Good morning dear reader,
I spent the morning packing too much stuff into too small panniers, setting up the bike (BMW 750 GS! : almost new - with a quick shifter : fancy but unnecessary !
Then I chanced my arm with the Saturday Christchurch traffic, well well behaved, then before you know it you in the gorgeous countryside on the east coast heading north.
The sun is shining, I have a full tank of gas, and an empty bladder: life is looking good. The only spoiler is that I can’t get the SatNav to talk to me!!! Oh well never mind.
I arrived at Hanmer Springs and found the hotel (yes, I’m not camping on this trip). Very nice hotel with the bike parked under cover. A well appointed room with a great view. After a brisk walk around town - very touristy, lots of Fish n Chip places and loads of beer bars. I am currently sitting in Monteith’s Brewing Co. Bar with three different tunes playing over big speakers competing with the live music coming from the Irish Bar next door!
Tomorrow is a much longer day, about a 5 hour ride over to Greymouth on the West Coast.