April 20 - Winton

 A long day of driving today.  We drive through the centre of the South Island all the way south to Bluff, the southern tip.  A bit rainy today.  Our route took us is the Lindell Pass, through the snow capped hills, along a few lakes and rivers which meant twisty roads.  Would have been nice on the motorcycles!  The grass is yellow and only short bushes for most of the drive.  Near the tip the grass became grazing land, thick and lush green with lots of cattle and sheep.  

Bluff was windy and cool, but we braved the weather for a few photos!  After that we went north to Invercargill to a hardware store that not only sells hardware but also has several old motorcycles on display.  One of the displays is the world’s fastest Indian that Burt Munroe set the land speed record with.  It’s a great movie if you haven’t seen it.  It was amazing to wander through the store, and see so many motorcycles and cars, tools and even an engine.  All with plaques explaining about the item.  Very well done.  

Bluff

My fav cup of tea…cup and saucer, milk pot, tea pot with loose tea, extra pot of hot water and a strainer and holder.  Ted is enjoying a flat white coffee, which can be found everywhere….even in gas stations….a barista in a gas station!!!  Best idea ever! 

April 19 - Omarama

 We are in the centre of the South Island, south of mount cook and north of Queenstown.  We are going to do a bit of zigzagging for the next few days to try and see everything before we leave….and also there aren’t roads everywhere due to the mountains!!!  

Yesterday morning we went looking for penguins but didn’t see any.  They are on the East coast, and we will try to get back there before returning the car.  We headed inland with gorgeous scenery…so green hills, some treed hills, lots of sheep and some cattle.  Further inland it’s dryer.  Few trees, short shrubs and grass that’s yellow.  Stark contrast to the lush green of the west coast.  

We passed a few lakes and stopped to see them.  Many of the leaves are turning yellow, certainly the start of autumn here, and it has cooled off for now.  The upper hills have received a dusting of snow.  We had cloudy weather yesterday, and just a few sprinkles of rain.  I’m glad for the heat in the car!!!  

Tomorrow we are heading south.  

This is where we are located 

It’s autumn here

Stopped at this gorgeous beach to try to see the baby blue penguins…no luck.  

They certainly know how to serve tea here in New Zealand.  I’m always offered milk…not cream.  Tea in a pot, and here I was provided with a sand timer….5 minutes to steep my tea!

April 18 - somewhere on the East coast

 As we were heading to bed last night, the rain was thundering down like I’ve never seen before!!!  Scary.  Wouldn’t want to be riding when that’s happening.  The forecast is for rain the next 5 days….and snow over the pass to get us back to Christchurch.  Yikes!!!!  Ok….plan B.  Return the bikes early….but only if the rain settles.  Plan C is to rent a vehicle and trailer to get them back….Plan D is to take a bus back to Christchurch and let the shop deal with the bikes!!!  

When we got up this morning the rain had settled somewhat so we decided to ride.  Light drizzle as we loaded up, which turned into a heavy rain for about 45min, stopping as we got into Greymouth.  I love this town…but no time to explore….we wanted to get going to Christchurch….so fill up the bikes, and breakfast at the gas station and off we went.  

Arthur’s pass was gorgeous….just as I imagined ….but too much rain and cold to stop.  We headed towards clear skies…the rain stopped about 45 min out of Christchurch and by the time we arrived it was 21C!!!!  Nice and warm now.  We have a rental car now for the rest of the trip.  Heading south then up the west coast then back east to Christchurch.  😃😃😃.  

April 17 - Punakaiki

 We are on the West coast also know as the WET coast!!!!  We departed this morning in the sunshine…not particularly warm…but sunny.  The ride today was generally south west heading to the west coast.  Some farm land at the beginning which turned into hilly, twisty treed area either a gorge, and river and rocky outcrops.  Gorgeous!  Keeping our heads on a swivel to try and catch the views while staying on the road and aware of traffic.  About an hour into our 4 1/2 hr ride it started to rain…just a bit more than a drizzle….then stopped.  On and off raining for then next hour.  The last hour was heavy rain….just as we were getting to the west coast and the Tasman Sea.  The coast is amazing….tall black rocks with the sea waves crashing against the rocks. No pictures as we were soaked and it was raining hard.  This is an amazing place that we hope to return to someday to see the blowholes, the coastline and the pancake rocks.  

We are in a motel that has a tavern attached to it.  Good food to warm us up this afternoon and access to laundry, so we dried our clothes.  

This is where we are tonight, in Punakaiki.  Our original plan was to head south a few hundred km then across to Christchurch to return the bikes on Tuesday, then rent a car for the remainder of our time here.  With the rain we have decided to return the bikes a few days early.  So our plan for tomorrow is to get up early and make tracks towards Christchurch.  It’s about 3 1/2 hours from here, doable in light rain, but we have had quite heavy rain here this evening….so if it’s heavy rain we will have to stop for shelter.  Forecast for Christchurch tomorrow is cloudy….so fingers crossed we make it all the way, and will continue our holiday in a car.  

April 16 - Abel Tasman boat cruise

 We booked a 4 hour boat cruise to see Abel Tasman.  We ride to the park…about 60km away, but it took over an hour.  A nice sunny day.  We got onto the boat and cruised around seeing all the sights, and the beautiful bays that are there.  It was a bit cooler today, especially on the water when the wind picked up.  Such a great way to see the park.  Lots of walking today…some of it on sand…and Ted is doing really well.  We walked about 5km throughout the day and he managed it.  😃😃😃

April 15 - Nelson

 We had such a lovely riding day to Nelson.  About 275 km, which the mapping software said would take 4 hrs….yes slower roads for sure.  

After a simple breakfast we were off.  The first 40km were by the ocean ….right down where we could see the waves crashing onto the black rocks.  We had a hard time keeping our eyes on the road instead of on the water.  The roads are narrow….minimal if any shoulder, twisty with lots of campervans, big trucks and small cars.  

150 km later, we got to Picton, which is the ferry departure point for the South Island.  From there we went west along the same steep narrow road that I cycled on about 3 weeks ago.  Very twisty, and many of the corners we took at 25km/hr.  I had seen many oncoming cars and campers cross the centre when I was cycling, and we were very aware of that today….so we took it easy, ensuring we left a lot of space in case the oncoming traffic veered into our lane.  This was about 40km….then after that we got onto the highway, with more twisty roads, but here we could travel at 70-80km/hr.  Many of the corners did say 35km up to 45km/hr.  

9 km from our destination….there was a line of traffic stopped on the road.  The road was closed due to an accident ahead.  Thankfully we were off the twisters, and down at sea level.  There isn’t an alternative route into Nelson….just the one we had been on.  Thankfully it was only closed for just over 3 hours, and we waited about 2 1/2.  The sun was shining, we were comfortable ….someone was walking from vehicle to vehicle offering water and a place to use the facilities if anyone needed it.  He was just someone also stuck in traffic trying to make it a bit better for everyone!  

Once we checked in…a quick wash up and a visit with a cycling friend and his friends.  A lovely evening.  

Dinner tonight….Ted had his first try of NZ fish and chips….not his last I’m thinking!

Ted brought his mesh motorcycle jacket, but forgot his Morocco coat….the one he bought in Morocco because he forgot to bring a rain jacket when we were there.  Two days ago he went and bought a rain jacket to wear over his mesh jacket…now called his NZ coat.  Stylin’!!!!

Our bikes….with a long line of traffic behind us.  

April 14 - Kaikura

 Hello everyone!!!  Ted is now here….so the final part of my holiday can begin!!!  😊😊😊

The plan was for Ted to arrive on the afternoon of April 12, and we would celebrate our 40th anniversary together….but a delayed flight in Vancouver meant a 12 hour delay in Brisbane, and Ted only arrived at 0230 on April 13….but it was still the 12th at home….so all was good.  😊 

A few things to look after yesterday…storing our luggage after we repacked for the motorcycles.  Then we went out for a nice Thai meal right by our place.  

This morning we headed to the motorcycle rental to pick up the bikes.  My bike is still really tall despite it being lowered with a lowered seat and soft suspension.  I can put toes of both feet down at the same time, or one almost flat foot down, as long as the road is flat and there aren’t any holes or divots in the pavement.  So far so good!  We are here in Kaikoura safe and sound….only made one mistake turning right!  Quickly corrected and we are good.  No photos today….just too nervous on the bike.  

The first 130 km were fairly wide roads through farmland.  We saw lots of sheep and cattle today as well as some deer.   Fairly straight roads for that distance which gave me some time to get used to the bike.  Then a few curves for about 20km….unfortunately we were caught behind a semi only going about 25km hour through the really twisty hills.  And the last 25km were winding roads right by the South Pacific Ocean….waves crashing onto huge black rocks.  Stunning scenery, but no place to pull over to take photos….so you’ll all have to jump onto a plane and come here yourselves to see it!!!!  😊😊😊  They call it the money shot for a reason!!!  😂😂😂

Today was all about getting our ducks in a row

Too beautiful to eat!!!

The beach tonight