G
Geotraveller
Guest
So the weather man said, Thursday would clear in the afternoon and the sun would be out.
My boet was heading for the West coast and the plan wa for me to meet him there on Thursday afternoon.
Wednesday morning the drizzle eased and I hopped on the bike. Quick stop for fuel and as I exited the garage, you guessed it, the rain came down. By the time I reached the old West Coast road, i was soaked and freezing.
Pushing on, the rain eased and the sun tried to poke through, and by the time I reached Sheffield there were watery rays of sun.
The Sheffield doughnut:
and hotel:
looked around but Homer and the clan were not in town so I left and outside town found these. More of them in this country than you could shake a stick at:
I booted it over Porters Pass:
and across "Middle Earth". Thus named as a lot of background was shot in this area for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The road is curvy and the bends keep you busy. It made me think of a line from Generation Kill. "Observe everything, admire nothing" Admiring would put you in a ditch, a lake or the side of a hill.
I pulled into Arthur's at about 4 pm. Booked into the Arthur's Chalet. Good clean accommodation with out frills:
Took a short walk around the place. Not very big and basically serves as a pitstop for people travelling between the east coast and west coast on the South Island:
The next morning dawned bright and cold and after the sun hit the top of the hills I left for Greymouth:
First stop was at the top of the cold and windy Otira Gorge to have a deecko at the Otira viaduct before you drop into the gorge:
and before I left I had to shoo this fellow away. Kea's are part of the parrot family and very inquisitive but destructive. Farmers hate them as they have been known to peck the eyes out of new born lambs.
a little further you find this. Designed to have the water cross over the road rather than on it. The Gorge is very steep and wet on most days as it gets little sun. In winter this spot used to be covered in black ice causing tight sphincter riding.
The road to Greymouth is great and offers lots of twisties along the Otira river.
In Greymouth I found the spot my Boet was booked into, chucked some fuel in the tank and headed up the coast towards Punakaiki.
I like stickers so sue me! :ricky:
I got to Punakaiki and it was over run by tourists in campervans, hired cars and busses. Great! Turned around and headed back:
The tall bit of snow is Mount Cook.
Stopped at the memorial site for the Strongman Mine disaster. What an awesome spot to have this:
I sat on a rock over looking this little spot of heaven and enjoyed the sun. I had been through a bit in the last few months but here on this day, at this place I felt at peace
As an old surfer my eyes were drawn to great wave, breaking in the corner of the bay, and ran some imaginary lines as the empty waves curled away from my vantage point:
Eventually saddled up and headed into Greymouth.
Before heading back the next morning we stopped here:
highly recommended for a cholesterol bomb and for the pictures on the wall of fishing boats crossing the Greymouth bar in huge surf.
My boet had a surprise in store for me and we turned of just past Kumara Junction and hit a great piece of gravel. Windy but solidly packed.
Some pics culled form the Drift footage and some taken by my boet:
I chased my boet along this sunlit dappled road, with green of every hue going by
passing these guys
and the only other vehicle we saw
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till we reached the edge of lake Brunner. Stopped to take in the view
clear water in this lake ekse:
moving on
A few of the many single lane bridges on the road:
Hit the main road at this spot and slabbed it home for dinner.
My boet was heading for the West coast and the plan wa for me to meet him there on Thursday afternoon.
Wednesday morning the drizzle eased and I hopped on the bike. Quick stop for fuel and as I exited the garage, you guessed it, the rain came down. By the time I reached the old West Coast road, i was soaked and freezing.
Pushing on, the rain eased and the sun tried to poke through, and by the time I reached Sheffield there were watery rays of sun.
The Sheffield doughnut:
and hotel:
looked around but Homer and the clan were not in town so I left and outside town found these. More of them in this country than you could shake a stick at:
I booted it over Porters Pass:
and across "Middle Earth". Thus named as a lot of background was shot in this area for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The road is curvy and the bends keep you busy. It made me think of a line from Generation Kill. "Observe everything, admire nothing" Admiring would put you in a ditch, a lake or the side of a hill.
I pulled into Arthur's at about 4 pm. Booked into the Arthur's Chalet. Good clean accommodation with out frills:
Took a short walk around the place. Not very big and basically serves as a pitstop for people travelling between the east coast and west coast on the South Island:
The next morning dawned bright and cold and after the sun hit the top of the hills I left for Greymouth:
First stop was at the top of the cold and windy Otira Gorge to have a deecko at the Otira viaduct before you drop into the gorge:
and before I left I had to shoo this fellow away. Kea's are part of the parrot family and very inquisitive but destructive. Farmers hate them as they have been known to peck the eyes out of new born lambs.
a little further you find this. Designed to have the water cross over the road rather than on it. The Gorge is very steep and wet on most days as it gets little sun. In winter this spot used to be covered in black ice causing tight sphincter riding.
The road to Greymouth is great and offers lots of twisties along the Otira river.
In Greymouth I found the spot my Boet was booked into, chucked some fuel in the tank and headed up the coast towards Punakaiki.
I like stickers so sue me! :ricky:
I got to Punakaiki and it was over run by tourists in campervans, hired cars and busses. Great! Turned around and headed back:
The tall bit of snow is Mount Cook.
Stopped at the memorial site for the Strongman Mine disaster. What an awesome spot to have this:
I sat on a rock over looking this little spot of heaven and enjoyed the sun. I had been through a bit in the last few months but here on this day, at this place I felt at peace
As an old surfer my eyes were drawn to great wave, breaking in the corner of the bay, and ran some imaginary lines as the empty waves curled away from my vantage point:
Eventually saddled up and headed into Greymouth.
Before heading back the next morning we stopped here:
highly recommended for a cholesterol bomb and for the pictures on the wall of fishing boats crossing the Greymouth bar in huge surf.
My boet had a surprise in store for me and we turned of just past Kumara Junction and hit a great piece of gravel. Windy but solidly packed.
Some pics culled form the Drift footage and some taken by my boet:
I chased my boet along this sunlit dappled road, with green of every hue going by
passing these guys
and the only other vehicle we saw
till we reached the edge of lake Brunner. Stopped to take in the view
clear water in this lake ekse:
moving on
A few of the many single lane bridges on the road:
Hit the main road at this spot and slabbed it home for dinner.
