So - That Seals it!

 

This Seals the deal! - The seal colony at Ohau Point en-route from Kaikoura to Blenheim

Hello again - Apologies it's been a little time since I last posted but - Well a few things have been going on which have delayed me sitting down and writing some prose. A bit more on that later but first I wanted to tell you about my latest bike trip - My first since proceeding on my leave.

I rode down to Hanmer Springs via the Molesworth station (Pictured below) which is a route of just over 200Km from home and which goes via the Molesworth station, most of which is dirt or unsealed road. There are faster ways to Hanmer but this is by far the most scenic and really gets you into the land of the big blue sky and shows you some of the real NZ.

The gate to the Molesworth station itself - You have to make sure the gate is closed after you as there's all sorts wandering around! Note the cattle road sign - It wasn't wrong!

This was a chance for me to travel through the station before the road shuts this coming weekend. It only opens again in late October (Labour Day weekend) and I wanted to make sure that I managed to sample it once more. Below is a map which is mounted at one of the shelter spots on the route and it gives you a nice representation of the area.    

So that's where we are!?

The whole area is a working farm so you need to be alert to cattle and sheep wandering around, sometimes on the road just around that corner you're currently negotiating. Having said that it's a great way to travel the area and you get a real feel for the landscape you are going through. 'Twas good for the soul too!

The mighty Suzuki DR650 at the entry to Jollies Pass heading down into Hanmer Springs itself.

I was riding my 2018 Suzuki DR650 which you can still buy brand new here in NZ. They will go out of production at the end of this year as the regulations dictating the mandatory fitment of ABS comes into force here in NZ and Australia. It'll be a real shame as it remains entirely fit for purpose and is simple, robust and easy to work on yourself. It'll happily sit at the national open road speed limit and is capable off road too. Still, the inexorable march of progress means that things will have to move on. I only hope that Suzuki do the same as Kawasaki did with their KLR650 and bring out a modernised version of it as it'd go down well here in NZ I reckon.

Below are a few pictures of some points on the route.

Awatere Valley Road before it turns to gravel and heads towards the Molesworth station

One of the shelter stations en-route. There's a fair bit of history to this area and it's good to see it still being used for agriculture

I mentioned earlier that things have been moving on the work-front. Well - I shall be having some 3 months of Leave before standing in as the Engineer Officer on HMNZS CANTERBURY in order to take her overseas for her next docking period. Some may remember that I was the Engineer last time she docked in Sydney some 5 years ago so there's an element of Deja Vu going on here. The existing Engineer will be taking baby leave so I offered to stand in as we are desperately short of suitably qualified people to be able to perform the role. Various factors, such as some personnel shying away from the chance to do this, have played a part but it seems like a good thing to do and who knows? It may even be fun - Something that has been in short supply on the workfront for some time now.

Anyway - I hope that you all stay safe and well. I'll write more once I've been on a few more escapades.

Take care

Lee