DECEMBER 28 My plan to head south sees me join up with the guys for a few days , but my ultimate plan has hit the skids . The weather forecast for the Catlins and the deep south round Invercargill is for gales , rain , hail , and possible snow , for a week . Even if I could bear the ride , with my helmet ’ s fog and rain issue , I would see bugger-all . Plans change . I call an old mate , used to be quite the lad around Christchurch town in my younger days , did Martin MacPherson . He says “ Come on down !”, and , after a blindingly glorious run down to Tekapo and over the Lindis , I scoot for Alexandra where Martin , and his fabulous wife Chrissy , make me truly welcome . I mull once again the possibility of ever returning to the South , hmm . Is there anything better than old mates , a meal and a drink , at the end of a great day ’ s riding ?
DECEMBER 29 Good heavens , the South is beautiful . Vast and brooding with blasted barren , then soft and gentle and soothing - what landscapes ! Even better roads , winding for hours alongside still lead-black waters , then the sun comes out , and the black becomes deepest aching blue , sunsparkling with green willows weeping to the edges . The blazing whiteness of sand and rock . And all the while you roll in and out , corner after corner opening on vistas ‘ numberless to man ’. The grinning joy of my Honda Hikoi . Where am I going ? A very dear friend has recently inherited a house , oh how to say so much with so little , I shall say no more , but it is mine for the next couple of days – nestled into the soft tree-covered foothills beneath Coronet Peak . I meet the guys in town . They are staying down at Glenorchy for two nights . We get caught in a rainstorm on the waterfront and shelter in an Irish bar under awnings , as the area floods and a thousand tourists scatter indoors . The Fergburger line never moves , it is an immutable force in Queenstown these days . It ’ s a sodding burger , how different can it be ? Sitting in the bar , crowd-watching the vast throngs of tourists , as they meander back after the rain , I idly wonder how many of these couples will be pregnant by February .
DECEMBER 30 Laundry day , and a trip into QT sees epic lines of cars and 4WDs in a single unbroken lane from Frankton into the town . Those Fergburgers must be REALLY something , but , of course , they are all
96 KIWI RIDER