Radioman Rides the World.......

Yes Milford Sound today, Doubtful Sound tomorrow. A room sounds good, will PM you!

Without a doubt some of the nicest folks on the planet. Must be related to Newfoundlanders

Both of which I have been able to experience first hand - no one does it better in my opinion when it comes to welcoming people. So jealous of this ride right now...

YK

Why is road metal called metal?

The original sense was much broader. The English word comes from Latin metallum, a mine or quarry. So a metal was anything useful that had been extracted from the ground. Since most of the substances men searched for were what we now call metals (gold, silver, tin, copper, and the like), the shift of sense is easy to understand. Another shift of sense, to a figurative one, plus a change of spelling, gave us mettle.

Something a metal road can sometimes cause you to prove.

It may be possible to use the GS-911 on a Mac or if you install a linux dual boot on your mac:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=653860

https://sites.google.com/site/gswarewiki/main_page/gs-911-without-windows

Installing Ubuntu Linux on a Mac:

http://tech-devnet.blogspot.de/2012/05/running-ubuntu-1204-on-mac.html

I have been very fortunate to have such great weather on my ride. In the 21 months on the road now, I have only had 3-4 days that I have had to ride in the rain :) Watching the weather for certain places to ride has been helpful for seeing spectacular places with good weather, that and having time to adjust my routes to take advantage of weather!

Said goodbye to Dick and Diana Hubbard. My friends and wonderful, generous Hosts who have shared to much with me in my time in NZ (and SA)! Cannot thank them enough, and also know that it is only goodbye until we meet up again somewhere!!



All packed up. Ready to ride again!



On the road again...




Then I stopped on the other side of the lake to pick up a jacket I had left there the night before. Had a wonderful chat with Anne and Joe (and Barbara) before I headed back onto the road! Thank You so much for dinner and Pie!!



Thanks! Hope to see you at your new place in Idaho! More Americans loose in the world! More great experiences for me as I meet amazing people!



I arrived in Manapouri and found a motel. Got a Motorcycle discount!! Has a view out to the Fjords and lake across the street and I will be able to walk to my Doubtful Sound boat trip!



But the weather looks better going to Milford Sound in the morning!

I roll out of town the next morning for the 120Km ride to Milford Sound!



I love the road signs here. Lots of tourists that need reminders of which side of the road to be on :)



Feels like fall. This was the coldest I had ridden in since leaving Ushuaia couple months ago. It was cool and crisp!!



Riding up the road to Fjordland National park. I just knew that it would be an amazing ride with scenery that you cannot capture!



Scenery to great to capture, and nice twisty roads. Great combination, but did not encourage me to stop riding..... until the end of the road!



Stunning and huge rock faces.... Makes you feel very small and insignificant. But also in awe of the beauty of the area!





Through the tunnel to the other side.





Arriving at the end of the road. Sun is shining, blue skies, not one cloud to be seen. That is amazing as Milford gets 10-14 Meters of rain each year :huh



I walk down to the dock and pay for a cruise on the sound. Look my ship has arrived!





Some waterfalls, but it has been a dry year so not too many to see.





It is hard to gain perspective of the size of the fjord. But look for the boats ....





As with many of the main attractions, there are tour buses loaded with travelers. We happened to be on a boat full of Chinese tourists.



Everyone stacking up on the railing to get the perfect shot!





We cruise out to the edge of the Tasman Sea! Normally there are big swells here, but not today



I met two very nice american woman. Holly and Marisa! Great sharing the boat ride together, even if the bees where attacking you both! They are in the crowd trying to get the fur seal photos!





Amazing day. No wind, warm, sunny! Really amazing!!





Difficult lighting, but huge waterfall.



Just a stunning place!!



You can clearly see the path of the glaciers



As I ride back out of the park. the size of the rock face is amazing!





back out of the tunnel.



fortunately I passed all the cars and buses heading up the hill, and had clear road ahead of me !!





Had an awesome ride back to the motel. Great weather, sunset on the deck of the motel.





An Epic sightseeing day!!

Mark, I started reading your report back in February and with time to get in a few pages each day, I am finally here. This report is just awesome and obviously you are an awesome individual. I noticed earlier in the report, as you were on the east US coast, you stayed with some of my friends here in western NC and another one mounted some new rubber for you I have found your story to be so easy to relate to. I won't go into a lot of detail, maybe some day I will be fortunate enough to meet you and can share more. I gave up my motorcycling for several years while my wife battled breast cancer. She passed on in 2005 and my attention then was to my 12 year old daughter and 14 year old son. Trying to be both parents and be certain that they were OK is not easy and really not possible but they have done great. My son starts grad school in the fall and my daughter is now in her sophomore year in college. I have been back to my motorcycling for several years now and I am so blessed as I have a wonderful lady in my life, AND she is a wonderful pillion rider. No doubt your life will be blessed as well.

Maybe we will meet you out on our travels or please give me a PM if you get this way again. We will be following you as will all those who have had the good fortune to meet you and know you.

Ed

In Fjordland there are two main trips that people do by boat (I am sure there might be others too). Doubtful Sound will be my second. The boat leaves Manapouri to cross the lake, visit the power station, then bus you 22KM through the mountains to the boat in doubtful sound!



Wake up to another sunny day!! Catch the boat..... Gonna be a great day!





Fjordland is one of the rainiest places on earth. 250 days of rain I am told.... But today is great!



We make our way to west bay.



The mountains are big and majestic



And a rainbow to start the day!



After we get to West Bay, we take a bus to see the Largest Hydro electric Power Station in NZ



It was built in the 60's and was an amazing engineering feat. We also protested by many at the time since it is inside a National Park. And the primary use was to get power to an Aluminium plant.

Cool Mock up. We had to drive down a two KM tunnel to get to the power station.



This is just the top of the turbines. But it is a huge place.





I am not a real fan of tours, on the boat, onto the bus, onto the boat etc. But it is the way to see the sights here. As we drove across the mountains the rainforest is lush and full of Beech trees.



As we crest the Wilmot pass at 1,800 Feet we get a great view of Doubtful sound!





Then down the hill to catch another boat. Leaving to moorage



4 hours cruising up and back on the sound!



It was great meeting other travelers. Met Wayne and his wife Jane from Australia. They are repeat travelers on Ferriswheelsafari motorbike rides, and will be heading to Iceland in May!

Lots of places to view on the boat.



Just a very scenic area. But without much rain lately, not many waterfalls either. But I am liking the sunshine!







Some waterfalls.



We cruised out to the edge of the Tasman sea.



A large cruise ship heading out!



Too many photos to share!



The mountains go up 4,000+ feet. It is amazing



Hard to have perspective, but some Kayakers paddling nearby!



At one point they cut the engines, had some time of silence so we could hear the birds and enjoy the moment!

Bus rear grill.. :lol



Heading back to Manapouri after a wonderful day on Doubtful sound!





I stayed in a motel with a great view out over the lake and mountains the past few nights while exploring the area!



Good night!

HECK this may be the best ride report EVER! This morning I was in Ecuador with the Radioman on an F800 and this afternoon I am in India with him on a Royal Enfield!!!

Indeed! Following along every day but it took me I think a month to catch up from the start, I enjoy every single update.

Me too...just trying to get current

I went to click on the next page, and realized there isn't one...yet. Not quite sure how I stumbled upon this particular ride report, but I've read every page of it over the past few weeks - sometimes one page at a time, sometimes 30. Pretty amazing journey you're on here, Rman - thanks for bringing all of us along. I also read the backstory that ultimately led you to where/who you are today, and am sorry for your loss. Your positive outlook on life is both inspirational and infectious.

Consider this my first "real" post; the other two I've made were just "Dibs - PM sent" messages as I buy gear for my first ever ADV ride here in a few weeks.

Thanks! always great to have a comment from a non poster!! Cheers thanks for joining and following along!

Love it..beautiful pictures,amaizing adventure!
Thank you for sharing your story.

Are you coming back up through the North Island again? David

Yes. Working out the timing. Where does Time go? I need to be in be in auckland on April 6th. Flying out April 14th.

will be heading north soon!

Thanks for posting up!!

I'm a bit late catching up with your trip... I'm on the east coast, near Tauranga. I imagine you'll be on a more direct route back to Auckland, but if you do end up with some time I'd like to buy you a coffee, even on the road somewhere through the Waikato.

I will be riding up the East coast for sure... just do not know timing. PM sent! Thanks!

Great Mark - will hopefully catch up but if not, safe travels.