DAY 6 THE RISK FARM TO QUEENSTOWN

This will be an easy day, the ride is straight forward and not too far.  We leave the farm about 9:00 AM heading to our meeting spot for the others about 13 K away.  As luck would have it we arrive on time.  I attribute luck to our resident first sergeant, Harvey who is never late.  The group adopts a new leader in Thomas who is now riding with utmost confidence on the BMW 650 GS.  I am bringing up the rear with the VFR as it will keep me in check.  There is an opportunity to become a little aggressive on a sport bike.  The roads are sweepers with slight elevation change.  No traffic to distract us or present any problems.  We stop in Mossburn at the junction to Hwy 96 for a coffee and toilet break.  The weather is warm and the layers are coming off at each stop.  There was a Harley guy returning with his wife from a local rally.  Sounded pretty good with 100 bikes showing up.  We continue on 97 for a short distance to Hwy 6 and our next stop at Athol for lunch.  Masa and I enjoyed a meat pie, New Zealand’s answer to the quickie meal.  The Lamb pies are the best but the choices are many.  The temperature is now above 75 and the layers are down to summer gear.  I like to ride in my mesh jacket when it this warm and this is summer!  We wind down the hills into Frankton, a good gas stop, then into Queenstown.  We arrive at the St. Moritz Hotel about 3:00 PM, shower and get ready for Dinner.  This is the best internet connection since Christchurch.  It is also where I was able to contact ATT to get my cell phone working.  I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have all my connections working.  Our dinner at 7:00 was a first class presentation and Masa and I shared a fresh seafood appetizer along with seafood risotto entrée.  After dinner Thomas, Masa and I walked the town.  It is loaded with neat little pubs and dinning rooms.  All are near the water and show off the harbor.  Our walk was just enough to work off dinner and prepare us for bed.  Unfortunately the community has no air conditioning so with windows open we retire. 

DAY 7 A DAY OFF

It was a welcome day to leave the bikes at the hotel garage and think about the activities offered in the area.  Masa and I choose to take the Jet Boat trip from Glenorchy, a Maori community about 45 minutes ride up the lake.  We booked the event through the hotel and were delighted to hear they would pick us up at 7:50 AM.  Our hostess and bus driver, Haley, was a young Maori that had personality and a great knowledge of the community and history of the area.  It was constant dialogue all the way to the base camp for the boats.   When we arrived and check in at Glenorchy, we are given rain panchos and life vests.  The boat is very powerful sporting a GM  6.2 liter V8 coupled to a Berkley Jet.  We had 10 riders from Australia, Israel, California and Oregon of course.  The boat makes way into the Dart River and heads up stream into this Glacial river that has rock bars all over.  The skill of the skipper is demonstrated over and over as he pilots the boat by following currents.  When we get into some deeper water he delights in doing a 360 degree circle.  The two boats on our group then have a splashing contest with shooting water at each other through the Jet drive.   The boat travels fast and offers a thrill to its passengers.  Our pilot was Maori which added a little culture to the conversation.   We then dock at a portable ramp where we are escorted by bus to a portable toilet.  We then took a nature walk through the Beech forest, learning about the Maori early settlements, the birds and native animals.  The bats are the only real native mammals as all other mammals have been brought in by man.  It is great for campers as there are no animals to worry about.  The trees have an eco system of their own so no wind fall can be cleaned up.   It is where the seedlings take root and wait for an opening in the canopy to develop into an adult tree.  This forest is where the trees of Lord of Rings was filmed.  There were many other locations for filming that now can be identified.  We left the forest, got on the bus and returned to the base at Glenorchy.   Then our original hostess brought us back to the hotel.  We met the rest of the gang at 6:00 then off to a Texas style steak house.  Again the food was excellent.  Tomorrow it is destination Fox Glacier on the West Coast. 

Masa and Dick at the suspension bridge.

 Primative Hut woman sleeps in man out! 

 Green Rocks BBQ.

 Narrow passage for Jet Boat.

 View from the Jet Boat

Equipment remaining from the film "Lord of the Rings"