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Blog entry: 17th December 2016 ‐ Part 2
#SouthIsland2016 #SouthIslandNZ #KatsMotorcycleDiaries
We set off from Larnach Castle, just before midday, taking Camp Road & Highcliff Road back down the Otago Peninsula, then headed south along SH1. We kept to SH1 for pretty much of the ride crossing the magnificent Clutha Bridge, which is a very beautiful man-made structure.
I wish I had stopped to take some photos of it (you'll have to check this google search to see what it's like) but as I mentioned in an earlier post I found it very difficult to stop given the awesome time I had riding. I have to say, I never had this problem in a car, I was always stopping to take photos but a road trip on a bike is so very different. There is such a feeling of freedom that you cannot experience in a car!
Just after 3pm we arrived in Invercargill & headed straight to E Hayes & Sons to check out the Motorworks collection which includes Burt Munro's Indian. It was not the first time that I have been there. My previous visit there has really special memories for me so I was not going to miss an opportunity to return.
Besides being a special place for me, the layout of the works displayed in the middle of a hardware store is fantastic & seems such a natural way to display these awesome motorbikes & cars.
After the stop at E Hayes & Sons, we started what is the most exciting & important part of the journey. We were heading directly to Bluff!
It wasn't a long ride but this was what we set out to do, ride all the way to Bluff from Auckland. The longest part of the ride was winding round the main street of Bluff to Stirling Point as you knew success was just around the next bend or the one after.
Well we made it – Bluff.
In all honesty, the place is not that exciting & the only reason for going there, like many others, is to say you've made it to the most southern part of the South Island & there is of course the obligatory snap of the sign post. That aside, it was an awesome achievement & I enjoyed pretty much all of the journey.
Ok, so we made it to Bluff, what now!?
Well we headed to Riverton to camp for the night. Once again heading along SH1, this time towards Invercargill, then taking SH6 & SH99.
One of the things I loved about entering Riverton is crossing the Riverton Bridge as it brings back memories of my childhood when we would spend some of our school holidays down south visiting the cousins & that usually included visits to Riverton.
We found our night's accommodation at the Riverton Holiday Park which had a nice view of Riverton & felt very remote but that is the feeling you get pretty much anywhere in Riverton. After setting up for the night we headed to the Beach House Café & Bar for some fantastic food. If you are in Riverton, I highly recommend a visit. It was a beautiful evening with a beautiful view. The perfect way to celebrate reaching Bluff. I know above I sound a bit underwhelmed by reaching Bluff but that is not the case. I was stoked at making it there & it was something to celebrate but there really isn't anything else to experience there. The enjoyment was making the journey. So I was proud with what Manny & I had achieved.
The only downside of the evening happened just as we were entering the campground after dinner. Manny was leading & as we approached the camp ground, I was focused on the second entrance into the campground instead of the first entrance, which, Manny was intending & did take. So, I went flying past that entrance. I suddenly stopped & as I stopped my foot slipped on the loose gravel on the side of the road so I ended up dropping myself & Rossi. Instead of stopping, I should have just taken the entrance I had intended.
Little did I know I had an audience & only discovered them after they yelled "Are you ok?" several times across the small valley. It was a group of people who were enjoying a neighbourless party so the music was being pumped out into the night across the grassy fields but they were ready to halt the party to come over to help. I managed, with a bit of yelling, to reassure them I was ok. It was touching to see their concern & readiness to come & help. I then fetched Manny to help me with Rossi. We gave Rossi a quick look over & Manny took her for a quick spin to make sure she was all ok ‐ which she was.
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