Picton

MikeO

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Dereham, Norfolk, today...
15th March 2017

A crap night's sleep, for no apparent reason - I woke at 0100 and 0400 and had trouble each time getting back to the land of nod. I eventually wake at 0800 and look out of the window to see a sky of unbroken blue - that's more like it...
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I ablute, get kitted up in dry weather gear and pack the bike. I'm going to need to do some laundry in the next few days - I tend to store my dirty laundry in the tank panniers, as they cannot be waterproofed or secured. If someone decides to make off with them, the bundle of toxic waste they discover when they examine their booty should steer them away from a life of crime permanently...

It's about 58°F when I press the starter at 0920...

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...passing this crocodile of school kids under the supervision of a harassed looking young teacher, and start retracing my steps down Highway 67...

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To begin with it's a nice morning, if a little cooler than the days I've come to expect.

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Soon, however, I see the first signs of mist still lying in the river valley...

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Since I'm following the Buller River for the first 45 minutes or so, this will become a factor.

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If the temperature can climb a couple of degrees then the whole problem will go away - when I'm in the mist, I can clearly see the sun through the cloud cover, so this event is not far off - meantime it makes life slightly uncomfortable, as the temperature hovers around 50°F and it feels chilly as I am in and out of the mist...

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At least it's not cold and misty enough for it to condense onto my visor or glasses, so I ease the heated grips on to 'Low' and keep heading northeast...

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It feels good to be back in dry weather riding kit...

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Although the advice I was given way back in Auckland is resonating now...

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"Go to the south of South Island, and get chased back up by the weather". I feel the weather is hinting that this pursuit is about to begin, so it's time to head to the North Island...

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I seem to spend a great deal of the ride in shadow - were this a hot, sunny day then it would be welcome - but it's far from that...
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I'm making good progress, though, despite the fact that the entire contingent of rental camper vans have chosen today to be on this route...
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Ultimately, as I turn off at Ingangahua Junction, the mist has broken up into bits and pieces of low cloud and ceases to be a problem...

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Unlike the bloody camper vans. Since this is now the alternative route to the north east coast, the road is suffering (as it has been in most of the diversions). The local authority has decided to 'deal' with the situation by imposing an 80kph speed limit and putting continuous double yellow lines down the middle of the road. It's ridiculous and goes on for miles, despite there being perfectly good sightlines for overtaking. After a while I start to treat both as advisory - and thereafter make much better progress...
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I stop for breakfast in Murchison...

Hang on...

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Meet Skippy, who is on her first long-distance trip with owner Perry...

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She's bundled up snug and warm, whilst Perry has his breakfast outside.

I try to imagine the size of bag and type of restraint I would need to take Marnie on the pillion...
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Anyway - to business!

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Pancakes, crispy bacon, maple syrup and fresh cream. And a large flat white. That'll do nicely...

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By the time I am on the outside of that lot, the day has warmed sufficiently to burn all the remaining low-level cloud off and has started to realise its potential...

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I am past the 'Double Lines and 80kph' zone and able to make really good progress on some - occasionally still busy - roads...

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A lot of this route will be new ground for me - although I will end up at Picton, which is where I arrived on South Island, today I will be on the main highway, south of the hill route I took on arrival...

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I counted fifteen separate sets of roadworks controlled by either flagmen/women or temporary traffic lights - there were crews busy on every single one - the upkeep budget must be colossal...

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It's a very pretty route - and I know as I ride it, that I shall miss South Island...

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I see loads of motorbikes - a lot of which are Harleys, or similar cruisers. I think there's a bike event near Lumsden (I think there was a poster on the wall in the bar when I was there)...

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As usual, I seem to be heading in the other direction to everyone else...
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The rivers seem lower and clearer - still no sign of fishing, though...

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It's about 70°F and very comfortable - a nice day for a ride...

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How about that for an arty-farty bridge shot?
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Soon, as I am getting towards Blenheim, I enter wine country...

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Mile after mile of vines - and rather pretentious and out of place buildings...

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Bettie turns me down the splendidly named Dog Point Road, and I arrive at...

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The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, where a couple of chaps (jammed side-by-side into the front cockpit) are about to experience a flight in this Boeing Stearman...

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As they taxi off, watched by two rather worried looking wives, I have a look at the other exhibits outside...

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The Bristol Freighter - you used to be able to drive your car into one of these and fly the Channel to France...

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And no classic collection would be complete without a DC3 (or C47) - Dakota...

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...although this one is looking a little war-weary...

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...although in better shape than the tail section of the V2 nearby...

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This beautiful Beechcraft twin was in the next field - I'd love to have had a closer look...

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Right - let's have a look inside. The entrance fee to both museums (they have split it into WWI and WWII) is a fairly ambitious $NZ39 - but I find that I can get my first Senior discount and get in for $NZ35!
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The displays seem very gloomily lit when you first enter - I was greeted by a guide, Trevor, who gave me a rundown on how things were laid out and where to find him if I had any questions...

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Many of the exhibits are replicas, but this is a unique genuine Caproni CA22 - on loan from the Caproni museum...

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Nearly all the exhibits are set out in dioramas - and this is done very effectively...

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The expressions on the figures' faces are excellent - this is not a case of dressing up a couple of mannequins in period costume and shoving them next to an exhibit...

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...each of these has been well thought out...

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This Fokker EIII Eindecker...

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...was the first WWI aircraft to be fitted with 'Interrupter Gear' - allowing the machine gun to be fired through the arc of the propeller - and was a lethal fighter as a result...

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The de Havilland's DH2 had a 'pusher' engine, mounted behind the pilot, to allow the same field of fire, but it was a poor match...

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This could have been a picture taken at the Croydon Aircraft Company the other day...

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They have a very striking display of Remembrance Day poppies in the WWI section...

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I loved this Curtiss MF flying boat - but I've always had a weakness for seaplanes...

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I could read the mind of the rear gunner in this one - watching the artillery officer trying to explain to the pilot what reconnaissance he wanted...
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This is an RE8 - mostly used for reconnaissance and not a popular aircraft with its crews, apparently...

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This rather odd looking set piece...

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...commemorates the time when, having received considerable damage in his SE5a, Lt 'Grid' Caldwell was about to jump to his death (pilots were not issued with parachutes, as it was felt it might encourage them to abandon aircraft unnecessarily), when he found that, if he held the aircraft together with his left hand, he could control it sufficiently with his right hand and foot to reach the ground in a survivable manner.

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He baled out at about ten feet, turned a couple of somersaults on the ground, got up, brushed himself off and walked to a friendly trench. The caption said that he 'took charge of the drinking' that evening...
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On the other side of the room is a diorama with an allied Nieuport 27 stuck in a tree and the pilot who shot it down taking the pill prisoner. The expression on the German's face (nearest the camera) as he smokes a cigarette is pure "How the fuck did he end up doing that?"
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There are four Fokker Triplanes here - all replicas...

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..,and, next door, an excellent diorama showing the last flight of the Triplane's most famous exponent - von Richtofen - The Red Baron...

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In the next room, there is a beautiful replica Pfaltz...

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...which was built for, and flew extensively in the 1966 film The Blue Max

Clips from the film are being shown on the large plasma screen mounted above the aircraft.

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I am a lover of aviation, but the thing that struck me most about that film was the adhesion of a towel that was obscuring a clear view of Ursula Andress's boobs. Since it seemed unlikely they'd be replaying that scene, I moved on...

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Nieuport 24...

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Halberstadt D IV...

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DH4...

Interspersed with these aircraft are some exhibit cases containing some first class uniforms, flying gear and other ephemera - all behind glass and therefore impossible to photograph successfully - but this was a good museum doing things right...
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Ready for WWII?

You take a walk outside and enter a separate hangar to see the next part of the museum - called 'Dangerous Skies'.

Immediately overhead as you walk in is an inverted Hurricane...

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...with a very clever projection effect onto its fuselage to make it look as if it's ablaze.

In the diorama beneath, the pilot, parachute in hand, is being offered refreshments by a lady in evening wear who has heard him parachute into her garden...

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There is a beautifully restored Avro Anson (still in flying condition)...

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In the next room, a Ju87 Stuka dive-bomber dominates the scene...

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...and a great deal of the display deals with the German Eastern Front and - in particular - the battle of Stalingrad...

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This diorama shows Lydia Litvyak...

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...credited with 12 kills in her Yak-3Ua...

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There's also a Curtiss P40 Warhawk...

Just after this there is a four-minute piece of theatre about the bombing of Stalingrad, which is quite effective. It ends with a breakdown of deaths of military personnel by country during WWII. It is very similar to this piece, which I have seen before:

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/128373915" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

That clip is 18 minutes long. I urge you to watch it - it won't seem like 18 minutes - they use the first four minutes (I think) in the presentation

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If the embedding fails, the link is HERE

Anyway.

On the way out is an odd diorama...

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...odd only inasmuch as all the signs say this is a Spitfire, when it's quite clearly a Ryan STM. I guess the Spitfire is being dry-cleaned...

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That minor point aside, once again, this is an excellent museum, backed up again by lots of really interesting memorabilia - well worth the entrance fee...
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And then, right opposite, there's a Classic Car museum. At $NZ10 for entrance, it would be rude not to have look, wouldn't it?

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Now, this is a great museum, with some really nice classic cars. But what I like about it is that they haven't just kept the good stuff - they've restored and displayed the crap as well!

It would be easy for me to give you a couple of pages of Jaguars to look at, but let's look at the other stuff they have...

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Lada estate...
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Austin Princess...

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Rover SD1...

Okay - enough
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- see which you can identify from these...

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I could go on for the whole evening - this is an excellent collection, well displayed and with a friendly staff who can field any questions you have - certainly good value for money.

They also have a couple of bikes...

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Now this Vincent is really unusual...

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Part from the front forks - this was a custom built replica. The builder even cast new engine cases...
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There is a newspaper article supporting this - what an incredible achievement...

I walk back to my bike, to see this old girl parked nearby...

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I do like an old Triumph Herald...
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There's also a lovely little Alfa in the Staff Car Park...

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Isn't that pretty?

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I also notice there are a few more aircraft on view, as they've shifted some out of the hangars and opened some hangar doors...

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Not sure what this is - any guesses?

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This is a Yak aerobat (can't remember the designation)...

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...but there's more interesting stuff in there with it...

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...and I can see a Harvard lurking in the next hangar...

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...and something very interesting looking in the one next door. Are those rockets on the wing struts?
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Time to make tracks - I suit back up and point the Adv north towards Picton, some 20 miles distant...

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It looks like there has been a build-up of cloud during my couple of hours at the museums...

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The temperature stays at 70°F, though - and there's no sign of precipitation...

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I arrive at my hotel at about 1600 and am checked in swiftly and am pleased to find a fast Internet connection.

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It will need to be - I have over 400 pics to upload this evening. Whilst this is happening I take a stroll over the road for something to eat and a pint...

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Very nicely restored 66 Mustang...

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The motel is absolutely in the middle of town, which is great...

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I pop into a local bar and have a steak and a pint - excellent
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On the way back I notice that there are what are obviously a couple of ex-police bikes...

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...on a trailer advertising bike rental - I wonder what they are going to do with them...

Excellent day - time for bed though - 0700 check in for the ferry tomorrow...

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Murchison seems to attract unusual bikers ..... young Argentinian couple on the latter stage of their RTW
 

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'The Bristol Freighter - you used to be able to drive your car into one of these and fly the Channel to France...'

I remember those operating out of Lydd Airport in Kent. British Air Ferries was the operator if I remember correctly. Got a photograph somewhere of me as a child, standing next to my dads car, a Black Vauxhall 14, with one of these Bristols (ooh err missues) in the background.

Dibs on the red Alpha in the staff car park please.

Looks like another good day for you. Hope the weather holds out.
 
What a great thread. Thanks for posting.

The aircraft you wondered about is some type of Fairchild.
 
rover p5b
jag mk7
mk4 ford zodiac
29? ford?
early 60s victor (fc?)
 
'The Bristol Freighter - you used to be able to drive your car into one of these and fly the Channel to France...'

I remember those operating out of Lydd Airport in Kent. British Air Ferries was the operator if I remember correctly. Got a photograph somewhere of me as a child, standing next to my dads car, a Black Vauxhall 14, with one of these Bristols (ooh err missues) in the background.

Dibs on the red Alpha in the staff car park please.

Looks like another good day for you. Hope the weather holds out.

Like this .....
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I remember the Bristol Freighters flying out of Wellington.
They used to circle inside the harbour to get enough height to clear the hills.
The last ones would fly off to the Chatham Islands some 400 miles to the east. When carrying passengers they would slide in a passenger container with seats etc.
They also would fly cars from Wellington to Blenheim.

Adrian
 
Like this .....
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yep. That's the one.

Looks like another of our cars in the picture there, VW 1500 Variant. Reg no. GFN659C. Took us touring all around Europe.
 


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