We left Dunedin with another beautiful day looming, glad to be away from the Top 10. We’d made great time yesterday so weren’t too worried about the length of trip planned for the route down to Bluff. The roads were dry and we were going to make it to land’s end for New Years Eve.
The handling problem I noticed yesterday was identified today as a slow rear leak. We checked the pressure at the petrol station on the outskirts of Dunedin, and while we normally run 42psi it had drained overnight to 6! We inflated it and could not find any apparent leak, so made the decision to monitor it throughout the trip. This was definitely my second mistake, the first being the cardinal sin of not checking pressures every morning.
We headed off south down the coast, the bike felt great, and we stuck to our planned scenic route down through Owaka instead of taking the more direct State Highway 1. Ninety minutes into the trip we pulled over at a rest stop and I checked the pressure again, I had just started to notice traces of the handling issue. Unfortunately, on investigation of the rear tyre we found it had worsened and now there was an audible hissing of expelling air and the psi was down to 27. We were miles from anywhere so decided to bunny hop petrol stations to Invercargill, and get it repaired there. A slow limp through the stunning roads, and the next amenities station we found were camp grounds. There was a multi use air compressor out back they let us use for a gold coin donation to Search & Rescue. I was happy to pay I can tell you. We stopped at every station after this on our way to Invercargill and while most were closed, the rest had no air! I’m not sure how but we managed to scrape our way to central Invercargill arriving with just 12psi to the local Mobil. After this it was a desperate search of all the local bike shops until we came to one that was open, and the good old Honda shop it was! The guy there wouldn’t do motorbike puncture repairs, but did sell me the only one that had in stock that would fit for $300. It isn’t a match to the front and normally this is not the kind of uninformed thing I would do, without reading up on the tyre, but we were in a jam and needed it fixed on the spot, so agreed to it. It’s a new Dunlop Qualifier, to go with the Bridgestone on the front. Hopefully it’s a decent tyre and I wasn’t ripped off, it feels fine so far.
The people in Invercargill are extremely friendly, the Honda shop owner’s wife even ran us into town in her car so we could pick some late lunch up while we waited for the bike. Even the staff that waited on us at the Speights Ale House had something extra; it’s just a really nice feeling around here. They do call it The Friendly City and from the little hospitality we experienced we’re happy to agree.
After repairs were complete and with the steed back at full capacity, the bags were reloaded and we carried on to Bluff. I have been warned about the sand flies in the South, and I am noticing much more visor debris as we descend the island. It’s not just sand flies though, there are some quite solid bugs I’ve been collecting that feel like small bullets in the chest. They leave a wonderful rainbow of colors smeared across my helmet and jacket, and the front of the bike looks like a special effect in a B-Grade horror show. These things bleed in Technicolor.
For our Bluff excursion we booked two nights at the Foveaux Hotel. It was a random pick we made via the internet, and we lucked in here because from the limited choice you see as you roll into this isolated town, the Foveaux stacks up favourably. The place really is exactly what I expected from Bluff. It has fake marble walls in the bathroom, antique floral wallpaper, old white towels with the texture of sandpaper and a 12 inch bubble TV. The room we had is shaped like a shoe box, and the owner casually wanders around in his socks. This might sound like I’m disappointed with the place, but that could not be so further from the truth. Everything here is how it should be, and is Bluff. They could not give you a more authentic experience.
Right from our check-in it has been fabulous, we even received a flyer under the door inviting us to spend New Years with the hosts, their friends and their family, and while we are at it partake in some lethal home made punch at the special price of $2.50 a glass. They cook fabulous food, have a secret mashed potato recipe and even play French music on the wireless in the dining room while you eat! New Years Eve was a wonderful night spent on sofas in the bar laughing and talking to the small group assembled there for the occasion. The punch was handed out freely and had a nice kick to it, and while nothing would have been better than spending this night with our close friends, the Foveaux couldn’t have put on a better shin dig for us.
New Year’s Day was another absolutely perfect day, with temperatures in the late 20s and the sun beating down fiercely. We traveled up to Bluff hill where visibility was horizon to horizon, to enjoy the panorama of Stewart Island and its nearby siblings, and the view back down into Bluff. The photos we took will never do this viewing point justice; and it really is something that my vocabulary fails to explain. After we took in the vista we made the short trip back into Invercargill to check out the beach where scenes were filmed for The World’s Fastest Indian. I wasn’t too keen to take the Sprint on the sand and there is no car park so it was a very quick stop. The Southland Museum was next on the agenda, and this place was great, very worthy of a detour and the limited Burt Munro display was a special treat. After that we spent some time just lazing in the sun in the beautiful park outside, and then headed back into Bluff to the maritime museum they have there. It really was a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable start to 2008, much more so than the usual hangover we greet the New Year with. I can’t remember a more productive start to the year.
So as I write this on the night before we leave, I have to say that it is with a great sense of achievement that we’ve made it to the end of our journey’s southern leg. For us it really has been a totally different type of holiday than we’re used to, and a fantastic way to meet the East coast of New Zealand. It will be with some sadness and poignancy we point the bike north tomorrow, but we have run out of road.
Bluff itself has been a true highlight, it is the epitome of a small town, and you can feel a wonderful kind of loneliness here. Not the kind to avoid, but the kind many seek. It is a mixture of contradictions, a short stroll along main street will show you this, several shops boarded up and vacant, dust thick on the floors, the main factories closed, and the streets deathly quiet on this public holiday. Amongst all of these however are a sprinkling of vibrant community shops and taverns each with a very unique character. The people here are friendly too, they love Bluff, and if you give them five minutes of your day they’d have you love it too. It’s not for everyone; I imagine people are leaving for the very same reasons people are arriving. I feel we have only but scratched the surface here, and there is a depth to Bluff we have not seen. I would love to spend more time here and get to know this old girl a whole lot better, I think I would love Bluff. I’m not sure why, perhaps it’s the perfect city for only children! I don’t think she would give up all her secrets easily though, you’d probably have to at least survive a winter here before you could hope to be part of the community. What a wonderful town. The only thing missing was Marcus Lush, I would have loved to have had a beer with him!
So Happy New Year to you all. Thanks for sticking with us this far. Tomorrow we’re off to beautiful Queenstown where Myra is adamant she wants to bungy jump, so that will be fantastic! Hopefully we pick up some decent internet service soon too so we can upload some of the great shots we got here in Southland.
