Motueka River
expecting the wife – she was nowhere to be seen. I stood, wounded, in the garage, tired but relieved. Moving the bike forward, I accidentally pulled it off the side stand and it toppled slowly out of my gloved grip and stopped, on the floor but unmarked. I picked it up by the BarkBuster and popped it. Idiot. Got it upright, checked for marks, none at all, and popped the BarkBuster back into its clasp. The screw had a plastic nut and that simply had to be replaced and tightened. I unpacked the tool kit, and then dropped the nut. It was sitting on the crankcase, and I reached for it with cold clumsy hands, and knocked it. Into a dark recess in the centre of the engine; sticks, bent wire, magnets, nothing could entice that nut out of there. I taped it up, screw lost in place, went inside and told myself off for attempting to do anything in the state I was in. A couple of days with family was just what I needed.
JANUARY 6 The Honda Hikoi of Happiness returned with a
fine early morning run through the Lewis Pass to Springs Junction, arriving two hours early for a meetup with Jeff and Rob, who were on their way out of Blackball. A quick squirt from Springs Junction saw me having breakfast once again in funky town Reefton at a great cafe. We shared a beaut run together through the dappled green glory of the Buller Gorge, and on to Murchison for drinks and a rest. We parted ways at the old Owen River Pub, and I stayed to join my in-laws at their river cottage above the mighty Buller River, and was treated to a lovely walk along the banks spotting for elusive trout. Following that, a guided tour of the rather swanky Owen River Lodge. We drove down the valley and stopped at large low swirling falls into deep pools, the perfect fantasy swimming hole, and flung ourselves into its golden green depths, so fresh and shocking, and then just gloriously cold and clean. Later, I sat having a drink listening to the drone of hundreds of bumble bees bombing the daisies in grassy fields. Rabbits lopped about as the evenings hills went from greens to purple.
98 KIWI RIDER