word to the wise: take a beanie and a neck warmer
if you’re going to do the ride in autumn or winter...
Once we’d left the ‘main road’ the track to
Branches Station takes in some of the most
ridiculously picturesque scenery, and the track
is a heap of fun on a dirt bike. The view from
the end over the river’s branches is postcard
material. Exploring on dirt bikes in this part of NZ
is just amazing, with breathtaking views around
almost every corner. I’ll definitely be hooking
up with the Columbs for a more extensive
tour of the area in the coming months.
CRUISER
A leisurely lunch followed the morning’s dirt bike
trip, and I couldn’t help but think we’d already
experienced the high-point of our two day, four-
bike adventure – the views and sheer thrills of
a dirt bike were a heady mix. And I’ve got to
say, it required a complete change of mindset
32 KIWI RIDER
and riding style jumping from a 120kg dirt bike
to a 400+kg Harley Davidson Ultra Limited.
I have to admit that at first, after the fun of the dirt
bikes, I thought the cruisers were a bit, umm, boring.
Where we’d had an active ride on the Yamahas
popping little wheelies and jumps over the rocks
on the trail, on the Harleys it was a case of settling
into the cruise groove and soak up the scenery.
With the Harley V-twin giving a throbbing, back-
beat soundtrack to the ride I could feel myself
settling into the ride. Instead of keeping my eyes
peeled for slippery mud, rocks and hairpins, the
relaxed, almost stately, pace of the cruisers meant
the scenery became central to the ride. Heading
back into the centre of Queenstown we had looks
from almost every tourist. There’s something
about a group of Harleys that seems to attract the
attention of most non-motorcyclist, who seem to
associated motorcycles with Milwaukee’s finest.
Glenorchy and the Rees/Dart rivers were our