Sweet As, Bro!!... NZ South Island 2016

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Holy Schmoly!! ...what a ripsnorter this turned out.:lao

:doh::killingme


One hell of a rollercoaster which left nothing untouched, kept the bellies hurting with laughter, the throats well oiled, the sandfly-bites itching, the bikes groaning under a daily dust-storm and the punters gasping for mercy by 4pm ever afternoon, begging for showers and beds.
From memory, only 2 nights went beyond 9pm...but that's sorta flexible.
The memory, that is....or call it hazy?


A frantic pace over 2 weeks brought along heat, bone-chilling cold, rain to sink Noah's Arc, steep and rocky tracks to scare the shit out of everyone, fabulous local brews, a trifecta of blown-over bikes+riders and home-cooking nights in camp-kitchens and Backpackers that shit all over MKR :so

It spawned the legends of KILLSWITCH and SIDEWINDER...and all the other bits.:killingme:killingme

What a crew.... what a ride!!! :slobb:glu

Sweet as, bro!! Shit yeah!!
:thumbs::clap::clap:
 

asphalt

Tassie...where tyres are flat and nights are long
Nice to see, that you are all well back.
Curious about, what you have seen it and am looking forward to the pictures.:clap:
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Nice to see, that you are all well back.
Curious about what you have seen and am looking forward to the pictures.:clap:

Yo, all back, all fine. Still doesn't feel right, though....




We're ready!!!

I bet :lol:

But it'll be a while until all the pics are collected + sorted.
Some of the crew are either in the Philippines or on the boat to Tassie by now...."recuperation-breaks" was the term I heard. :bs
 

farawayman

Long Timer
But it'll be a while until all the pics are collected + sorted.
Some of the crew are either in the Philippines or on the boat to Tassie by now...."recuperation-breaks" was the term I heard. :bs

No recuperation breaks here, been working on some pictures on the boat and every time she looks over my shoulder she keeps mumbling something about me owing her or something. I don't know what she's talking about W-)

It's the member in the Philippines that will need the recuperation :bs
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
It's the member in the Philippines that will need the recuperation :bs

It's rather the member of a member etc etc :eek::killingme


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Here we go then:



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Doug and Eivind were already up and running, some pretty choice local foamies waiting after a hot airport transfer and dumping the suitcases/ packs at the motel.


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The airport shuttle kindly extended the trip to the Bike-Hire depot for a well-prepped DR650 :whistle: which lost one handlebar weight at the first intersection :bs


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A quick repack and getting set for next morning's departure before starting this caper properly at the Irish Pub of Pegasus' Arms, a short stroll away under a canopy of chestnut trees.


Things spooling up quickly... :bs


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...before getting a bit hazy.

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Sweet as, man...sweet as! :clap::clap:
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Missing 2hrs. of sleep due to the time-difference certainly didn't slow down the 8am start with expectations at fever-pitch and blue skies abound.

A Sunday morning in Christchurch is as bustling as a beach-promenade in Siberia.
Which makes for a quick getaway.

And some surprised looks of the 2 ladies at the Amberley bakery 50k's up the road as a bunch of Aussies stormed through the door for the initial installment of the usual "Big-Trip"-breckie of bacon+eggs....or Eggs Benedict, as our mate Killswitch would grow fond of in the process. :bs


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A bit further up the coast to just north of the Hurunui River bridge, where a sweet singlelaner cuts west, then turning to gravel for the Old Culverden Stock Route across the coastal ranges. With the stock DR650 tanks only good for ~200k's before reserve, a top-up was needed in Culverden to cover the remainder of the day.
Boy, things have changed from 2012!! Wider, smoother, quicker....but just as many gates and grids :D

And just as scenic as it used to be. :glu
Eivind and Faz getting into it.


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"Man, this lil' XT is even more fun than my Boeing777 at work!"


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Superb views along the drop into the Waiau Valley.:clap:



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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Full tanks, full bellies...and off to the next target.

Something, that had cost some sleepless nights and caused that tingle in the gut...
Only open to the public for 4 weekends a year until recently, the Clarence Reserve had eluded us for years, never being around there in those January/ early Feb time slots.

A few months back, the Dept of Conservation (DOC) handed over the operational reigns to the station owner of the access road and things became a little more flexible.
Easy enough for the locals to call/ email the owner, fill out the form and EFT the required funds from their NZ bank accounts...not quite so easy for the O/S punter to try and gauge the weather for the date preferred, nor getting the $$ across before the day in question etc.

The owner had sounded fairly incredulous when told I was calling from Melbourne, obviously suspecting a practical joke. Despite, he mailed out the form which I promptly returned to him, filled out and signed. I got instructions as where to leave an envelope with cash. Further inquiries yielded no replies. With 2 days before flying out I assumed all to be set, but had no idea of the actual practicalities of the whole thing apart from a Gmaps/ Streetview printout of where to leave the "brown $ paper $ bag"....and where to leave the main Inland Kaikoura Road for that track through the rubble field of dry river-bed leading to the locked gate.

Google maps doesn't show the road into the Clarence....even Satellite view gives only the barest glimpse, provided one KNOWS where the bloody thing should be.

First up, the 70km twisties-polka of the Inland Kaikoura Rd....what a screamer!! :slobb
No pics, as I was too busy trying to shake Dave...for the WHOLE stretch :bs
2 DR's in a busy dance, wildly swingin' + shakin' those Givi-boxes about...
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Found the turnoff, hooray!


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Now for the track through the riverbed...


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...to the gate!! Which turns out to be locked with a keylock as well as a combination lock.
RATZ!! Out of phone-range, too!!
Towards Kaikoura and the $$-dropoff then...no keys or instruction there, either.
Another 5k's towards Kaikoura for some weak mobile signal.
Answering machine...FARKIN RATZ!! This thing's going south in a rush!! :bang::bang::bang:

Faz reckons we should try another call before packing up. Time's ticking, the afternoon getting too short for the return run to Quail Flat.

WE'RE THROUGH!!

Still doesn't seem too keen to see $150 coming his way, but we're given the combination for the lock....

Fark me hooray, WE'RE IN!!
:clap::clap:


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Was it worth it?? You'll be the judge!! :glu:glu
For a quick upfront, here's the shot again of the upper climb of this thing...
Pic courtesy of ClintNZ's (ADVrider.com forum)


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