10th March 2017
It was 2130 by the time I finished the journal last night. And I'd been forced to drink beer to keep myself awake - so I knew this morning wouldn't be an early start...
I sleep well and wake at around 0800, in time for a nice chat with home...
I've booked myself into a motel in Oamaru (oh-ah-marew) tonight, for no better reason than the forecast between here and there is good and it's the start of my slow plod north before crossing to North Island.
I pack the bike and press the starter at 0910, riding out into a cloudless blue morning...
Bettie steers me towards Gore, some 60km distant. About twenty minutes out, my attention is distracted by this well-preserved old lady...
...parked on a garage forecourt...
I should imagine with a bit of paintwork and TLC that could be a lovely car...
I then notice, on the ramp...
...this 1949 Plymouth sedan - complete with suicide doors...
Apologies for the pic quality - it is around this time I start having camera problems again...
So, my reserve S100 suddenly goes to lens failure Stage Two - not bothering with warning me by going to Stage One...
OK - I have an S80 in the top box. Unfortunately, I've not been recharging its batteries regularly, as I'd got complacent now that I had a 'new' S100 to use. I manage to find a battery with some life in it and decide to start using the S80 as my primary camera...
I set back off - the temperature is about 62°F and there is still a little morning mist trying to burn off in the low sunshine...
As usual, it congregates in the valleys...
In the small town of Mandeville, I stop at the Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre...
This place is wonderful...
It's not termed a museum and for a very good reason...
Everything in the hangar (with the exception of the partially restored Rapide at the back) is flown regularly.
This includes the model planes - which are remarkably detailed...
I had my first ever flight in one of these - at an air show in Filton in the early 1960s, as a four or five year-old...
I ask the lady at the desk if any of these were amongst the Tiger Moths I saw over Hanmer Springs the other day. Apparently that was the New Zealand Tiger Club, who are touring the islands at the moment. They are expecting some of them in later today and more at the weekend, as they are having a Fly-In...
Thousands of young men got their first experience of military training in these aircraft. The instruments are rudimentary, but none more so than...
...the Air Speed Indicator
I love wandering about looking at these old aircraft...
This Pither Monoplane replica was built from photographs of the original aircraft...
It has flown several times since it was completed.
It amuses me that it has a seat belt - it's hardly attaching you to anything substantial, is it?
Another Dominie...
All these aircraft have been restored or built by the company on the other side of the grass strip - The Croydon Aircraft Company...
...who also manufacture the Bantam Ultralight...
The Aermacchi in the corner...
...was trailered in, but would be able to fly if they had a concrete strip (and about a mile of red tape, I'd think
)...
This was the view I had 55yrs ago. I can still remember the experience - it led to a lifelong interest in aviation and was part of what made me join the RAF...
It's often quite unnerving to see what is hidden behind the streamlined fabric covering...
I spot another Link Trainer simulator hiding in the corner (there was one in the NZ Air Force Museum in Christchurch)...
Someone opens one of the hangar doors...
I hope the weather holds for them this weekend - it's not forecast to be very good at all...
The main building has a decent gift shop and a collection of aviation art (of varying quality) and some work by local artists, which was just being set up.
I am invited to go over the road to the Croydon Aircraft Company (apparently mentioning I wrote a journal swung it...
), so I take a stroll across to the collection of workshops and hangars and am invited to wander about, but not to touch anything without asking...
It's like walking into the past - I'm sure my father would recognise all of the techniques in use here...
The profile of this aircraft was familiar to me, but I couldn't place it until I was told...
It's a de Havilland DH88 Comet - I can remember building a model as a kid. I think it's a replica (everyone is busy preparing for the Fly-In this weekend, so it doesn't seem politic to ask)...
I easily recognise some of the projects - I have done a couple of hundred hours in a Chipmunk like this...
Others are a little more difficult to identify...
This absolutely stunning Fox Moth...
Was just having its airscrew fitted. This aircraft was apparently ditched in the sea about 21yrs ago and has had a full nut and bolt restoration to reach its current condition. These were used as airmail carriers, but could carry four passengers in the front compartment...
I could just wander around here all day...
This Canadian Chipmunk (recognisable not just by its markings, but also the bubble canopy which the RAF - in its wisdom - didn't specify) is a future project. It was the natural successor to the Tiger Moth...
What a great place to visit - I urge you to do so if you get the chance. The entry fee is just $10 (NZ) - £5...
It looks like they may have some other interests...
Time for a spot of breakfast at The Moth café...
I then run into more camera woes. The S80 is saying the 32Gb SD card is full after a dozen pictures. I try another card in it but it comes up with a card error...
OK, fourth line of defence is the Canon G12 - a great camera, but bulky. I fit a new, larger, pouch to the belt of my jacket, swap the neck strap for a wrist strap and decide to try it out on the road...
They are just moving one of the Tiger Moths out of the hangar as I leave...
Onward!
I try a few pics on the move with the G12 - it's usable, but unwieldy. That said, I'm not left with much choice it seems at the moment, so I'll persevere...
Rather impressive little art gallery in Gore. The road between Gore and Clinton is known as the Presidential Highway...
Spotted this smartly turned out young man on the way out of town...
For 20 minutes or so, the weather looked quite threatening and the temperature dropped by a few degrees...
...but normal service was quickly resumed...
In fact, it turns into a very pleasant ride. Not too demanding, but a good, well-surfaced road with little traffic on it...
Bridge fans will recognise this as one on the way out of Balclutha (where we saw the Mk1 Cortina GT)...
I try using the G12 for 'over the shoulder' shots - it seems OK, just awkwardly large, even in my shovel-like hands...
As I descend into Dunedin, the weather worsens - in fact the whole town is under a thick overcast.
It looks like it's graduation day - I see loads of people in robes and carrying mortarboards...
As I climb over the hills north of the town, the weather clears again - Dunedin obviously has its own weather bubble...
It's lovely again - 70°F and no wind...
...perfect riding conditions...
Despite having had breakfast, I feel the need for a spot of lunch...
So I order vegetarian, gluten-free nachos...
They were delicious...
The surf is rolling in well on the east coast beaches...
...and there are a few brave souls actually surfing...
Nearly there - I catch sight of this chap...
...just as he was pulling into a filling station...
Any guesses?
A few minutes later I arrive at the Highfield Mews Hotel, where Paula shows me to my very nicely appointed room...
The forecast isn't good for the weekend. I think I'll take a day off tomorrow and may book in for Sunday night as well.
I connect to the Wi-Fi, which - for the first time this trip - is very fast. My 200-odd pics upload within five minutes.
Whilst riding I've been thinking about the S80 problem - mostly the fact that it didn't like the 32Gb card I tried to transfer to it. The fact that it managed to fill a similar card with 12 pictures makes no sense. I retrieve it from the top box and discover the card loaded into it is a 32Mb card (goodness knows where that came from). I have a spare 16Gb card and try it and it works fine - huzzah! Looks like I am back in business with a useable small camera after all...
I unpack some kit and then set off once again. I have remembered there is a Steam-Punk museum here and think I might give it a view.
For those of you who are not familiar with Steam Punk, this LINK may be of some help.
I ride into town, spotting this unusual looking old boy...
...hiding away near the disused railway station...
The symbol painted on the door is the logo of the Steam Punk Museum - any guesses as to make/model/year?
I carry on, eventually arriving at the museum...
With this thing out front, it's pretty difficult to miss...
I pay my $10 entrance fee and wander into the gloomy interior (all pictures taken without flash and using makeshift tripod - ie any hard surface I could find to hold the camera against
)
This is an organ programmed to come up with sound effects rather than notes...
But most of the displays show little creativity - often just an item welded on top of a piece of random industrial equipment...
Crab made from spare parts...
The gorilla atop this car was rather well done...
I kept wondering how impressive any of this would look if they had a normal light level in here...
So this was quite good (but not in any way Steam-Punk) - it was a mirrored chamber where you got a light and sound show for about two minutes...
Difficult to describe, but a very effective exhibit...
More stuff outside...
...but none of it really got my attention...
...and I'd be surprised if the museum lasts more than a couple more years (unless it's being subsidised by the NZ equivalent of the Arts Council or something)...
But perhaps I'm just a long way from the target audience?
I did like this ray-gun by the box office, though...
I spot this very smart looking MGB GT on the way back to the hotel. I stop at a bottle shop and buy some cold beer - when I get to the hotel I put some laundry on and start on my journal.
Next door to me is Roberto...
...an Italian who lives in Vietnam. He's in his sixties and is riding a rented R1200GS LC - we find out our arrival and departure dates are the same. It's sobering to learn he has paid over $8000 to rent the bike
.
He has had the misfortune of having it backed into (whilst parked) by an old lady today. There's some minor damage, but he has all the details to give to the rental firm. He has a KTM back in Vietnam, and a Ducati 916 in San Francisco (where two of his children live). He has a hankering to travel in South America.
I know how he feels...
Roberto declines my offer of a beer (despite it being Peroni!), as he's having a glass of Italian Pinot Grigio...
Excellent day...
It was 2130 by the time I finished the journal last night. And I'd been forced to drink beer to keep myself awake - so I knew this morning wouldn't be an early start...
I sleep well and wake at around 0800, in time for a nice chat with home...
I've booked myself into a motel in Oamaru (oh-ah-marew) tonight, for no better reason than the forecast between here and there is good and it's the start of my slow plod north before crossing to North Island.
I pack the bike and press the starter at 0910, riding out into a cloudless blue morning...
Bettie steers me towards Gore, some 60km distant. About twenty minutes out, my attention is distracted by this well-preserved old lady...
...parked on a garage forecourt...
I should imagine with a bit of paintwork and TLC that could be a lovely car...
I then notice, on the ramp...
...this 1949 Plymouth sedan - complete with suicide doors...
Apologies for the pic quality - it is around this time I start having camera problems again...
So, my reserve S100 suddenly goes to lens failure Stage Two - not bothering with warning me by going to Stage One...
OK - I have an S80 in the top box. Unfortunately, I've not been recharging its batteries regularly, as I'd got complacent now that I had a 'new' S100 to use. I manage to find a battery with some life in it and decide to start using the S80 as my primary camera...
I set back off - the temperature is about 62°F and there is still a little morning mist trying to burn off in the low sunshine...
As usual, it congregates in the valleys...
In the small town of Mandeville, I stop at the Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre...
This place is wonderful...
It's not termed a museum and for a very good reason...
Everything in the hangar (with the exception of the partially restored Rapide at the back) is flown regularly.
This includes the model planes - which are remarkably detailed...
I had my first ever flight in one of these - at an air show in Filton in the early 1960s, as a four or five year-old...
I ask the lady at the desk if any of these were amongst the Tiger Moths I saw over Hanmer Springs the other day. Apparently that was the New Zealand Tiger Club, who are touring the islands at the moment. They are expecting some of them in later today and more at the weekend, as they are having a Fly-In...
Thousands of young men got their first experience of military training in these aircraft. The instruments are rudimentary, but none more so than...
...the Air Speed Indicator
I love wandering about looking at these old aircraft...
This Pither Monoplane replica was built from photographs of the original aircraft...
It has flown several times since it was completed.
It amuses me that it has a seat belt - it's hardly attaching you to anything substantial, is it?
Another Dominie...
All these aircraft have been restored or built by the company on the other side of the grass strip - The Croydon Aircraft Company...
...who also manufacture the Bantam Ultralight...
The Aermacchi in the corner...
...was trailered in, but would be able to fly if they had a concrete strip (and about a mile of red tape, I'd think
This was the view I had 55yrs ago. I can still remember the experience - it led to a lifelong interest in aviation and was part of what made me join the RAF...
It's often quite unnerving to see what is hidden behind the streamlined fabric covering...
I spot another Link Trainer simulator hiding in the corner (there was one in the NZ Air Force Museum in Christchurch)...
Someone opens one of the hangar doors...
I hope the weather holds for them this weekend - it's not forecast to be very good at all...
The main building has a decent gift shop and a collection of aviation art (of varying quality) and some work by local artists, which was just being set up.
I am invited to go over the road to the Croydon Aircraft Company (apparently mentioning I wrote a journal swung it...
It's like walking into the past - I'm sure my father would recognise all of the techniques in use here...
The profile of this aircraft was familiar to me, but I couldn't place it until I was told...
It's a de Havilland DH88 Comet - I can remember building a model as a kid. I think it's a replica (everyone is busy preparing for the Fly-In this weekend, so it doesn't seem politic to ask)...
I easily recognise some of the projects - I have done a couple of hundred hours in a Chipmunk like this...
Others are a little more difficult to identify...
This absolutely stunning Fox Moth...
Was just having its airscrew fitted. This aircraft was apparently ditched in the sea about 21yrs ago and has had a full nut and bolt restoration to reach its current condition. These were used as airmail carriers, but could carry four passengers in the front compartment...
I could just wander around here all day...
This Canadian Chipmunk (recognisable not just by its markings, but also the bubble canopy which the RAF - in its wisdom - didn't specify) is a future project. It was the natural successor to the Tiger Moth...
What a great place to visit - I urge you to do so if you get the chance. The entry fee is just $10 (NZ) - £5...
It looks like they may have some other interests...
Time for a spot of breakfast at The Moth café...
I then run into more camera woes. The S80 is saying the 32Gb SD card is full after a dozen pictures. I try another card in it but it comes up with a card error...
OK, fourth line of defence is the Canon G12 - a great camera, but bulky. I fit a new, larger, pouch to the belt of my jacket, swap the neck strap for a wrist strap and decide to try it out on the road...
They are just moving one of the Tiger Moths out of the hangar as I leave...
Onward!
I try a few pics on the move with the G12 - it's usable, but unwieldy. That said, I'm not left with much choice it seems at the moment, so I'll persevere...
Rather impressive little art gallery in Gore. The road between Gore and Clinton is known as the Presidential Highway...
Spotted this smartly turned out young man on the way out of town...
For 20 minutes or so, the weather looked quite threatening and the temperature dropped by a few degrees...
...but normal service was quickly resumed...
In fact, it turns into a very pleasant ride. Not too demanding, but a good, well-surfaced road with little traffic on it...
Bridge fans will recognise this as one on the way out of Balclutha (where we saw the Mk1 Cortina GT)...
I try using the G12 for 'over the shoulder' shots - it seems OK, just awkwardly large, even in my shovel-like hands...
As I descend into Dunedin, the weather worsens - in fact the whole town is under a thick overcast.
It looks like it's graduation day - I see loads of people in robes and carrying mortarboards...
As I climb over the hills north of the town, the weather clears again - Dunedin obviously has its own weather bubble...
It's lovely again - 70°F and no wind...
...perfect riding conditions...
Despite having had breakfast, I feel the need for a spot of lunch...
So I order vegetarian, gluten-free nachos...
They were delicious...
The surf is rolling in well on the east coast beaches...
...and there are a few brave souls actually surfing...
Nearly there - I catch sight of this chap...
...just as he was pulling into a filling station...
Any guesses?
A few minutes later I arrive at the Highfield Mews Hotel, where Paula shows me to my very nicely appointed room...
The forecast isn't good for the weekend. I think I'll take a day off tomorrow and may book in for Sunday night as well.
I connect to the Wi-Fi, which - for the first time this trip - is very fast. My 200-odd pics upload within five minutes.
Whilst riding I've been thinking about the S80 problem - mostly the fact that it didn't like the 32Gb card I tried to transfer to it. The fact that it managed to fill a similar card with 12 pictures makes no sense. I retrieve it from the top box and discover the card loaded into it is a 32Mb card (goodness knows where that came from). I have a spare 16Gb card and try it and it works fine - huzzah! Looks like I am back in business with a useable small camera after all...
I unpack some kit and then set off once again. I have remembered there is a Steam-Punk museum here and think I might give it a view.
For those of you who are not familiar with Steam Punk, this LINK may be of some help.
I ride into town, spotting this unusual looking old boy...
...hiding away near the disused railway station...
The symbol painted on the door is the logo of the Steam Punk Museum - any guesses as to make/model/year?
I carry on, eventually arriving at the museum...
With this thing out front, it's pretty difficult to miss...
I pay my $10 entrance fee and wander into the gloomy interior (all pictures taken without flash and using makeshift tripod - ie any hard surface I could find to hold the camera against
This is an organ programmed to come up with sound effects rather than notes...
But most of the displays show little creativity - often just an item welded on top of a piece of random industrial equipment...
Crab made from spare parts...
The gorilla atop this car was rather well done...
I kept wondering how impressive any of this would look if they had a normal light level in here...
So this was quite good (but not in any way Steam-Punk) - it was a mirrored chamber where you got a light and sound show for about two minutes...
Difficult to describe, but a very effective exhibit...
More stuff outside...
...but none of it really got my attention...
...and I'd be surprised if the museum lasts more than a couple more years (unless it's being subsidised by the NZ equivalent of the Arts Council or something)...
But perhaps I'm just a long way from the target audience?
I did like this ray-gun by the box office, though...
I spot this very smart looking MGB GT on the way back to the hotel. I stop at a bottle shop and buy some cold beer - when I get to the hotel I put some laundry on and start on my journal.
Next door to me is Roberto...
...an Italian who lives in Vietnam. He's in his sixties and is riding a rented R1200GS LC - we find out our arrival and departure dates are the same. It's sobering to learn he has paid over $8000 to rent the bike
He has had the misfortune of having it backed into (whilst parked) by an old lady today. There's some minor damage, but he has all the details to give to the rental firm. He has a KTM back in Vietnam, and a Ducati 916 in San Francisco (where two of his children live). He has a hankering to travel in South America.
I know how he feels...
Roberto declines my offer of a beer (despite it being Peroni!), as he's having a glass of Italian Pinot Grigio...
Excellent day...
