Part 3 - Wellington to Dunback

We were (all 11 of us) looking forward to catching the ferry and going to the South Island. The roads are great and there is so much less traffic plus the scenery is great. It is much more relaxed than to the North. As we had a very short day planned (in case of hangovers) everyone was laid back and not in too much of a hurry to do anything. Come departure time the girls, (Beate, Josie and Maree) decided that they would head off first so that they weren’t holding anybody up on the windy road into Wellington. I went with Tim, Hugh and Marty and wouldn’t you know it Tim got us a wee bit lost and we ended up in downtown Wellington so Marty took over using his hunter gatherer skills and we eventually found ourselves at a set of traffic lights leading to the ferry terminal. Only trouble was the right turn arrow wasn’t working so after sitting through a couple of changes we just had to turn on the red. Lynn,
Deane and Phil arrived soon after but no sign of our friend Hutch. We found ourselves a corner and settled back to enjoy the cruise. Hutch arrived soon after so we were all present and correct. After a perfect crossing, highlighted by seeing a
pod of dolphins we disembarked in Picton about 4.30 and headed off to Blenheim and to friends Roy and Sue who were putting us up for the night. Marty and I were the only ones who knew where they lived so it was to be a follow the leader ride to our destination. All went well till the group got separated at some manned road works, but the tour leader didn’t realize this and only a party of 4 arrived. A phone call was received soon after from some very lost motorcyclists. It was becoming like Kamo all over again!! There were a few irate people for a while but a dip in the pool soon cooled everybody off. And if that didn’t the cold ales did. Rob and Claire rode over from Nelson and were joining the tour for a while.

The intention was to ride to Christchurch via Kaikoura then the Inland Kaikoura Road over Mount Lyford rejoining the main road into Christchurch at Waipara. We had a sort of riding plan by now with the slower riders leaving a few minutes ahead of the main bunch and we had pre arranged re grouping points or should I say Café stops. It was working very well as far as the girls were concerned but the blokes I think would have preferred fewer stops and more miles. They were holding up very well. Maree left earlier and was taking a direct route to Christchurch to stay with family before meeting up with us again at Dunback.

The Kaikoura coastline was as beautiful as ever and we had a perfect day to enjoy
it. We all stopped at various points to observe the seals. Is quite humorous watching the baby seals playing in the rock pools. We found a lovely seaside café to
have our morning break. They were offering crayfish meals for $65 which we all thought was daylight robbery but they really catered for the unsuspecting tourist not locals. We stuck to coffee and muffins.


We soon left the coast behind and headed Inland. This is a motorcyclist’s road to be sure. We stopped at Mt Lyford Ski Lodge for lunch. Some of us very feeling a little
weary after the yesterdays late night and the miles of steep and winding roads, so some made use of the very comfy lounge furniture and had 40 winks.



Being the start of Easter weekend there was a quite bit of traffic (and traffic cops) on the road from Waipara to Chch. We regrouped at the start of the motorway and managed to stay intact as a group. We had a discussion about which way to go at a major intersection and for once we got it right and had a painless ride to our friends Owen and Jill. We went out to dinner at their local pub and I have to say they make the best seafood chowder I have ever tasted.

Getting out of Christchurch turned out to be as easy as getting in and we were soon
on our way to Hororata. I wanted to go this way as my Great Great Grandfather settled here and my Grandmothers family home is still standing and is now a family home and café so I thought it would be nice for everyone to have a coffee here. The thought was great but in reality it didn’t happen because the café was shut. Rather disappointing but not to worry, Marty knew a local guy who lived across the road who was into old motorcycles so we all ended up in his backyard having a cuppa and then a tour of his shed. Tim, Marty and I stayed a bit longer than the others and had quite a quick ride down to Geraldine, the only bit of excitement on the road, apart from some very gusty winds was when we came across a group of hot-rodder’s on their way to their Easter rally and one of their number had hit a bridge. They were not going to let us across but Tim sorted them out and we were soon enjoying lunch in Geraldine with the rest of the group.

We popped back onto SH 1 at Winchester and despite a bit of sea fog and chilly temperatures between Timaru and Oamaru we had an uneventful ride. We nodded our commiserations at a poor unfortunate motorcyclist pulled over by Mr. Plod along the way.

Josie Marty and myself took the direct route into Palmerston, while the others rode through Trotters Gully a road I had inadvertently ridden on my pushbike a couple of years previously when I made a navigational error – but that is another story!! Tim and Beate joined us to visit Ian and Rae now residents of Palmerston. Rae had just pulled a fruit cake out of the oven and we were only too happy to sample it for her. In case you are wondering, yes, we are on a motorcycle tour not a food tour although somehow the two just seem to go hand in hand.
Fed and watered we said our goodbyes and headed up the road to a small camp where we would be spending Easter and attending the Vincent Owners Rally. Being on BMW’s we would slot right on in. The question on everybody’s mind was would Vincent’s outnumber BMW’s again this year?

We have been on the road 10 days and covered just nearly 1800 miles (approx 2900kms). The speedo has ticked over to 80,008 miles and my BMW is now (just) run in.