Day 7 - Te Anau to Undecided.

A week on the road and we’re starting to really get the most out of the bike.
We’ve done around 1200km now and it’s turning out to be a real special. It’s run in beautifully and the fuel economy has got better and better by the day.
It’s now averaging around 16.9km/l – 2 up with a heap of cameras and gear. I know because I’ve come to grips with the array of functions available from the on-board trip computer. Also handy today was the readout for range left in the tank.

We left Te Anau reasonably early with the day’s destination ‘undecided’.
After the terrible weather that prevailed for most of the first few days on tour, the day’s sunshine and 20c temperatures were most welcome.

By the time we were skirting Lake Wakatipu, South of Queenstown, conditions were close to ideal. Sunny breaks and virtually no wind prevailed.

The ride along the lake, in the shadows of ‘The Remarkables’ (mountain range, was one of the great sights of the tour.
We decided to by-pass Queenstown and push on to the middle of the Island, stopping at Cromwell for lunch instead.
From Cromwell we made excellent time through Lindis Pass and on to Central Otago and the Mackenzie District. Lindis is probably the least spectacular ‘Pass’ on the Mainland, but it is a great ride nonetheless, and its long sweepers are ideally suited to the big V and the crossing was a delight.
For such a big bike it really is a joy to chuck around and its handling is really confidence inspiring.

Beyond Lindis the landscape in Central Otago is completely different to anything we have encountered on the trip so far. Brown and relatively dry, the vast plains are ringed on all sides by towering peaks. The snow capped Southern Alps lie to the West and the Hawkdun Range and Benmore Peak (1863m) to the East.

The bike purred along with the now fully run-in engine providing good overtaking power for dealing with the many tour buses and camper vans on the road. Then after putting the obstacles in the mirrors, it a just a matter of engaging the cruise control and sit back and watch more of the amazing landscape roll by.
We arrived at our tentative destination of Twizel at around 4pm but with conditions still ideal we decided to push on to Mt Cook.

Unfortunately at 3,754m the Mountain makes its own weather and it wasn’t playing ball. Shrouded in mist and light rain, only the bottom half was visible.

The ride in along Route 80 was worth the effort many fold anyway.
We considered checking in to the Hermitage hotel at the foot of the Mount, but at $200+ per night and with little chance of the cloud that encased the upper half of the slopes unlikely to clear before Thursday we headed back towards Twizel.
When we got to the Route 8 junction we decided to push on to Lake Tekapo instead - and that’s where we’re hunkered down in the brand new Pepper’s Resort for night 7.

The lakes in the district are an amazing azure blue and Tekapo is no exception. Quite stunning.
Tomorrow we’re heading back to Christchurch to (reluctantly) return the motorcycle. We’ll take in a few more sights and snap a few more pics on the way back.
More soon
BD.

PS - how about this for a job - this cliff overhangs the main road near Queenstown and this Helicopter was flying very close to it so as to dislodge any loose rocks whilst the road is temporarily closed.