bag or buy a drink for the whole fortnight tour.
Her touring chums also stepped up and
arranged private boat rides of Lake Wakatipu
through family contacts, and paid for her to have
a helicopter ride to the glaciers of Franz Josef.
“We got out first glowing review,” was how Rose
put it. Then the calls began. “Our first group was
a party of people from Spain on a South Island
tour. The first day was a stunner with brilliant
sunshine and warm air... perfect.
At dinner that night at a hotel in Tekapo they
watched in awe as the hanging valley filled
with cloud from above, and it rolled down the
mountainsides like waves.”
They were to learn more about South Island
weather the next morning. “It started to rain
and it just got heavier and heavier, at first with
high winds... so a light grip on the bars and lay
down on the tank,” was how Rose put it.
At one stage there was no wind, which was fine
except for the fact that it simply meant the
cyclone passing through had stalled above them.
Then the rains, of the torrential variety,
hammered in.
During the breaks, the question of “When
will the sun return?” became more and more
insistent. Helmets were hung on heated towel
rails to dry out and gear was laid out on heated
bathroom floors to help it dry out.
“On the last day of the 11-day tour the sun finally
reappeared,” Rose said. But hey, it happens,
and the visitors still embraced their Kiwi ride
experience. Since then Paradise Motorcycle
Tours have run hundreds of riding adventures
and experiences for a lot of very satisfied,
and delighted, throttle-twisting visitors. “In
February we had our biggest tour group which
was 31 riders from the Philippines who we split
into three groups and they had a great time.”
So great, they rebooked another outing for
February 2021. “If they can get here.”
One well-known name from the two-wheeled
fraternity for his television tours and exploits, is
Henry Cole. He toured with the Paradise team
KIWI RIDER 23