Day The Eleventh

I'm writing post ergo hoc, so to speak, due to my rapidly deteriorating health. When I woke on Thursday morning, I knew it was going to be downhill from now on for a while, so I girdled my loins (with waterproof pants as is was fair pissing down), and made all haste toward Wellington town.
But I get ahead of myself. My vast reading public (well you are putting on a bit Mark!) will be disapointed if I do not relate my adventures that took me to Castlepoint that arvo.
The road out of Pongaroa (a Marx aside here: What's the obsession with Pongaroa? It's just I saw it on the map, with the smallest dot they do for a town and I liked the name, a lot) heads two ways, one longer by far but good road; the other with numerous warning signs about steep grade, narrow width, large trucks, gravel and wandering stock. They were right on all accounts. Check out this little beauty I met on one of the good parts, luckily.





On arrival at Castlepoint, I had been waterskiing for quite some time so I did a quick lap of the sights. It's a very pretty place, well worth a visit. Here's a picture of one of the crayfishing rigs on the beach. There's about 8 of these monsters parked up above high water.





I talked to a deckhand in the pub that night. This one, like most there, is pulled by an old Ford County tractor, a big four wheel drive. I wondered where they all went. The trailer drawbars are really long so they can poke the boats into deeper water but the one in the picture is special. It's all remote control. The skipper and crew get in the boat. He starts up the tractor and backs the rig into the tide, launches off, then drives the tractor and trailer up the beach. The landing is the same, all done from the boat! The trailer wheels are even hydrolicly driven off the tractor.

Stayed the night in a nice little cabin at the campground. Lucky I had emergency rations 'cause there isn't any food around at that time of the year. It was pissing down when I went to bed and still doing so in the am.

Next morning it was off to the ferry. I stopped for coffee and poached Nurophen on toast at Carterton, pulled out the iPhone, and booked on the BlueBridge ferry that was sailing in two hours. Modern life!

Ratings:
Me: 4/10 and that was chemically enhanced again.....erg, I'm dying.

Daisy:10/10. Even with pouring rain and mud, she boxes on.

Pie: I was going to compare the Interislander and BlueBridge pies, but I had no appetite......
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Location:Home

Day the Tenth

I knew it was a good spot for lunch when I saw the sign!




Arrived in Napier after looking for somewhere other than motel right from Wairoa. It was a big day and 6.30 is late enough to be finding somewhere to sleep.

I like old hotels. You can get a good room for about half the price of a motel. Last night I stayed at the Art Deco masterpiece called The Masonic. If it was good enough for HRH Betty to hang up her crown for an evening, then it's good enough for me... $85 incl breakie. I was feeling quite second hand still, so out came the pills again. God bless Nurophen (and all who sail in her!).

Wellington is too far for one day, the way I'm feeling so I set TomTom to work to find us an interesting way to Castlepoint. I only gave my faithful servant one instruction.
"When you consult the dusty parchments of your electronic trickery finding us a fair route (not, I hasten to add for the sake of me darln' one, a "fair root"!), pray make sure you route us thru Pongaroa".
And he did. We travelled some interesting roads, oh yes we have. Haven't put the bike down but the deep limestone chip on some roads has been tricky.

Castlepoint tonight, Wellington tomorrow.

Ratings:
Me: 6/10 but that's chemically enhanced.

Daisy: 10/10 in her natural environment.

Pie: 6/10. Steak pie of unknown providence bought from Pongaroa general store. Bright yellow pastry, and a gravey so dark you just know they used lots of colouring. Would have graded a whole point lower but for the plastic tomato dispensing good free sauce.

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Location:Near Pongaroa

Day the Nineth

What is it about motorcycles? Why do some people like me like to ride them? They just don't make sense for so many reasons. If you look at them in terms of real world physics they are completely bizzare. Left to themselves they fall over! When you ride them they require constant input to keep upright, let alone pointed in the right direction. You get wet and cold, and sometimes too hot. You can't carry very much. To try to stay protected, you have to spend five minutes putting on layers of kevlar, fibreglass, and leather before you even get moving. On theroad you have to stop more often 'cause your arse gets sore quicker than a car. But once you are on the road and mobile, it all changes. The bike comes alive. You control it with your feet, hands, eyes, whole body, even your hips. You "ride", not "drive". Oh, there are other advantages, like economy of running and buying (although that's hard to make a spreadsheet back you up completely). And like where I am now. I'm making an espresso, at the end of a long-abandoned road that ran out to an old wharf on Ohope Harbour that would be a 15 minute walk but was a one minute mud splashing, tree rooting jumping, one wheel lane ride. The tide is in, the sun is out, the fish are practicing aerobatics, and the coffee and sultana pasties are ready. Does it get better? Only with my best girl by my side. I do miss her so.




It's a fact. If you don't know what it is about motorcycles, then I can't explain it.

Heading toward Gisborne.

Ratings:
Me: 4/10. Yiccy throat infection. Feeling shyte. Buy shares in Diflam.

Daisy: 10/10. What a trooper, two 4WD tracks already today.

Pie: 3/10. Opotiki Hot Bread Café. Didn't try the bread but the steak and mushroom was crap. Tough meat, runny gravey and I'm sure it was very recently defrosted in a microwave. For shame! 2nd worst pie so far. Worst was the ferry pie but that's completely expected!

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Day the Eighth

Left Cathrine and Bill's about 5pm and rode south for the first time this trip. The North is different to the rest of NZ, but I think the social contrasts are greater than the geographical ones. There are a lot of rough houses and poor communities but then you get places like Kerikeri where there is obviously some very serious wealth. Those gray acres of citrus fruit are being replaced with lawns and three story mansions.

The day started well with great weather and the promise of it staying that way. Then I got a call from my friend Neil to say his step-father, who I knew, had died. Ernie was a great collector of 30's International trucks, 40's Buick straight eights, and especially Harleys from the 20's. A WW2 veteran, he'd been a Harley mechanic before the war. Neil is going to look after his collection.

It was a plesent ride down, with a stop at Waipu to see the museum that had a sign out in the main road. Waipu has an interesting link with the Highland clearences of the 1830s with some 900 people from there emmigrating to Waipu via Nova Scotia. I was just about to go in when I saw it was $8 entry. I got nobbled by an elderly lady as I tried to retreat gracefully. And when I stammered something about not having enough money on me she insisted on me going in free .... Do I really look that down and out already?

Lunch was bought in the Warkworth Bakery and consumed under the branches of an 800 year old kauri. Heading for my sister's place in Tauranga.

Ratings:
Me: 8/10 A little bit sad to be heading home so soon.

Daisy: 10/10 and loving BP 98 octane. Must be the 10% ethanol... Hic

Pie: 6/10. I had chicken craving and it's really hard to make a good chicken pie.... However there's no excuse for a very bready cream doughnut. That's a bakery I won't be going back to.


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Location:SH 2,Paeroa,New Zealand

Day the Seventh

Seriously great night, Saturday, with Bill, Marty, Dave and I telling our sides if all the great yarns we have from when we were flatting/studying together. I haven't laughed so much since last time we were all together. That's 25 years ago. I'm only just getting how good an idea this trip is.

Dave left for work about 5.30, poor sod. I suppose someone has to make sure the petrol gets made.

Sunday morning Bill, Catherine and kids took Marty and I in their boat. It's called "Burgess Isle". It's a boat with a history. In the early '60s, the lighthouse keeper on Burgess Island, the furthurest out in the Hauraki Gulf, had two spare houses after some automation of the light. He used the end of one house as a boat buliding shed and built a very pretty and seaworthy boat out of the rest of the house to take himself and family in to Auckland. 25ft, entirely made of recycled kauri, and now fitted with '70s Danish (see, got it right this time, Bill!) Bukh marine diesel lifeboat engine of 20 very lusty horses. It's a wee cracker and after dropping Cathrine and kids back to the car, we sailed out to open sea in fine style! Bonus for the day was a kahawai caught on a spinner. However, the sea claimed two sunhats so we were one down overall.




Ratings:
Me: 11/10. Really, does it get better than this?

Daisy: 10/10, parked up all day but looking a little restless and fidgity.

Pie: N/A It was a non-pie day


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Location:Tudor Collins Dr,Warkworth,New Zealand

Day The Sixth

I found Bill!

It was a dark and stormy night. The GPS guided me in for landing, right outside three gates and Bill waved me in the right one. They have a lovely house, with nice garden and lawn in a leafy area near the river, basin reserves, and short walk to the historic stone store.

It was so good to see them all again, and to see how much Cordelia has grown and to meet young William. What a pair of livewires; running, chatting, dancing, being kids.

Up not too early, breakfast, a guided tour of the "estate" and then Bill and I took both kids to ride the steam train in Kawakawa. We got there half an hour early so there was time for coffee and a guided tour thru the workshops where they are restoring old engines and carridges. It was raining on and off but we were under cover most of the time. The ride goes up the middle of the main street of Kawakawa, which is undergoing road works. There in lay the problem. The new road surface was laid too high up the train tracks so it wasn't long (50m?) before the gravel had been pushed ahead of the wheels, the mud mat under the gravel got pushed up and caught in the bogey, and then the carridge de-railed!







It was a short walk back to the car....
We returned home via Waimate North and some interesting history. Who better as a historical guide then an archaeologist? We even passed the site of NZs first road accident death; a ten year old boy falling from a horse.

Ratings:
Me: 9/10. Great to be back with Cathrine and Bill

Daisy: 10/10 and a hit with young Wiiliam

Pie: 9/10 Steak and Cheese Family sized from Kerekere bakery. Judging by the huge cue, everyone finds their pies as good as I did!

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Day The Fifth

It's a good time to explain the first part if the URL of the blog, "TheSearchForAuntyBill". I'm pretty sure that most of you know that Bill Edwards and I have been friends for about 33 years now. Well, the fact that we're friends, not the finer temporial details anyway. It was not far into our first mis-spent year when Bill recieved a letter, from his school chum Robert I believe, addressed to "Aunty Bill Edwards" and the sobrieque stuck. Sometimes it became "Aunty Bill Filthy" when he was having a "punk" moment. Or eating. We were never quite sure which was the original reason. There were a number of times when various parties stumbled about the neighbourhood seaching others of the group, to the point where "Roy, Roy, where are you? You're not Roy!" became a bit of a catch-phrase. Bill, Kathrine and family moved to a far far off land a year or three back, and this is my first trip up to see them, and to meet William junior. I'm really looking forward to it.

Last night I met another old friend (you seeing a theme here yet?), Murray Mark. Knowing the way things worked in those dim and distant days, I probably met Murray when he was about 3 weeks old, but it may have been earlier if my mum had visited his mum in the maternity home. Either way, we've known each other quite a long time. He owns a car and light truck rental business with 100 vehicles on his books. We spent the night talking of those two things real men talk lustfully of; women and motorcycles. A superb Thai dinner (thoroughly recommend the "original Thai restaurant"), and a couple of pleasent ones in bar rounded out the evening well. Thanks Murray for a great meal and a warm bed!

In the morning I had to get away by 9 sharpish because I'd had a call from the people who run the photofinish in Auckland. They wanted to talk to me about using two cameras for photofinish. Seeing as I would passing thru Auckland the next day, I arranged to meet them mid morning. The trip had it's bizarre twists too. I was welcomed in true Waikato fashion by a pea-souper and made slow progress to Huntley. Even though the light was on I decided to press on to the next town for petrol. I didn't know that, effectively, the motorway starts just north of Huntley these days. I came off in two small town but the gas stations had all closed down, meaning all I had done was waste fuel looking... Anyway I filled up in mercer. The meeting was good and I hope I have saved them from making a few mistakes.
But isn't Aucklands traffic something else!? Followed my nose up the motorway and confused the hell out of TomTom by appsrently doing 110km/hr across bushland when I used the new toll road off the end of the motorway. Bikes are free, how cool!

The seach for Aunty Bill must end soon.




Ratings:
Me: 10/10. Having such a great time, I should have done this years ago.

Daisy: 9/10. Back tyre getting down, don't think it will make it home.

Pie: 8/10. Steak and pepper from Wellsford Café and Bread Bakery. Only two pies in the warmer at 12.55 so thats a good sign. Very nice flakey crust, good amount of vegies, pepper a tasty addition. Nice!

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Day The Fourth

Spent a very strange night in Wanganui, for a number of reasons. After finding that Daisy had steering head bearing problems I decided that it would be a good idea to see if I could find some new ones in Wanganui. What with using the iPhone to look up the size on www.f650.com, then iPhone again to use the yellow pages to find bearing sellers, and then the TomTom GPS to lead me to one, I was in travel tech heaven. The Honda/Kawasaki dealer said they could do the job there and then and come back in two hours. I went off for a stroll, and two blocks away I came to an Irish bar. With Lee on her way to Ireland at the time it seemed like the gods were telling me something! I made a glass of Guinness last at hour while I read my book.
Getting back to the shop, they told me all was well, just the head bearings were too tight (my fault!) and the new ones were the wrong size. Don't know what went wrong there, but got my money back on them.
It was after five so I decided to stay in wanganui. I decided to stay in The Grand Hotel. I'm sure it used to be but at $75 at night, incl breakfast, you'll get some idea. It was only after I'd settled in, thrown my junk around, and done some laundry in the basin, that I found that both layers of curtain were of the see-thru type, and one only covered 3/4 of the window.
Whilst investigating the curtains , I noticed two skinny tatooed guys in the carpark below, discussing something about the window next to me (on the 1st floor). A bit later they were my neighbours, ferrying lots of gear into their room. To cut a long story short, they played the TV on LOUD until 6.30am, ran water all night, banged about and opened and closed the balcony door constantly and were out looking at the windows again this morning as I left! I'm thinking P lab? Dinner was also a diaster at The Mongolian BBQ. That will teach me to take pity on a place that has no patrons!
The run from Wanganui to Hamilton was spectacular. I have not been that way for a very long time. I copped out and took the quick way thru Stratford. Stopped at Mikes Brewery near Inglewood to sample the wares and discovered that the source of the horrible burning stench was the sheepskin seat cover that i had looped over the pannier to dry that had slipped over the exhaust!
Lunch was by the Awakino river and I stopped in Otorohanga and caught up with two old friends, Peter Kerr-bell and Stephen Pascoe. I hadn't seen Stephen for 25 years.

Ratings:
Me: 8/10 jaded after a very weird night

Daisy: 10/10 and back to her usual self

Pie: 7.5/10 Steak from the Mokau Café and whitebait shop. Baked by Le Dejaniur Bakery, New Plymouth. Slightly too salty and too deep to stay together when bitten, but a great meaty treat.

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Location:North Taranaki

Day The Third

Last night could only be described as a very plesent and convivial evening. My uncle Tuffy Button has a lovely home in Stokes Valley with lots of trees, regenerating bush, and a small stream. He showed me around, gave me a beer, cooked me a gurnard fish supper that was so big it spread over two plates (one plate for the salad alone; my idea of heaven) and handed me his movie catalogue! We watched a movie I had always wanted to see, Rio Bravo. Loved it and I can see why it's often considered John Wayne's best.
Super comphy bed meant I had the best sleep in weeks, left over apple and apricot crumble from last night for brekkie and I'm on my way. Stopped for fuel at Paraparaumu to hear my phone ring. Jake is at home wanting a key to get in to walk Dot. Then a message from Tuffy to say I had left my iPhone charger behind. A short walk to dick smith had me equiped with a cheapie spare so nay bother there. Then a phone call from the electrician who fixed the faulty switch last week in our hot water heater. He told me that there was smoke coming out of the cupboard when he arrived!!! It was only minutes away from burning down the house. Lotto ticket today!
The drive north was a series of interruptions; massive cues at road works, lots of little towns, and a huge tangi blocking the road at Manakau near Levin. That one had a cue of vehicles at least a kilometer long. Each time it's a buzz to filter thru to the front. Stopped on Bulls to get my pie, and now sitting beside a pretty little pond watching some airforce pilots and some wildlife practicing aerobatics, eating lunch. Nice!
Heading somewhere around the 'Naki tonight, but as the forecast is shyte I don't think the tent will come out.


Ratings:
Me: 9/10 but improving the further from the city I get.

Daisy: 7/10, discovered the reason for odd handling as the steering head bearings are shot.

Pie: 8.5/10 Bulls Cafe and
Bakery Steak and Mushroom; large, freshly baked, lots of mushroom flavour and pastry just thick enough to hold it all together. Washed down with a Coopers Stout in the company of two greenfinches and a fantail.


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Location:Neumans Line,,New Zealand

Day: The Second

Awake @ 5 for some reason so used the time to set up and write first post of blog. After coffee Peter and I took Nina for a walk over his usual route, The Grampians. If he does that every day, no wonder he and Nina are so fit! It really had me puffing and heading for the shower when we got home. Peter came for a ride with me to Picton, but as we got there at last checkin time, I couldn't buy him a coffee. Then I sat in a queue for 30min so could have after all. Ride was good but lots of wet corners meant I had to be just a little restrained.

Tonight I'm staying with my uncle Tuffy in Upper Hutt. The Tragical History Tour continues.

Ratings:
Me: 10/10. Two glasses of red wine last night did not bring the usual headache this morning

Daisy: 9/10 bit unhappy with the wet corners thru Whangamoa hills. One largish oops.

Pie: 3.5/10 Goodtime Classic Potato Top eaten on Interislander ferry. Sweating in it's plastic bag, thick greasy crust, but a quite good crunchy top.


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Location:Nelson-Wellington

The Search Begins

Time to hit the road, to seach for the semi-mythical Aunty Bill, who hasn't been sighted for about two years (by me anyway". So it was load up Daisy, the trusty BMW F650GS and head out on the highway! It was a dark and stormy night....err it was lovely sunny windless day and I left at about 11.30am. Behind me was a crying dog, poor Dot. She knows what it means when the bags are getting packed. I dropped in to see a friend, Phil, who works for Pegasus Bay winery, then hit the road proper. What a day to be on the bike! Near Engineers Camp, just before lewis pass, I decided to explore a track that looked promising. I could see a 4WD had been down recently so gave it a go. It soon got steep, rocky, muddy and slippery. It soon became a choice of staying upright or stopping. Stay upright won but it was close. Then the track leveled, dried, and narrowed to a walking track that ended vertically. It took a 17 point turn to get facing back uphill. The uphill ride was trickier. When I reached the wet rocks, the back wheel hooked the side of a big boulder, skipped downhill and turned the bike 90deg across the track and into a tree. Rolling back put the back wheel very close to the edge but some sweating and swearing and lots of clutch-slip got me moving. It was good to get to the tar again.
It was less than 10km up the road when an unseen lump of steel in the form of power pole cut-off rocker arm laying on the road in the shadow of a bush kicked up under the bike, jacking the rear wheel up and sideways, bought my heart upwards to the region of my tonsils. I went back to find what the hell I had run over.
The rest of the trip to Nelson was much less eventful. I arrived at Peter and Mandy's house to a wonderful welcome, not the least from Nina, who is one of Dot's puppies. A glass of stout, a couple of wine, dinner, chatting, a visit to the man cave where the model building is done, and then we watched "the hangover". Thanks guys!

RATINGS:
Me: 9/10. Happy to be on the road but a bit worried about the dog.

Daisy: 9/10. Purring like a kitten but mods to mount GPS not working

Pie: N/A. No pies consumed today.

Location:Trafalgar St,Nelson,New Zealand