so she relaxed and got into the moment!

I started thinking I should be charging for these photo opps... maybe pay for my vacation! There was another bonus opportunity that I wanted to get and Sally was a good sport and went along with it as it was a 1-1/2 hour detour from our original route... we headed for Duntroon along route 83 which is lined with lakes along the way...

And finally alighted at the Flying Pig Cafe...

There was this beautiful Impala parked out front...

We looked at the menu and I thought I'd try their Ploughman's Meat Pie which are very popular in NZ but Sally ordered before me and got the last one so I went with a menu favorite, the roast beef sandwich which was probably the best roast beef sandwich I've ever had in my life... if you end up out this way, this place is well worth the detour for a fantastic lunch...

We sat outdoors as it had turned into a beautiful day... sun shining, slight breeze blowing, and some great tunes playing...

Town church... I love these types of buildings...

Stopped to see some Maori rock drawings which look a bit like graffiti rather than art...

Someone created their own artwork...

 

[Tyler]

And then retraced our steps along 83 with the sun sparkling on the water as we went...

Even found some of my state's flowers along the roadside to make me feel at home...

Then it was up through Lindis Pass as we neared Cromwell...

And more sheep!

The town of Cromwell sits at the end of Lake Dunstan... in the 1980's and 90's Cromwell underwent a major transformation with the construction of the Clyde Dam power station. When the dam was completed in 1992, the valley behind it was flooded to create Lake Dunstan. As a result, the original site of Cromwell's historic business district at the junction of the Kawarau and Clutha Rivers now lies at the bottom of the lake...

And today it's major industry is fruit growing...

The temperature had climbed a lot and it was quite warm when we reached our motel... I hopped over to the nearby liquor store (remembering that staying left is right!!) and acquired some ice cold beer to share with our neighbor, Rob, a fellow Brit visiting his daughter in Queenstown... turns out he lives somewhat close to Sally... small world!

I'm glad we ran into him because he told us about the lodging issues in Queenstown due to all the tourists... we had been told it wouldn't be an issue but it turned out it was! We had originally planned to just find a place as we went along but hopped on the computer and managed to obtain one of two rooms left in the entire town of Queenstown... with that done, all three of us walked across the street to a Thai restaurant which we proceeded to close down and managed to sneak out a bottle of wine that we purchased (which we weren't supposed to do)... rebels are we!!

We settled in for a good night's rest as tomorrow would be another big day...

To Te Anau... the long way! B)