An endless motorcycling bliss in the South Island of New Zealand
Day-7 21 December (Greymouth to Christchurch) Last day & final leg
Assorted ride videos from Day 7
At the breakfast table we are again surprised to see Mr Sato and I am sure he was equally intrigued by this cat & mouse game…After a simple breakfast, we check out of the Kingsgate Hotel. Well the King & Royalty have long gone from the hotel’s services and this hotel was one big disappointment. Old rusted fittings in room, exorbitant internet charges coupled with rude behavior of staff made it a terrible choice on our otherwise very enjoyable trip. On our global trips, I & wife stay in a variety of accommodations, mostly decent budget ones with an occasional luxury selection as well, so we are normally very accommodating, but this place really sucked.
To make a louzy mood even more louzier, there are dark & heavy clouds all across the sky! Today’s highlights were to include tackling the astounding Arthurs Pass climbing more than 900 meters thru the scenic Arthurs Pass National Park and then making our descend back to the Canterbury region and slowly inch our way back to Christchurch. However, the rain gods had other plans…they decided to throw around their weight (at the wrong time for us!).
The route took us back thru Parao and then crossing the Taramakau river on the unique single lane railway-on-road bridge. By now as anticipated there is a small drizzle. From Kumara Junction we branch left on Route 73 that will take us towards Christchurch. We then pass the town of Kumara, which used to be a prominent gold mining center in the late 1800s but now stands as a bleak reminder of its glory days with very few inhabitants visible today.
As we are progressing on the ride I see the drizzle getting heavier with every passing kilometer while the ambient temperature is also significantly dropping. A suddenly look at the dashboard reveals that my lousy mood in the morning has contributed to another unwarranted concern- I forgot to fill up my tank and the RT’s fuel gauge is telling me ‘dumbo find a gas station soon’! After leaving Greymouth I haven’t seen a single gas station and the map does not show much civilization ahead till Otira which is still a long way off. I am a little concerned but keep it to myself. A few kms later suddenly I spot a gas station and stop but things don’t look too promising- firstly its a self service pump where another couple in a car are already having difficulty as the petrol filler meter’s screen has gone kaput. Secondly there is no premium gas…wonder how nice it was back in the day when there was just PETROL!! As I am wondering my next move I get a calm question on the intercom from the missus ‘Are we very low on gas?’ Now tell me, since I goofed up due to my bad mood this morning a monosyllable answer of mine will still attract some more ‘uncomfortable & anxious’ questions from her, right?? So I diplomatically say, just making sure……which is met with a long silence and that tells a lot! Anyway, with no other choice, I just ride on in the rain, thru a scenic route though, for another 50kms before we reach Otira. As we enter this village, we see a few folks sitting on the porch of a café enjoying the rain I guess. We decide to stop for a hot coffee. We learn the café and the whole village of 40 houses & attached farm lands are for sale! Sorry thanks, if the village or anything else is even given free to me today, all I am concerned for the moment is gas!!
We get back on the bike and soon start our ascend onto the spectacular Arthurs Pass amidst pouring rain. With tight bends, switchbacks and steep ascends, I had to be careful on the wet road, but that did not stop me from enjoying the ride with our ever trusty RT, which surely is a fine sport touring machine. The scenery was mind blowing, but the low light conditions as well as some water on the camera lens coupled with fog in parts of the pass sadly washed out our pictures completely. Anyways atop the Pass we find a gas station, café & store at the tiny town of Arthurs Pass but they have a funny procedure. First I have to give them my passport or ID card as security. Then they switch open the pump. I go & fill in and then get back to the store & pay them for the gas and take my passport back! whatever, I better not complain today...
With a full tank we then start our downward descend and as we are now heading thru some more scenic surroundings towards the plains of the Canterbury region, we are getting a moving glimpse of typical New Zealand weather where one can experience all 4 seasons in a single day! Across the plains far ahead we can see the sun slowly shinning its way towards us with clearer skies, while one look behind us and the dark clouds are still as intimidating as it has been. So New Zealand weather is dancing gangnam style I guess!!
As we are riding into sunny side of new Zealand, we see an oncoming rider & his pillion on a BMW F800 heading towards Arthurs Pass and as I give out the customary biker wave to them, my wife murmurs on the intercom, ‘We have two more riders who are going to see a wet & foggy Arthurs Pass, so feels much better now’. As we rumble along, the roads for the next 30-40 kms are again a bikers playground with long fast sweepers, rolling hills, farmlands on either side, streams (with the typical one-way rule bridges of NZ) and to top it all, we have beautiful sunlight on & off glazing everything around us.
Some more kms of blissful riding brings us to the town of Springfield, where we stop for lunch at the Yellow Shack Café feasting on some seriously delicious homemade chicken pies & pastry. A few minutes later we are joined by a riding couple and to our amusement they were the same riders on the F800 whom we had waved earlier. They are the father & daughter duo of Paul & Katherine from Australia touring the South Island. Surprisingly they have also rented from the same place we rented our darling RT Naomi. We had a good chat on touring & other aspects of biking in NZ & Australia and then went our separate ways.
Aussie riders, Paul & daughter Katherine
We cruise along further on Route 73 passing Sheffield, Kirwee & Yaldhurst getting closer to our approach to Christchurch. The Canterbury region is mostly flat with lots of farming along the road. The green carpet on either side of the road is a treat to the eyes and very soothing.
Since the International Antarctic Center is located out of town, wifey suggested why not finish that today since we still had some time on hand and anyway have the bike at our disposal. Mr GPS faithfully takes us there. In all our riding gear, Mrs & Mr Adventure could have easily been mistaken for authentic Antarctic researchers and hence we decided it was best to hire a locker and leave our gear there! We take a bargain ticket that enables us to visit the displays with the limited time available. Especially with the amount of untiring research happening on that continent in hostile weather conditions, it was a thoroughly entertaining & educational experience with the Blizzard Room which mimics the brute force of mother nature in sub-zero temperatures in Antarctica making it the highlight. Although our blizzard experience lasts a few minutes, the actual thing sometimes lasts non-stop for upto 3 days on the icy continent. Well worth the visit.
Yes, the last one on the wish list is my hand writing!
With specially provided clothing for the Antarctic Blizzard experience
This is the permanent US aircraft hanger at Christchurch airport (opp the Antarctic center) from where man & cargo are transported to the icy continent
From the Antarctic center here we head for The Grange Motel, which is our final accommodation in Christchurch. But as we entered downtown, there were lots & lots of detours (due to the reconstruction of downtown Christchurch after the earthquake), the GPS went into tipsy mode & took us on a merry go round trip bringing us back 3 times to where we started!! Always remember ‘Man was not put on earth to ask for directions”!! So we ignore the GPS and somehow manage to hop, step, jump and cross the finish line reaching at our Motel! A special moment indeed as that’s when the soul satisfying & hallucinating ride in the South Island of New Zealand has successfully culminated for me & Farzana. Later we went out to a nearby mall, had our dinner & picked up some groceries from the supermarket for our cooking needs for the coming 2 days and finished and this day with a high level of contentment.
Earthquake effects- This building like many others are being pulled down for safety reasons
The Grange motel
Now you know the BMW RT can also be used for grocery purchases…..
Yes, thumbs up on completing yet another wonderful dream ride
Ofcourse, for me the trip is not complete as I still have another 25kms of riding enjoyment to return the bike to the rental shop, which I do the next morning. As a bonus, Mike as promised earlier gives me the keys to their Triumph Bonneville T100 that belongs to his wife Carole, to take it for a nice ride outside their place on the countryside. The bike really impressed me inspite of the fact that I was just coming off an absolutely marvelous sport touring bike like the RT. With Triumph planning to set up a factory in India, I think I will sometime in the near future add a triumph Bonnie to my stable. A very enjoyable steed.
My smile should say it all for my short rendezvous with the Bonnie T100
Bye bye my sweetheart Naomi (she was a wonderful companion on this trip)
With this we conclude our dream ride in New Zealand. It has been our pleasure to share this with you & thank you for coming along on our journey. Pulling the curtains down and here is team ‘Ride for Passion’ signing off.
