2-6-12

Loop to Bump

This is one of those Give Way or as we in the USA would say Yeild (one direction has the right of way) the same as some of the single bridges and narrow spots in the highway.

Could be some fish in this little stream. What do you think Sam?

Nothing like a ride through a little rain forest on a small no traffic road.

I got lost or on the wrong road at least and ended up here.

I really like this gate latch, well enough for these dumb sheep but probably not for goats.

These girls have ‘messy’ bottoms and the rams like them cleaned up a little before the ride. This is what they were doing in the yard, waiting to be crutched.

I happened to catch the wool buyer here too. He gave me detailed instructions on how to get unlost. The price of wool has been really good but now has come down a little because there is so much on the market. I think around $4.50/kilo for lambs wool.

I walked out of the library and see my Swiss friend is here also. Went back inside and got him to come with me for a bite of lunch down the street.

Nice trucks here but no match for those Road Trains in OZ. They do have the double steering axels which sure look odd to my eyes.

I was looking at this view thinking about how much work it must have taken to clear the jungle/forest to make this grazing land on the left. The hills must have been a lot of work. It is nice to see that the grazing has kept the jungle in check unlike what has happened to the eastern US where most of that good farmland has reverted back to trees because it wasn’t grazed or mowed.

A little Devils Tower like down in Wyoming. I am headed over to the east coast now to go around that big bump from Opotiki to Gisborn which I have been told by a trucker and a couple of motorcycle guys, is a good motorcycle road and not much traffic. It is supposed to be mainly Maori populated.

These are Kiwi fruit orchard vines. The hostel I stayed in last night had several young guys from India that worked in Kiwi fruit. I guess there are some areas in NZ that have contacted some sort of fungus and have had to pull out the trees. They are in this area because there is no fungus in this area (yet).

Lost of NO OIL DRILLING signs  along the road on this part of the east coast.

A super white church out on the edge of the coast. I like the roof rafters that come down all the way to the ground. Most churches have what they call the flying buttress that helps support these open roofs so they don’t have to do this.

Lots of open empty beaches in these little bays.

Whaz it say? I am in Maori land now.

One of the Maori meeting houses.

I has told that you can camp on the beach anywhere on this large peninsula along the beach. I saw some places that said no camping  but lots of little motor homes as well as tents along the beaches.

I met this couple at a restaurant while getting a cop of coffee and waiting out a little shower. Turns out he is a doctor and has been working in little communities here in NZ. He bought this K75 for $3000 he said and it has been doing very well after putting new tires on it. It sure looked good and had a new shock. Seems like a darn good buy for the money, that is if you can stand the whine…….. LOL.

This is that teasel plant that was used to ‘brush’ wool after it is woven to give it a soft surface, or at least hat is what it was used for a hundred years ago. It was brought to most areas that grew and processed wool. I have seen it almost everywhere I have been in the world.

This was interesting field. Looked like squash from the highway so I took a little side road so I could get into the field. It is not grown in rows and have no idea what it is grown for or how it  would be harvested. I did have a quick glance at a field that looked like it might have been one like this but had been harvested leaving only a few vine stems and a few leaves, still green. Almost like someone just stripped the whole field. I couldn’t go back and see that field easily and figured I might see another where I could stop but never did. I was looking for the farmers house too but struck out on that too. I stopped in at a little shed and found a guy that told me that the farmer has a machine that rolls the vines and squash into rows and then a machine comes along that has a big belt that runs across the rows that take the squash that workers pickup and cut off the vines and put on the belt. the squash then goes to a processor that makes a paste out of them or dries it, both for export, probably to India/ China. the farmer lets everyone pick up the culls and the guy says they are really good. 

Where are the Police?