Pearls On Wheels

Fueled up with splendid bacon and eggs at Seagars and Trish's smile we ride south. Through the Springfield area where  Hubbard and Jebson relatives farmed in the 1800's Over the Rakaia Gorge bridge To the McKenzie Basin where what was once barren land has been transformed by irrigation  into green, lush dairy-farming country. Haymakers are busy today. To Tarras for a cuppa. Merino wool used to make  Icebreaker   clothes is produced from sheep raised here on Bendigo Station. Our Icebreaker tee shirts and long sleeve tops and leggings have kept us warm in the cold places and the tee shirts kept us cool in the tropics. After 8 months of daily wear on our motorcycle journeys the icebreaker clothing is in excellent condition. Lupins mark our path through the Cardrona Valley and fill the air with a delicate perfume. We are home in Queenstown again. Over 75,000km later Mella has returned to where we started in April 2012. Where to next???

We farewelled my sister Yvonne and Ken in Waikawa and headed via the Queen Charlotte Drive from Picton toward our first stop, Anakiwa. We passed Nick on his bicycle. It is a cool morning and there is little traffic so he has a good ride ahead and so do we… The morning highlight is meeting several Watches of young people at the Outward Bound School. I love our visits to the NZ Outward Bound School  and I especially enjoy listening to students as they recount their experiences and reveal what they have discovered about themselves and as they talk of their hopes for the future. It gives me great hope. Baker Watch are ready to do their service activity. Gloves, spades, pruning shears, grubbers... Shackleton and Hillary Watches  are preparing to set off on the cutters. Sailing and rowing lie ahead. This brings back memories of my experience in Cobham Watch in 2004. Meanwhile Baker Watch have begun their service activity and quickly have the gardens trimmed.

We are on our way to meet some special people before we board the Blue Bridge Straitsman ferry. We avoid tangling with some agricultural machinery on the way. First an early morning coffee stop with Brian and Jo near Martinborough. We met Brian and Jo in Fairbanks last year when we were all  riding north to Prudhoe Bay. They later rode the lower 48 states of the USA while we were riding to Patagonia. Next stop is a catch up with our fellow Team Kiwi member, Ken and a quick stop to see Frank. Hi Shirley, we were sorry to miss you. We wait while the Straitsman ferry is loaded. The blue-shrouded Beehive parliament building is across the road from the terminal. Serious peddlers are waiting to board the ferry, too. I get chat with some of them.  Werner from Munich and Nick a kiwi recently returned and getting to know his homeland by cycling from Cape Reinga to Bluff. I'm happy that we have a motor between our wheels. We enjoy a smooth trip across the Cook Str

It was 22 degC at 8.00am as we set off from Gisborne. A warm and wonderful day ahead for us to  explore back roads and rural roads  through lush pastureland where sheep mustering and sheep shearing are in full swing.  Road cones warn us of men and dogs droving mobs of sheep along the roads. The delicate perfume of wild roses and flowering broom fill the air. Sometimes I listen to music while we ride along. In the morning  I listen to Renee Maurice   StarJam   tutor and winner of NZ Got Talent. We have been fans of hers for years throughout her time at StarJam. Each time I listen a still small voice speaks to me. Today the voice spoke of Mercy from Renee's Quintessential Melody album. Each grievance forgot, Each grudge forgiven Each mind made up That life’s for livin' We know our luck For we’ve been given…. mercy.  Riding on the back of the bike is a good place for grievances to be dealt with and dropped off as we ride along - a wonderful process

It is twelve months since we rode into Ushuaia with Ken and Mark. What a day of hallelujahs that was. Since then we have travelled to far flung places  - Australia(motorcycle circumnavigation), Botswana. Croatia.. We have loved being with family and friends and meeting people along the way. We are on the road from Auckland to Queenstown. We began the big Americas bike ride in Queenstown in May 2012. This trip is going to be a leisurely ride almost the length if New Zealand. There is something special afoot. Being on a motorcycle journey ensures that. First stop  on this journey was at Putaruru with friends from when we lived in Niue, Brian and Shirley.  Memories of life on an isolated atoll came flooding back as we talked. Charlie Clown, my first born, put in an appearance. He is 42 this year. Shirley with Charlie During the next hour or two on the bike my mind was filled with  images prompted by Shirley's amazing photo journal. The day's ride ended at

Pohutukawa decorated our ride from Ohope Beach around the East Coast to Gisborne.  It is a glorious day for a bike ride.  Te Kaha Church Tolaga Bay Wharf