12-19-11

Picton to Westport

I took a little ride around Picton area and looking down at one spot I could see this little farm down along the coast in a small harbor.

This is Mussel Bay and those are mostly fishing boats down there.

LOTS of grapes grown in this area.

Looks like a good kayak or float trip eh?

I saw this oilhead guy broke down off the road and went back to see if I could help. He had it under control (broken speedo cable). He has been down here for six months going around watching Rugby games. Yeah, I dunno why either other than he is German and likes Rugby. He said he didn’t play it.

A little info booth along the road had some neat info. Oh, I am headed over to Westport now and going up nice farming valleys and then over a really nice motorcycle road to the west side.

All along the smaller highways they have one way bridges that sure seem to make sense. One way has the right of way and you need to slow down and be sure the way over the bridge is safe. This was a new one on me but the same rules apply. The road cuts really close to the mountain and is only wide enough for one vehicle. I had the right of way on this stretch. You can see both ends from either side so if you see  someone coming the other way you can either Yield or take the road across first.

wide open beaches and no foot prints. I will have to say that a huge storm just passed thru and it dumped a whole lot of rain in places. In Nelson, where I was staying while I got my motorcycle running and licensed, they had a half a meter (over a foot and a half ) of rain in one day….. That is a LOT of rain and broke records and started mud slides and lots of flooding. I am glad I was gone and was over in Picton which was not far away but only got a little rain from it.

I was almost a cloud forest are here so the top of this tree is in a cloud.

I rode though this little town and came past this yard that someone has really done a lot of work turning it into a major garden food production area. It is always so nice to see someone tear out a dumb lawn and get the ground in production for the house.

stopped in at a little store and found some cool soaps and regular farmer gear for sale.

gum boots.

nice display of electric fencing gear.

I came walking out of that store and this guy comes up and says “I don’t know what your were doing, and I am not paranoid, but I would like to know what you took a photo of MY yard for?”   His name turns out to be Tim and he has been living in that house about two years. He tore out the big pine tree in the front yard and is putting in a garden that he eats. He is a vegetarian and likes good food, YEAH!!! I really liked him right away and asked what he was doing in this little town. It turns out that he is a travel agent and works for an Indian company. He sent me his business address and if anyone out there has been thinking about going to India, give him a try. http://www.indianpanorama.in/   Actually riding along after meeting him, I have been thinking of India. My friend Peter, who I rode his R80G/SPD in OZ, shipped his R80 over to India and rode it all the way over to London before shipping hit back to OZ. Humm, I hear some guys go over and rent/buy those New old style BSA’s and ride around.

I like to stop at the little graveyards and look around. The oldest ones were buried around 1904.

Check this guy out…. He looks like he played a lot of lawm bowling but the main thing is that he died at 63!!!! Gotta get going folks before ya quit breathing. At 63 I had not even made it to Kiwi land yet.

A huge green house project. I couldn’t see what they were growing but wow what high roofs, must be 12 feet high or so.

Hey Tova, nice sea grass holding the sand here. Tova does dune restoration down in the Florida panhandle.

a flw flowers….for those that are needy, this winter, up north.