Lumsden

MikeO

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Location
Dereham, Norfolk, today...
8th March 2017

Beautiful morning...

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More later...
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is it the home of grinders ?
 
8th March 2017 (cont)

I don't sleep too well. I got a number of sand-fly bites when I was up in the Golden Bay area and they are persistently itching. I find the only thing in my medical arsenal which relives the itching is taking about three Benadryl tablets (I have thousands of them - a generic brand). The trouble is, taking these in that quantity makes me drowsy. when they wear off whilst I'm asleep, I find I've scratched the bites badly in my sleep. I should probably find a pharmacy and get something topical...

Anyway - a good hot shower starts the day well. I don't have far to go - the town of Lumsden is only about two and a bit hours south of here. I'm booked into the Lumsden Hotel for two nights and will be having a long day tomorrow...

I get kitted up and pack the bike, secure in its garage, then tidy the apartment up and press the door closure button and dash out before it closes. I press the starter at 0920 and set off into the traffic of Wanaka. I've not eaten since brunch yesterday, so mosey into town where I find...

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...the Beanie Café...

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...where the lovely Jess - from just north of Liverpool, and who's been working here for 18 months - brings me...

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...a spot of breakfast - with HP Sauce!
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- and a beautifully crafted flat white coffee...
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Half an hour or so later, I get back abroad the Adv and start to follow Bettie's route out of Wanaka...

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...where I spot this old split-screen Morris 1000

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It's beautifully sunny, with virtually no cloud...

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...but it is far from warm - I switch the heated grips to low for a bit - and then to high...

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I'm going to follow the route I originally took on the way to Invercargill...

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The roads are quiet to start with and it's easy to keep up a good average speed...

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...but it's positively cold in the shade. I am planning an early start in the morning and will need to layer up well...

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But - hey - I'm not at work...
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After a while I start up the slow and twisty climb up the Crown Range Road, which unfortunately is quite busy with traffic - almost exclusively hire cars and camper vans...

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I manage to pick a few off and get a clear run up to the summit...

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...where I pull over at the overlook to take some pics...

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The air is not as clear as yesterday afternoon, so the definition suffers a little...

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But it's still a breath-taking view...

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...and a gorgeous road to ride...

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So the morning isn't completely wasted...
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It's a bit chilly up here, though...

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I ride through the permanently busy outskirts of Queenstown, where an Air New Zealand jet is lining up for take-off...

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...and carry on south on the Southern Scenic Route...

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...where pretty soon...

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...I meet my old friend Lake Wakatipu again...

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Plenty of other riders are taking advantage of the weather...

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...and why not?

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All too soon I am running out of lake...

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...and I keep heading towards Lumsden - just a little way down the road now...

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Keeping the speed down on roads like this is an exercise in self-control...
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I notice that there's a light dusting of snow now, even on the tops of these grassed hills - [Ned Stark] Winter is coming [/Ned Stark]...

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Sneaked in a bridge shot there...

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I am on finals for Lumsden now...,

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It's only 1230, so I take a slow nose about the town, finding a couple of old shunting engines and coal trucks on display (there's no railway line here now)...

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...before going to the Lumsden Hotel...

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...where I park the Adv in the back yard...

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...to be guarded by Woofer...

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My room isn't ready yet, so I set up in the bar and upload the pics and start the journal, aided by a pint or two of Steinlager (whatever that is
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).

Good day, if a short one...

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8th March 2017 (cont again)

Having posted my journal update, I went in search of a pharmacy - where the very helpful Pam sold me...

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...Soov - itch relief for dyslexics. I put some on and it works immediately...
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Walking back to the hotel, I am intrigued by the Route 6 Café, so pop in for a coffee...

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Now that's quite an impressive counter, I think you'll agree...

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Anybody want to guess make/model/age?

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On the way out, I noticed that the café is also home to the town's PO Boxes...

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Must be getting close to my hotel...
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I refuel the Adv in preparation for tomorrow and then transfer everything but the essentials up to my room. I want to be travelling lightweight (relatively speaking
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) tomorrow...

Weird bit of art in the pub...

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Thanks for posting Mike...........really enjoyed the write up and photos....:beerjug:
 
Mike,

Excellent RR as ever - it doesn't look half as cold as you report from my armchair.

You beat me to it, recommending Soov - brilliant for mossie bites too. TOP TIP TO ALL - buy some when visiting Oz or NZ as I haven't found anything in UK that works as well as it does.

Hurry up to North Island will you? I've not been there yet....

A
 


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