New Zealand...Fire 'n Ice'05 part9

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G

glitch_oz

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Previous: part8
https://wilddogtours.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2749


With the bikes serviced it's back on the road again the next morning, skies a bit leaden, but dry for one of the VERY rare "boring" runs, south towards Taupo. We're lucky to catch the flooding of the Aratiatia Rapids,

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a 3-times-a-day-event to stop the dam from overflowing.
It's north on Hwy 1 for a short stretch, then it's east and finally onto the backcounty-roads
Where the hell are we?? Pete getting lost !!...and going for help...

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Gotcha, THAT's the place!!

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again to Mangakino/ Rotongata and across to Te Awamutu for a coffee. The V-Strom had felt strange for the last 10km into town and we watch the rear go completely flat while sipping a cuppacino. My tooth is playing up as well, need some antibiotics.
With a Suzuki dealer in town we pump the rear to 45psi, by the time I get across to the dealer I'm back on 12psi. They're happy to help (those bike-guys are GOOD around here!!); Goodie gives me a lift to the local Medical Center where the friendly doc can see me 3 minutes later and we have an animated chat about traveling New Zealand...
The others split, deciding to chase a new set of wets for Sasha and a set of Harley (YES...HARLEY!!!) braces for Tim's sliding Draggin-jeans :) in Hamilton, only Sash was successful (Thanks Christ :).
We all meet up at the fantastic cabins of Waitomo Caves Top10- Holiday Park?.the best overnight-stay of the whole trip... by a mile! Better book 2 nights then, aye?
Waitomo Caves?another sparkler and having sorted and booked the tour we wanted for the
afternoon, we're exploring town and surrounds on foot.
A mini-adventure park come accommodation promises drive-youself jetboating on a figure-8 water course

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and some other unusual things...like overnight stays in an old military aircraft that's been decked out with some windows and small porches...and an outside dunny for the ladies!!

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We'd decided to go for the Black Abyss tour with the Original Black Water Rafting Co. and it was AWESOME!!

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A full afternoon of abseiling 30-odd meters through a narrow hole in the ground into a cave with an underground Flying fox...which ended at a small landing of an underground river of fairly decent width and water level, jumping a 10ft cliff holding a tyre-tube to your bum in the pitch-dark...arse-first.
Ceilings and walls full of glow-worms, finally climbing/ wriggling THROUGH 3 waterfalls and tight tunnels back to daylight...it's GREAT that NZ obviously hasn't heard of liability-cases yet (and HOPEFULLY never ever will).
The silence of floating underground on those tyre-tubes is deafening.
GREAT FUN !!!!...and $$ well spent.
Dinner at the pub provides another gem...one of the local elders kicking the guts out of the old Trumpy.

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Lots of onlookers enjoying the show...

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After yesterdays crawling-through-caves it's a later start on our way south...clouds are low and rain threatens.
But it's dry for the start to Te Kuiti, Taumaranui and the town of National Park where we turn off across the High Plains and surprisingly straight roads to Chateau Tongariro and the winter Skifields above. What a weird scenery !!
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Not long ago the mountain blew it's top in a fiery eruption leaving an eerie landscape.

South to Raetihi where the rain finally decided to stay around for the rest of the day, the expected humdinger down Hwy 4 to Wanganui became a washout :((
Bummer...got to come back for that one another time ;D
Wanganui visitors:
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Dry and fairly warm the next morning it's a fairly boring run down the coast to Wellington to catch the afternoon Lynx Catamaran

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across to Picton, South Island again.

Wellington puts on a spectacular "light show" black clouds scraping the road, then very light patches, then drizzle for 300 meters, it finally decides to rain, solid but not hard.
The Guzzi spits the dummy and doesn't want to start anymore, not a peep when hitting the button.
Tim and I have a go and find a broken backing plate of the button mechanism, some strip-rubber and cable-ties get it going again, just as we're ready to board.
Thumbs-up for Picton Top10 Holiday Park for some decent beds, the pub-meal was below average but the ice-creamery on Main Street made up for it :)


Next: Princess Charlotte Drive, Takaka Hill twisties and the Lewis Pass
to the Hanmer Springs Hot-tubs
https://wilddogtours.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?p=35040#35040
 
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