2015 New Zealand
 

Day 3 - 10/09/2015 Invercargill

2015 New Zealand
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ I have a good night’s sleep – about 8 or 9 hours, Jenni not so well. We grab some scones and coffee at a great little bakery just up from the motel and then drive north up the Otago Peninsular to the Royal Albatross Centre. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Lake Otago is spectacular in the early morning light. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Our first stop today is the Albatross Sanctuary at the top of the peninsular 25 kms away. Dark clouds move in. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We get there just as the sanctuary opens at 10:15.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ It costs $NZ45 per person to enter the sanctuary, and is probably good value, but the weather looks bad so we decide not to go in. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The sanctuary is fenced off and only guided tours are allowed into the protected area. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The Wandering Albatross is the largest of the species followed by the Southern Royal Albatross both of which patrol the southern oceans. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The Wandering Albatross has a wingspan of up to 3 metres (about 10 feet). We do not see one. In fact, I have never seen an albatross in flight.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The boulders embedded in the geologic layer are interesting - especially as the layer is so thick. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ That got me wondering about how NZ was born. The answer: NZ and New Caledonia are part of a portion of continental crust, usually referred to as Zealandia. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Around 83 Ma, Zealandia started to separate from Australia forming the Tasman Sea and by 75 Ma, Zealandia was essentially separate from Australia and Antarctica. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The landmasses continued to separate until early Eocene times (53 Ma). The Tasman Sea, and part of Zealandia then locked together with Australia to form the Australian Plate (40 Ma), and a new plate boundary was created between the Australian Plate and Pacific Plate.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Zealandia ended up at a pivot point between the Pacific and Australian Plates with spreading in the south, and convergence in the north where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Australian Plate. Hence lots of earthquakes in NZ. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Then the weather turns. Turns bad that is. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We take a few hasty photos and head for the car. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Our final destination for today is Invercargill some 211 Kms from Dunedin.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We're on our way to Invercargill and just south of Dunedin we pull off the motorway and fill the car. It seems to be very economical and it takes only 28 litres. According to a nearby electronic sign, the temperature is 9.6° and it's raining. We drive into heavy rain on our way south. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Our route takes us from Dunedin to Milton then Balclutha via Highway 1 Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We drive through Milton in the cold and rain and twenty minutes later arrive in the outskirts of Balclutha. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We approach Balclutha's most prominent structure, a concrete road bridge built in 1935 across the Clutha river. The original 1868 wooden bridge was washed away in October 1878 and rebuilt in 1881.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We cross the Clutha River which is the largest river in New Zealand by volume of water, and the country's second longest after the Waikato. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We stay on Hwy1 to Clinton and then diverge onto Hwy 98. This is a shortcut that saves us about 50 kms but at a lower speed. The rain continues and the journey is unpleasant. I should have mentioned, Jenni's doing all of the driving and doing a great job. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ What we thought was heavy rain actually wasn't. The really heavy rain begins in earnest. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We rejoin the highway at Mataura where there is a huge cheese processing plant run by Fonterra. Fonterra is owned by 13,000 NZ dairy farmers and is the world’s largest exporter of dairy products.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ After Mataura, it is short run in to Invercargill where we arrive at 2:30 pm. It has stopped raining but it is still very cold – perhaps 8°. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Our room is really nice but it's a wee bit small. We’re very comfortable though. The heating is good and everything works. After a rest, Jenni asks the owner about the Burt Munro museum. It turns out it’s very close, about a 15 minute walk he says. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We need the walk so we plot a route through Otakaro Park. After about 15 minutes we're half way there. Of concern is the extreme cold and the rain or snow clouds that are hanging about in the distance. I think this windbreak is grown from Monterey cypress which is a species of cypress native to the Central Coast of California. The other common tree used for this purpose in NZ is pinus radiata. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ In Otakaro Park we see the Invercargill Water Tower. It was built in 1889 to supply pressurised water, especially for fighting fires. It was restored in 1989, 100 years later.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We continue our walk past Queen's Park. Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in NZ and one of the southernmost cities in the world. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Anyway, we find the museum which is part of the E Hayes Hardware store. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Hayes was a car/bike nut and the museum has a good collection of motoring memorabilia including a 57 two door Chevvy Bel Air and a 57 Ford Thunderbird. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This is a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupé. The Bel Air was the top-of-the-line model and the external gold trim was factory standard. The external spare wheel was not a factory option however.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ 1957 Ford Thunderbird. The Thunderbird entered production for the 1955 model year as a sporty two seat convertible. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Unlike the Chevrolet Corvette, it was not marketed as a sports car. Ford positioned the Thunderbird as an upscale model in a new market segment, the personal luxury car. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The museum also has many different models of Triumph motorcycle and even a couple of Arial Square Fours. This is a 1970 T100. Kick starter and gear change on the wrong side. It has a double Leading edge front brake. The Japanese bikes had disk brakes and electric starters. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750 - it still had a kick starter but the footbrake was on the right-hand side, the standard position.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The star exhibit in the store is about Invercargill's Burt Munro's motorcycles and the movie of his life called "The World's Fastest Indian". Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ It was a feel-good movie and starred the British actor Sir Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro. His NZ accent was awful. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This bike is rideable and was used in the filming in Utah. There was another replica without an engine that Sir Anthony used to shoot other scenes. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Five replicas were made for the movie. This is one of the two rideable bikes made with a Ducati engine.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The bike in front of us is the actual 1920 Indian with which Burt Munro set many World Speed records. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Burt Munro converted the 1920 Indian from a 600cc side valve engine to a 1 litre OHV engine. He used the hand lever to change gears. The bike has primitive front and rear brakes. The unit at the front, just behind the exhaust pipe, is a magneto. These were common back then and did not need a battery for spark ignition. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ The fuel tank is wedged between the two support arms of the frame. There is no rear suspension but it has a crude spring device at the front. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ He also made his own cylinders, connecting rods and pistons - many times. He was a truly remarkable, admirable man.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This is a 1958 Arial Square Four, 1000 cc and 40 BHP. It was actually two twins one behind the other joined by a gear wheel on the drive side. The rear suspension is a very crude spring heel device that provided limited cushioning. I remember that these bikes had a very smooth sound, very much like a car. Arial went out of business in 1959. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ This is a 1953 G45 Matchless 500 cc twin cylinder race bike. It produces a bit over 40 bhp. I'm interested in this bike because I had a roadgoing version of the same bike. That innocuous looking trailer once belonged to Burt Munro who used it to transport his bike to and from Oreti Beach. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ There were considerable differences between this and the road bike: The crankshaft was an alloy steel forging that featured shrunk on flywheels. The cylinder heads were updated alloy castings with a revised valve train and it had separate cylinders with deep finning to aid cooling. Items such as the camshafts, valve springs, valves and pistons also differed markedly from the road going engine. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ When I was 19, I rode my Matchless twin to Adelaide with my teen friend Freddy Neary. My bike broke down twice, the second time beyond repair at Gundagai. My father brought the bike home on his truck. Freddy's Triumph Thunderbird did the return trip without a hitch. I changed to Triumphs shortly after.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We walk down Dee Street which is very attractive. The weather that we feared would turn for the worse is momentarily calm. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Yeah, a bit corny I know but I am 74 years old remember. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ Many streets in the city are named after rivers in the UK, mainly Scotland. These include the main streets Dee and Tay, as well as those named after the Forth, Tyne, Esk, Don, Thames, Mersey, Ness, Yarrow, Spey, and Eye rivers. Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ We continue down Dee Street and walk back to our motel where we rest for a bit.
Day 3 - 40th Anniversary trip to NZ After our rest, we go to Oreti Beach. This is the beach where Munro used to test his bike. It is roaring forties weather - quite incredible. The wind is so strong it's extremely difficult to stand upright without being blown away. I stay in the car, Jenni rushes to the beach to take this picture after which we hastily abandon our visit. We finish the evening with a Turkish kebab at a restaurant in the middle of Invercargill.    
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