Four Visit Treasure Island 2023

Bernie mentioned threading the needle in the weather context when we passed through the Clarence and I think we did so again, but even more so at the end of our trip. With lots of discussion and detailed perusal of weather websites we found the one that told us what we wanted to hear. The wind map showed chaos around New Zealand but through the centre of the North Island  today alone  the weather would be manageable. With a punchy southerly blowing, much, much better than from the side or in front, we made our way home. Behind us the weather closed down and ahead it opened up.  The needle was threaded. Sleep will be deep tonight.  So another trip done that offered all the things we hoped for. Rediscovering old trails and unlocking new ones. Good times with friends and lots of time in our beautiful outdoors.  Again I have to thank my friends for their excellent company. Bernie’s reassuring presence and thoughtful conversation. Dave Mac for being the fearless lead...

Today was a big day and will be a short blog. We were up at 530 and out the door at 630 and ultimately arrived in Foxton shortly after 8pm which is getting dangerously close to my bed time nowadays.  Again a lovely and cold morning, 4 degrees on top of Jollies Pass above Hanmer. We were in a bit of travel mode with a 1pm ferry check in and I concluded this is not the way to enjoy the beautiful Rainbow Road. We did not stop in at Lake Tennyson,as recommended by my old friend Rob.  I have been there in the past and it is a lovely spot and if I’m not mistaken, effectively the source of the mighty Clarence river so a doubly special place. For us though, life begins to creep back and so we moved through the Rainbow with a dash of melancholy but not so rushed as to not appreciate how lovely it is. The only blemish is the power lines passing through but without them you wouldn’t be reading this.  I didn’t take enough photos.  Justifying the early start, Dave Mac had the str...

I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t have much to talk about today , what with it being largely a transport day back up the South Island. Thankfully Dave Mac was sympathetic and did his bit to keep life a little interesting for us.  We started the day with another Fairlie pie. I never believed I would eat such a thing for breakfast but when adventure riding the adventure just never stops. My adventure was a steak and mushroom pie. With that behind us we headed off towards Geraldine, the long way. I can’t recall where we heard of Orari Gorge but I thought it might be a simple little track through some farmland but the gorge in the name should have given it away. It was the most stunning track through 2 stations, the Blue Mountain and Orari Gorge station, following (this will come as a surprise) the Orari river. At times high, hugging the mountains and at other times following river plains and eventually exiting through Canterbury pastoral country. It did no harm that we had a be...

Today’s plan was to ride deep into the Southern Alps up the Godley River valley. Before that plan was executed however we needed food and so we headed into Tekapo to spend more money. My order at the first cafe was complex. Scrambled eggs on toast and a flat white please. “ Sorry we don’t do scrambled egg”. Ok I’ll have fried then thanks. “ Oh, and we don’t do coffee until 9 am”. I spat on the floor and stormed out. I’m planning to burn down the whole of Tekapo but that little spot is where the first match goes.  Off we went up Lilybank road to the top of the lake. It’s typical South Island gravel and a nice way to start the day tracking up the Eastern side of Lake Tekapo with the high mountains coming closer. Eventually you end up above the lake and then it’s business time. To get to the Godley you have to cross the Macauley river which is a decent braided river and is continuously changing. Initially we thought it would be straight forward but then realised that all the braids ha...

Every day the same little conversation starts the day. For 10 days we have arisen at 6 and been out the door at 730. Every day Dave Mac asks what  time we are leaving, presumably in the hope that one day we will say “Dave, let’s fuck around until 11am today and then go for a lazy café breakfast and then we can start riding at midday and get in at midnight and have an energy bar for dinner”.  So today, somewhat to Dave’s surprise, we rode off into a lovely still morning at 730. Thompson’s gorge track is a regular for us. It runs from Tarras across the Dunstan range to near St Bathans and the slightly well known haunted Vulcan hotel. Coffee was had out of a thermos at the Blue Lake as the hotel tea room was still closed.  We were kind to Bernie and gave him some.  Then off up the east Manuherikia river and over the saddle at 1300m. Spectacular views of Omarama and  in the distance Lake Ohau and Pukaki. After lunch we  crossed Black Forest Station with its spe...

You just can’t keep people happy. Last night , shortly after I hit rem sleep I was awoken by a text from Dave Lear softly approving my blog of the day but advising that, after all, he takes more pleasure in it when I specifically name and shame his friends in my blog post. I myself do of course take pleasure in literary ritual disembowelling my friends and in fact anybody who comes remotely into my orbit. Pull up a seat, make yourself a cup  of tea and thank Dave.  Mossburn was cold this morning because it’s summer here. I’m not sure what the temperature was but not enough to lift my fingers above the numb scale. We treated ourselves to a café breakfast and were just about to head off into the wilderness when I noticed some liquid pooling around Bernie’s nether regions. I thought perhaps, that he might be like one of those spaniels that piddles themselves when they are excited but closer inspection revealed it to be coffee that had not yet transited his bladder. He extracted h...

There has been a little bit of, could we call it tension creeping into our group. My 3 fellow riders feel that at times I might be portraying them unjustly and that possibly at other times I might place things on the blog the could display them in a lesser  light. Even more sad is the concern that on occasion I might have missed the opportunity to talk about my own failings in quite the same  detail as I would describe theirs. Of course I am horrified to think such  a perception has been created. In reality I am just the reporter. Much like a reporter from Stuff or New Zealand Herald I wouldn’t dream of manipulating the truth to gain more interest or influence political discourse. I am sure that you the reader recognises the truth when you see it. However, to help settle frail egos I have decided that I will steer away from any commentary that could bruise my tender friends further.  This morning we woke up at our usual ungodly hour. I had a passing interest in the w...

I would like to thank my friends Bernie , Dave and Dave. I am sure, as a reader, that you can understand the pressure that a daily blog creates. I try not to fall back on hyperbole or outright lies to keep you, the reader and myself interested. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but everything you read here is true, despite the inevitable protestations of my riding buddies. So every day I’m desperately analysing our every move for blog worthy content and on days when none of my mates does anything stupid it can be difficult. Today I’m pleased to say they all obliged and in fact the pressure was off before we even started.  We had a big day lined up with some challenging riding in the Oteake conservation reserve followed by a long traverse to end up in my favourite stop, Waikaia. This means an early start , aiming to be out the door by 730 latest. When alarms started going off at 6am we all leapt out of bed, even Dave Mac once we clarified we were serious. In silent efficiency we ate and...