a shiny new tyre was fitted to the bike.
Refusing to accept payment he sent me on my
way with a spare tube and some two stroke oil
for good measure (cheers Don, I wouldn’t have
made it without you).
Now rolling smoothly it was plain sailing down
to the Rakaia Gorge. Dropping into the gorge
was great fun, however the climb out at 5km/h
was a wakeup call as to how the trip might be
on the hills and passes to come. Thankfully the
Canterbury plains proved to be relatively flat
and I reached Geraldine without difficulty.
I have always enjoyed the ride from Geraldine
to Fairlie and on any other machine this is a
beautiful road. On a fully loaded 50cc scooter
it’s a challenge.
AT THE MERCY OF THE WIND
The news had mentioned southerly gales, but just
how bad could it be? Leaving Fairlie I found out
as I hit the day head-on... just like the wind. Barely
making 8km/h I was at the mercy of the Weather
Gods. Climbing Burkes Pass was my first taste of
what challenge lay ahead. A fuel stop in Tekapo
gave me a chance to catch my breath and the
realisation that this could be a long day hit home.
Otago’s central valley is very, very long and
incredibly exposed. Hour-by-hour I seemed to
be making little progress and the scenery never
seemed to change – it was as constant as the
wind. It had been a long day by the time I reached
Omarama and I still had the Lindis Pass ahead of
me. The valley tightens up and the hills begin to
grow, but turning into the pass I found, to my relief,
that I was at last sheltered from the wind and that
the gradient was my only barrier. Flying up the pass
at 15km/h was like a dream.
The descent saw my speedo reading 70km/h and
the ride through to Cromwell was short and pain
free. Fuel for both me and the bike and a beautiful
ride along the lake before dropping past the
dam and into Alexandra, I had averaged less than
20km/h for the day.
TYPICAL SOUTHLAND WEATHER
Awaking to the sound of Rain on the roof
dampened my spirts somewhat. The ride from
30 KIWI RIDER
Alexandra to Roxburgh is one of the best
motorcycle roads in the country, this stretch of
tar seal undulates and weaves its way through
spectacular rock sculptures and overlooks an
amazing valley far below. Next time I shall do it on
a motorcycle. Sitting in the rain on an overloaded
scooter I came up with other ways to describe it.
Luckily, the rain only lasted 130km, as it was then
that the hale started. But coming into Gore the sky
began to clear and by Invercargill I was bathed in
sunshine once more. Typical Southland weather all
four seasons in a day. I took the opportunity to call
into the motor museum, top up on oil, have a quick
coffee and then onto Bluff.
SOUTHERN SCOOTER CHALLENGE
This was the day I had travelled just over
700km for – The Southern Scooter Challenge.
Meeting up with over a hundred other riders
was fantastic as we made our way to the start
at Stirling Point.
Once finally underway to Invercargill I had
a whole new experience… I actually overtook
something for the first time on my trip! As the
route through Invercargill was controlled by
the police there was no need to stop at lights
or roundabouts. The first stop in Winton gave
a chance to fully check out all of the costumes
and other scooters. What a fine sight we all made!
By the lunch stop in Lumsden it was very
clear that a lot of the scooters were larger in
capacity than mine. They ranged from a small
field of 50s to a majority using 110cc and even
125cc machines. As a result the field needed to
be regrouped regularly. We took a refuelling
stop in Garston before the last test for the day,
the Devil’s Staircase along-side Lake Wakatipu.
A lap around the centre of Queenstown was
a fitting way to signal the end of the event
before we gathered at the rugby club for the
closing address. At that point just over $112,000
had been raised and with sponsorship still
coming in the figure would continue to rise.
It may have been the end of the event, but
not the end of the day – a short 25km ride to
Arrowtown finished my day.