Jens Triple Twist Jade		My triple twist jade but not beeing a necklace person I'm not sure although the sentiments are important
	Twist The twist symbolises infinity. It is absolute, boundless & inexhaustable. It is the expression of the cycle of birth,growth, death, decay & the recyclement of things. Bonding of friendship, two lives becoming one for eternity.		White Heron from the paddle boat cruise

Monday 21st January 2008

If you check out our trip itinerary you will see that todays daily focus is 'Motorcycling' and boy it does not get much better than the Buller Gorge. On December the 1st last year two motorcyclists were taken out by a Police Car doing a 'U' turn on a blind bend to persue a speeding motorcyclist. I had not realised this tragedy happened on this particular road but I can see why motorcyclists favour this road. It runs from Westport to Murchison where at just after 3pm I called it a day.

Riding North from Hokitika the coastal road with the rain foresset on our right and the rolling Tasmin Sea on our left was a wonderful entree to what the day held. First stop was Punakaiki where a unique pancake rock formation can be viewed, it did remind me of the Giants Causeway in Northern Island but they are balisic strata where at Pumakaiki it is pancake like (another well know geological term). At Punakaiki if the tide is right there are also blow holes and other strange tide related sequences.

We did stop at Underwater World Adventures at Charlestown on State Highway 6 and although the underwater cave adventure and tropical forrest train ride looked very good at 5 hours long it was a wee bit too much for us. We had lunch and moved on. I got fuel at Westport and started west on State Route 6 and the lower Buller Gorge then to the Upper Buller Gorge. I knew I should stop and take photos but knowing the picture would not do the ride justice and more importantly I was enjoying the ride too much - so I just went for it. The road is great, the glide was great and it will go down as one of my very best rides, guess what tomorrows daily focus is? Yep Motorcycling!

	Coastal road north of Hokitika to Punakaiki is wonderful but better was to come on Buller Gorge Road		These are the littly blighters that kick up the racket in the tropical rain forrest, about 25mm long
	Pancake Rock formations at Punakaiki		Luckily we knew they come ashore at dusk, so we saw none on our morning ride North

Tuesday 22nd January 2008

There is a weather warning of gales and extensive rain! What did we get? We got the rain, 150mm of it (about 6") and 120kph winds; interesting riding, so we left early and got to Picton 24 hours too early for our ferry but we secured a place on the 12:15, and had all morning to worry about the gale force conditions in the Cook Strait!

Whilst breakfasting I heard the dulcit tones of a very broad Geordie accent, step front and centre Jamie Gasgoine, yes he looks like Paul, and certainly talks like Paul and is indeed a relative of the infamous footballer Paul 'Gazza' Gasgoine. Jamie is not a footballer, but better still, a web designer and a Dreamweaver specialist; he soon had my laptop performing as it should, Dreamweaver sorted and Wireless Access also sorted. Thanks Jamie may you and your partner have a long and happy life.

At last a bone fide Kiwi Warning Sign

A stone sculpture of a Kiwi in an outside exhibition in New Plymouth

Wednesday 23rd January 2008

Crossing the Cook Straits on the InterIslander ferry was not too bad in fact and getting into Wellington at about 16:30 we set off North and got a roadside Motel in Levin. With our extra day we decided to ride the coastal route around Taranaki Mount Egmont, an extinct volcano, by riding the Surf Highway to New Plymouth. Started out wet but arriving in New Plymouth just after lunch the clouds disappeared and wall to wall sunshine, brilliant.

First view of Taranaki Mt Egmont

View of Taranaki from New Plymouth

Thursday 24th January

Leaving New Plymouth with a new daily focus of the Glow Worm Cave at Waitomo the ride was good, as it has been throughout New Zealand, just a few kilometers North of New Plymouth and we were once more on our own. Waitomo Caves were excellent, the Glo Worms magical and their story very intriguing.

Breakfast was at Mokau in a small roadside cafe. Then heading up to Waitomo we had excellent roads. I decided to have another go at getting a new tour pak catch at HD Hamilton and set the Zumo to that destination, it picked an great road from Otorohanga North on 39 as opposed to the main route 3 and once more in motorcycling Nirvana.

	Funny Car outside Andres Restaurant, New Plymouth		Morning shot of Taranaki from North view
	Beach near Waitara		Waitomo Caves glom worm boat

Friday 24th January (last riding day!)

Having plenty of time to get back to Auckland and only a couple hundred kilometers I checked out the map (yes, although an avid exponent of all things Garmin, I utilise paper maps) and having got the overview programmed the Zumo 550 to take us from Hamilton towards Thames and the little bit of the Pacific Coast Highway before plunging into the metropolis they call Auckland. What a great ride and time to do the last minute sunbathing, eat the best Fish (Grunard) and Chips ever at ?????? before entering the city traffic nightmare of New Zealand the most populous Polynesian city and as a holiday weekend Friday at 15:30 was NOT the time to be travelling, plus 30 Celcius to contend with! Having learn 't my driving skills in London and ridden in such places as Barcelona, the Italian Auto Pistas I was equipped to get us safely to our downtown hotel but I have to admit it was quite a culture shock from no other vehicles in a whole day of riding to wall to wall in a hurry traffic; took all my concentration but we survived.

	30 Wheeler New Zealand Truck, a common sight		Jen rushing to catch the last rays before Snow at home!
	The best Fish (Grunard) & Chips bar none		A bijou residence in Paradise

 

Saturday 26th January

The Heritage in Auckland is divided in two buildings and whichever entrance I arrive at then we are in the other block! But very nice it is too and young Jeff soon had us sorted with the bike parked, our left kit collected and everything; including us; deposited in our luxury room. We had the morning to do with as we wished but to be honest once the bike is back with NZ Harley Tours I'm pretty much into beam me home Scottie mode. Just around the corner from the Heritage is the Sky Tower, tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere, so they say but I need to 'Google' that particular 'fact'. It was good and then a Subway ham salad wrap in Albert park and a taxi out to the airport and so the long 'herding' procedure they call airline travel begins. We need to be scrutinized, sent to wait, told to hurry and stripped of garments for all our supposed Security - how long before those immortal words of the Star Ships Commander of "Beam me home Scottie" become reality? I can't wait.

Sky Tower from front of Heritage Hotel

The view from the observation deck, people were paying to jump of this on an adrenaline ride in a harness to the base!

Big silver Bird home.

Not much to add. Hope you have enjoyed my ramblings, drop me an email (link on Home page) and let me know. I write this so on the next day I'm a bit low at work I'll grab a Flat White (see three weeks ago I'd never even heard of a Flat White) and scroll through the ride that was New Zealand 2008, I'll probably be rubbing my triple twist at the same time too!