Queenstown

MikeO

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Dereham, Norfolk, today...
18th February 2017

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Beautiful morning - more later...
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Bloody hell, we're way off being the 18th yet.

I'm looking forward to that weather tomorrow, looks great.
 
18th February 2017 (later)

What a great day!

I sleep well and wake just after 0700. I'm out of bed, showered and dressed and ready to go by 0900.

What is it about putting a crash helmet on that signals "Hey - this guy's ready for a long conversation!" to some people?
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I chat to the middle aged German couple for a few minutes - they live near Munich.
"Ah" I say, "Where this is built".
"Ja" says Helmut, "But I ride the Kawasaki".
"Well, it's important to keep old alliances alive, isn't it?"
He looks mystified and I start the bike. I'm on the road for 0915...

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It's a gorgeous morning - 70°F and hardly a cloud in the sky. It's about two and a half hours to Queenstown - almost due north of Invercargill.

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The route north leads through some pleasant outskirts of Invercargill - some great parkland and (I should think) some extremely expensive property...

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I spot this old girl advertising something or other...

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How long since you saw one of those?

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This old chap is for sale...

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...although I feel a sale would be more likely if he was painted a better colour...

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Onward! I head for the hills on the horizon...

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I reach them surprisingly quickly...

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There's some mist lying in the valley, but it never becomes an issue...

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There's very little traffic about and I concentrate on keeping to (roughly) the speed limit - it was near Queenstown where I got nicked...

At about 1045, the fuel light comes on and I stop at an automated pump in the village of Atholl and fill up with 95 Octane...

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Lake Wakatipu comes into sight, and the ride gets much more interesting...

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I'm thankful for the light traffic. I can imagine that being stuck behind a camper van in a car on this road would be dreadful...

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...but I'm able to maintain 100ish kph quite comfortably, picking off the occasional overtake as I go...

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Bollocks to that...
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There are worse ways to spend a Saturday morning...

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Actually, most other ways, come to think of it...
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Eventually I get to Queenstown, my target for the day. They are replacing the bridge on the south side of the city...

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I follow Bettie's directions onto the heart of town - the traffic is awful...

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...but eventually I manage to find a parking slot opposite somewhere a work colleague of mine has ceaselessly drilled into me that I must visit...

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Ferg Burger - WARNING - link auto-plays music!

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After queuing for five minutes or so, I am served by the lovely Olivia and Katrina. I order a Ferg Burger with cheese, with fries and a shake. I am given a number and they take my name and I take a seat at the counter...

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The place is absolutely buzzing, despite it being 1130...

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My order arrives after about ten minutes. The staff behind the counter are working at an incredible rate, just to keep up with demand. It's great - as good a cheeseburger as I've had.
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For scale, it's probably twice as large as a Whopper or a Big Mac...

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By the time I've finished, the queue has extended to about half a block...

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I take a short stroll up Shotover Street to catch the bus for the Shotover Jet Boat ride I booked last night. You're not allowed to take cameras onboard the boat (excepting head-mounted Go-Pros and similar), so I have no pics of the ride...

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But let me tell you - this is definitely something you want to do...
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<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/163602633?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>


If I have done that right, it should link to their promo video.

If I've done it wrong, click here...

I didn't buy any of the video and stills they offer (for one thing you can't view them for 48hrs, to allow them time to upload etc). To note - they ask if anyone has any neck or back problems. I don't - but don't even think about doing this ride if you do - I haven't had my spine jolted this badly since Schtum gave me a lift in his Golf GTI...

We are deposited back at the dock, drenched, after 25 minutes - it's completely exhilarating and I recommend it thoroughly...
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I catch the bus back to town and sit my soggy arse on the Adv's sheepskin seat and start making my way back to Invercargill...

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What a great way to spend a day...

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I'm soon blatting down the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu again...

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...being sure to keep below about 110kph...
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It's now about 80°F - just about perfect riding conditions...

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Eventually, I run out of lake...

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...and start on the slightly less scenic leg of the route back to Invercargill...

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...stopping at the Brown Trout in Atholl for a coffee and a scone (which disintegrated into its component parts as soon as you touched it...
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)

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...and then it was a short trip back to the hotel.

What a good way to spend a Saturday...
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Brilliant.

Ferg Burgers. Why can't all burgers be like those?

Thanks for posting.
 
Fantastic roads and scenery, speed limit's a bit of a pain on such roads. :green gri
 
Yep. That old dilemma of 'do I play on the bends or do I look at the scenery' .

Of course I reckon Mike would go for the former as he's seen it all before in Norfolk ;)

BTW Mike, I often see an Imp as a mate of mine has one coverted for rallying purposes :thumb
 
Mike, do you listen to music / radio while you're riding any distance or just peace and quiet?
 
Mike, do you listen to music / radio while you're riding any distance or just peace and quiet?

Peace and quiet? On a BMW boxer? :D

I do have ear monitors, but only use them on long motorway/autoroute journeys. I haven't used them on this trip yet...

Mike :cool:
 
i did reagh island in strangford lough on saturday morning view wasnt as nice as yours tho :D
 


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