Heading home

Day Eleven

Left Kurow at 0830, headed back over the Waitaki Bridges and down to Waimate. Bypassed the town to gravel bash up to the top of the White Horse Lookout for an amazing view over the Plains, Waimate Township, the fog offshore turned translucent by the still low sun, and back towards the bare ranges. What a difference a bit of water makes to this desert environment when you drive through an irrigated area: you can see any little area the water misses.

"Half past tenses" were at Lime Lite Cafe, on the northern edge of Timaru: they had great food, but like nearly all South Island cafes they had their water too hot and over expressed the coffee. I presume this is because nobody in the South Island knows what coffee should taste like, but it's a constant disappointment during this trip. At least now we have reached Christchurch I know can find good coffee, and at the same price as the shockers we've been paying for up till now.

We went inland via Geraldine and Rakaia Gorge, so as to go to Windwhistle. Hell, with a name like that it should be a compulsory stop. There is the usual Canterbury zephyr blowing today, but it is not severe, except down the Rakaia Gorge, and yea! it was verily whistling at Windwhistle. Once again Rusty had to hang on tight, and his little velcro paws were white knuckling on the signpost for his photo. Now we have to go and buy the threatened Indian feed for the old and wrinkly.

Day Twelve

Local tiki tour today. Supposed to be at the Outlaws' place (www.wildernesshouse.co.nz) at Akaroa at around 1300, so the deal is to take Jean the scenic way. First stop, Sumner for a decent coffee, after our horror coffee tour of the Southern Land. Then up the Port Hills via Evans Pass, planning to head out via Lyttleton, when Jean says let's go to GodleyHead: well, why not?

So we wind up leaving Godley at 1100, back through Lyttleton, Governors Bay, Diamond Harbour, Port Levy. Roads only as wide as one and a half Vectras, so very wary of oncoming, but glad there is more tarseal than expected. Out of Port Levy for Pigeon Bay to get on a road back to the Summit Road, whoops, fresh out of tarseal. Vectra now brushing the bushes on both sides of the road, scoria track rougher than anything we struck in Hakataramea, and the clock ticking: nearly 40 kms to go at midday, and only averaging about 25 per, not a good equation. Very fortunate to see the camper van coming the other way kilometres from where we meet (he should not have been there, they are banned on the road), so I had time to get off the road and leave him room to pass - it's not unknown on these (?)roads(?) on Banks Peninsula to have to reverse downhill as much as 4 kilometres to find room to pass. Finally hit Pigeon Bay and find, surprise, surprise, tarseal running up to the Summit Road. Gun the Vectra, then duck left quick away from the metal truck wrong-siding round a corner at me, then back on the gas up to the Summit. Abandon the Summit Road scenic bit till later, dive down the twirlies to Duvauchelle and main road it into Akaroa at ten to one. Let pulse rate settle....................

Jean's bro gave her the tuppeny-ha'penny tour of the B&B and the gardens and vineyard, and there was a general inlaws/outlaws catchup over lunch (thanks, Liz), and then we headed back to Ch-ch over the loop of the Summit Road I had to miss when tempus had fugit, then down to Little River, up Gebbies Pass back to the Port Hills Summit, then down Dyers Pass and back to Riccarton via Cashmere, just to have a look at how the other half live.

Vectra's back tyres are sitting just on legal, now, I would say. I will make a final call on Friday at Havelock: straight to Picton for the ferry, or via Blenheim for new rubber? (No surprises, we have so far done more than 18 months worth of motoring for our car in 12 days. Will be close to 5,000km from home before we are in the queue for the ferry.)

Day Thirteen

Shot round to the old and wrinkly's for a cuppa and say ta-ta, then got totally navigationally screwed getting out of Christchurch: moreso then I have been for years. GPS would have sorted it if asked, but I was seeing things I hadn't seen before, so why bother? (So why take it with me, you may ask? Comes into its own when you want gas, atm, cot for the night. Tell it what to seek, highlight one, punch "GO": priceless!)

Therafter, no worries through the Hurunui (Culverden for smoko), Lewis Pass, Springs Junction, Maruia, Murchison (lunch), St Arnaud, Golden Downs. Small hiccup where the road signs and the map disagreed at Kohatu; just changed the scale on the satnav to check its map with my paper one, then off down the Motueka River Valley to Motueka for the night. Good on those lads that were racing the showers to get the hops into the drying sheds in good order to make our beers, say I. As for the arseholes that are still growing baccy: no higher on the evolutionary scale than any other drug dealer. (Booze is not a drug: it is medicine that makes being married tolerable to males.)

Day Fourteen

On the road by 0830, very pretty run across to Picton. Stopped at Nelson, got Vince Martin's mates to check my rear tyres, they said they were still legal, so back on the road. Smoko as always for Bwucie at Pelorus Bridge.

As usual for Bwucie, also, Havelock to Picton was via Queen Charlotte Drive, which had Jean going, "Wow!", a lot at the views, but I was busy spinning the handlebars, so I didn't have time.

A very kind European lady inn a little red hatchback pulled left to give me room (or maybe to let hubby out to take a photo, not sure which) and shot straight off the edge of the road above a looong drop. Bit of drama in their day. Tail-end charlie workshop rules took over, protected the scene and people with my car, grabbed hi-vis and threw it to Jean to use at the apex of the bend behind us, and then with the help of Postman Pat (rural delivery postie) we picked the car up and put it back on the road for them. (You'll find them in the photo albums.)

Got into Picton at ten to twelve, shot into the terminal, changed the booking, and got on the Kaitaki 1305 sailing instead of 0530 today, here we are at home, rolled in at 0110 this morning. If you book on Kaitaki, note that it is slower to load than the smaller ships, a lot slower to get off if you are on the upper deck, and slower across the Strait. Add at least an hour to Interislander's arrival times for this vessel. (Especially a buggar when it drops you into Wellywood's rush hour at ten to five, instead of about ten to four: hence the very early/late time home.)

5657.1kms door to door. Dollars for fuel? Accomodation? Tucker? Who gives a ****, it was worth every shekel of it.

Magic fortnight, wonder when work will let us do it again?