3/08 – My First Traffic Stop! – 08/10 Feb 2025

A bit longer than usual this post, but not a single technical word in sight; promise!

Saturday 08 Feb 2024

My day dawned in darkness at 0400, as I had to be at the ferry by 0515 and had been warned that they were pretty strict about timing. Unusually, I got there early after riding through Wellington’s deserted posh shopping area – a complete contrast to Cuba Street. I was the 2^nd motorcycle and the 5^th vehicle there! When we had all lined up, there were about 20 vehicles in total, so I guess I could have had another half-hour in bed after all. 

The boat was something of an eye-opener. The tie-downs were lengths of nylon rope, and no padding was available to protect painted or other delicate parts; those in the know, like the guy next to me, bring their own tie-downs. Securing the bikes was left totally to the owner; no member of the crew supervised the operation. This was less surprising when I heard some of the stories relating to ferry operations on this route. Apparently the very boat we were on had run aground several months before on departure from Picton; the auto pilot was on and no-one knew how to turn it off, so when the boat went off course, the crew were powerless to stop it!

Upstairs, it was obvious the boat had seen better days, but the crew were friendly and the breakfast quite amazing, if only for the quantity provided – eggs, bacon, sausage, hash brown, mushrooms, tomato and toast. I told them they needed to get bigger plates! 😁

The sun came up shortly after departure and the sea was like a millpond. His was a good thing because I heard stories of vehicles moving around and bikes falling over in rough seas. The 3 ½ hour crossing passed relatively quickly and then we were doing a u-ey so the boat cold reverse into the unloading bay. You’d think …. But then again maybe not.

Picton is basically what you can see from the ferry as you arrive, so within 10 minutes I was clear of the town and headed for Blenheim, where I was spending the next two nights. At a roundabout, an oncoming car decided to take the 3^rd exit, even though the driver had not been indicating his intention to do so. The result was a narrow miss as I headed straight through. A couple of minutes later, there was a siren behind me and some flashing lights. I pulled to the side to let him past and then realised he didn’t want to pass, so I resignedly pulled over.

The initial part of the conversation, after my explaining my version of events that led to my not giving way as required, related to my non-NZ registration and how “we” got around that. My response, you can imagine was predictable. Happily my drivers licence was not an issue so I was left to stew for a bit while some checks were made or “paperwork” was processed. 

Five minutes later, I was legal enough to be informed that the fine for not giving way as required was $150. However because I seemed to be aware of the realities of riding a bike – yes we had discussed my trip – I was instead award a written warning that would be sent to me in Ireland. The business done, we then had a further chat about my trip, before getting the evidential photo.

A short ride later I was welcomed by Amy and Christian at their house in Blenheim, and after settling in, a little later we were preparing for a ride around Queen Charlotte’s Drive on the north coast of the South Island. 

It was a warm day so we stopped to have a drink and thee met up with another friend who was on his way home; his South Island tour had been interrupted when someone had deliberately driven him off the road, on his brand new bike. Nonetheless, he seemed in remarkably good spirits.

We finished the ride with an overview of boats reversing into Picton Harbour, before heading home for dinner. And here I learned of Amy’s amazing job; she works in a wine bottling plant and regularly receives a case of wine from some of the top class wineries in the region. Only thing is, she doesn’t drink wine! 😳 I benefited from this good fortune when she gave me the choice from her substantial store. 😊

Sun 09 Feb 2025

I had set today aside to visit some local wineries as Marlborough is the origin of several of New Zealands top wines. I elected to do this on my bike rather than hire a bicycle, which seems to be a popular option. This was no big deal, as the intention was to taste the wine, rather than drink it.

I visited three vineyards: Cloudy Bay; St Clair Family; and Hunter Wines; each was in its own way worth the $20 or so they charged, and the wines ranged from OK to pretty good to very pleasing. Hunter Wines deserves a special mention though.

Ernie Hunter was born in Belfast in 1949, and left for New Zealand in 1972. A few years later he had teamed up with a fruit grower who had established a small vineyard in Belfast, just north of Christchurch. Using a combination of grapes grown in Belfast and in Ernie’s own vineyard in Marlborough, they made their first wines, and they were an instant success, winning several local accolades. The future was bright and the wines became highly regarded. Unfortunately Ernie died in a car accident in 1998, but his wife, an Australian wine maker, rose to the challenge and today,  is one of the most respected of New Zealand’s wine makers, and Hunter wines are considered amongst the top flight wines.

In between tastings, I had a solo early lunch at Allan Scott’s vineyard. Sheltered from the blazing sun under a thick canopy of vine leaves and listening, currently to Louis Armstrong’s “La Vie En Rose”, amongst a collection of soul and jazz classics, makes one reflective. “Life doesn’t get much better than this,” I thought. 😌

I returned to Amy and Christian, where we had dinner of freshly caught snapper. To compliment this Amy prepared a fantastic, artistic spread of fruit and cheese, and offered another bottle of excellent wine to help me wash it down.

Mon10 Feb 2025

It was another early start today. I rose in the dark at 0500 and an hour later, I was on my way to Kaikoura where I had booked a whale watching excursion with Whale Watch Kaikoura.

This was something I had always thought about doing, and this seemed as good a time as any. The boat used was a foil assisted catamaran, with engines producing 36,000HP – can that be right? Maybe it was 3,600. Anyway, this vessel was impressive; it flew along in a heavy swell at 55 kph, sometimes seeming to plough the waves.

We had three sightings of whales. It reminded me a little of watching lions asleep under a tree; it was exciting to see, but at the same time a bit disappointing because here wasn’t much action. Seeing the whales blow air and their up-ended tails as they dived were the highlights.

Or if you want to see the action:

On the way back to shore, we were stopped off to see a display of speed, and some acrobatics by a resident pod of dolphins.

Another funny little anecdote. I was sitting beside a girl called Paula, from Spain. We were comparing videos of the whales and she asked if I would share one of mine with her. He conversation obviously widened, and when she heard what I was doing in NZ, she asked, “Were you in Africa?” Somewhat surprised, I learned that she had a friend at home who was following my blog! We then had to have a selfie, so she could send this to her friend, and on returning to shore, she got a photo sitting on my bike! 

I decided to have another coffee before leaving Kaikoura, and here I chatted, separately, to two guys, Matthew and Kim, about the bike and my trip. Matthew kindly offered me a bed in Wellington on my return trip.

I continued on my way to Conway Flat, where, I later learned, I was to be the first Bunk-a-Biker welcomed by my hostess Liz. I was introduced to, and shared a glass with, some of Liz’s neighbours, Bruce and Heather. The we had dinner in Liz’s BnB apartment; as she had no guests that night I was offered use of this, rather than the camper van or tent options; and a very welcome offer it was too. I spent a night in luxury and rose the next morning ready for anything.