Looking back at New zealand

It would be a shame and a disservice to Jim to not complete the blog of the remaining portion of our trip.  It was such a wonderful time and we were able to create so many good memories.  It feels strange to be posting photos of Jim after all that happened, but I am convinced he would have it that way if he had a vote.  Jim enjoyed lfe to the last second, I am sure.  I am priveleged to be able to share some of that online.

While we were in Nelson, we happened to find out about an International Rugby game which had been moved at the last minute.  The Canterbury Crusaders were playing the Waratahs for Australia.  The seats were all sold out so we ahd to sit on the grass.  Jim was able to score some GREAT corn dogs so we had good nutrition for the game.  The beer booth was right behind us.  That is a can of Tui beer on the wall, probably empty already.  Gotta wash good chow down with good beer.

The Cantebury Crusaders (Christchurch) was the home team so they put on a show before the game.

In Nelson we got to stay in this lovely little English-style hotel with a nice little backyard and a little moat.

Wendy and I could not wait for the arrival of the Queen for tea so we went ahead without her.  Oops, I guess that is not tea. 

But ah, the Queen did finally arrive. 

Next morning it was time to hit the highway.  We rode along the north side of the island, going Westward towards Pohara.  Wendy was very relaxed as she contemplated the ride ahead and got herself ready.



The road over the Takaka Hills lived up to her expectations.  It really was WAY scarier that this photo would indicate.

We stopped along the way for breakfast at a little town on the way.  Jim and I referred to each other as our Mud Buddy, because of the coating we got while riding the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay a couple of years ago.  This sign presented a photo op I could not pass up.

The Kiwis really know how to make a quality cup of coffee.  Never got one on the trip that was not excellent.

We ended up in the little town of Pohara, along the North shore, and the cottage we rented was one of a little group right on the beach.  Wendy could not even wait to get her gear off before looking for seashells.  Remember, we left Alaska in the winter.

The cottages were cute.  Here Jim and Lynndeen are coning out to join us for a walk down the beach for a mile or so to dinner.  Enjoy every minute of your life if you can, because you never know when the last time you will have dinner together will be.

And it was a good one.

And I believe we celebrated with a little toast after dinner.

The next morning dawned clear and beautiful.    We had to go over the Takaka Hills again, which was just torture, of course (har har).  It is one of the most cool motorcycling roads I have been on.  Jim left me behind, and we both left the girls way behind.  Check back here because I am going to post a video of the ride that morning but I do not have access to it right now.  We stopped in Mokueta for one of their legendary cups of coffee and then rode up the Mokueta River Valley.  After that, we rode out heading for Westport, stopping for lunch in Murchison.  We were having a good day, but of course it all ended very badly not far beyond Murchison.  To Jim!!

Jim's Passing

As a sad ending to an otherwise wonderful journey, Jim Knapp passed away peacefully today in Wellington NZ.  He has been very comfortable for several days.  Lynndeen and Jim's sister and their Daughter Lorena were at his side.  His ordeal and theirs is over and we are grateful for that.  They will return to Alaska with his remains and there is talk of a celebration of life at some point. 

Trip is about over

Just an update.  Wendy and I have gotten back to Nelson after several days in the Marlborough Sound with our Kiwi friends, Joe and Kay.  We got to fish, sightsee and possum hunt.  It is all overshadowed of course by Jims condition, which as far as we know has not changed significantly. 

We will fly out of Nelson tomorrow and out of NZ the next day.  Sorry, no pictures this time either.  I will try once we are back home.

tuesday March 9th

No word on any change inJim's status today.  We are hoping.

Wendy and I have returned to the South Island and spent the night here last night in Nelson.  We had left all our stuff here.  We are going to try to drive around some and get our minds off things if we can and be ready to go back North if the need arises.  We had made reservations in Picton, about three hours away, and se will use them tonight probably.

Terrible news

It is so hard to write this.  Things took a bad turn on Monday when Jim had a bad accident and ended up with a serious head injury.  He is in a hospital in Wellington NZ in the ICU and has brain trauma to some extent.  The extent will be unknown for a while.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  Lynndeen is with him and we are with her.  Their daughters came in today and will stay for a bit. 

Jim failed to get through a curve in the Buller Forge area.  I was behind him and saw things happening.  Hard to forget that. 

At present, they have discontinued the medications that were keeping him very sedated, and as they wear off they will be able to begin assessing how much damage there is.  He has some other comparitively minor injuries such as a fractured clavicle, broken ribs and a broken nose.  All those are fairly predictable and fixable.  The possible results of the head injury cover the whole range.  I will attempt to keep the blog up to date.

So sorry to have to inform anyone of this.  The worst moment was waiting for Wendy and Lynndeen, who were riding several minutes behind us, to show up at the scene and have to tell them what had happened.   Keep them in your thoughts.

March 5th

We have done a bit of driving the last few days, moving from the West Coast up to Nelson.  It is going well with reasonable weather and everyone is enjoying the trip.  We stopped at a steam museum in Wakefield which was actually closed but the two old blokes that ram the place let us roam the grounds and they even started up a couple of the old tractors for us.  They  even had an old Gravely in the barn!

Then we progressed along up the Buller Gorge and saw evidence of recent floods and earthquakes.  This place makes Alaska seem placid!  We ALL (including Wendy) crossed a suspension bridge over a flooding river just for the sake of doing it and taking a walk on the other side.  Here is Jim and Lynndeen halfway across.

Then we got to Nelson and were able to pick up the bikes a day early.  Dang!  We all have a bit of the jitters because of driving on the left side of the road.  the straightaways are easy but doing corners and roundabouts takes a bit of concentration!  Lots of errors but no real mishaps. We are getting ready to check out of this cute little cottage we stayed in last night in Nelson and are headed up to Abel Tasman Park where we have a little beach place near Pohara.

More later as we get the bike portion of the trip underway.

West Coast New Zealand

Well we are alive and well but have had a couple of days of limited wireless access. Thus no news from us.
We stayed one night in the Fox Glacier area. We were able to walk into the town and get a nice dinner. Next AM we walked up to the glacier itself. We have seen plenty of glaciers in Alaska but every one is unique and this one was no exception.

Then we drove on to Greymouth and stayed for two nights there ina downtown hotel. We were supposed to visit the Quinns in Greymouth, but their trip had major disruption and they were not with us. They had left a very welcome note for us at the front desk on arrival. Greynouth is very industrial, located on a river mouth. While there we took a tubing trip through a cave with glow worms on the ceiling which was very cool. Jim and I did some cliff jumping into the river. We found a great Irish pub with Murphy Stout on tap and all was well for a while. We got to tour a brewery Monteiths and sample all their wares. On the tour were a bunch of stodgy Brits who we had to work on loosening up in the tasting room.

On Monday we got back in the van and drove further North to Karamea, a little idyllic town on the coast. On the way we stopped and walked for several miles on Foulwind cape and saw a cool lighthouse and a big seal colony. The have several species of flightless birds here like the Kiwi. We encountered one called the Weka on the trail. They look like a duck but have no wings.

Karamea is near the end of the road and gets very little tourist traffic in comparison. Jim and I did a little fishing and the girls walked about exploring. They came back with more than we did. The owner of the hotel is a retired dairy farmer and a great guy. We had dinner with them at their home last night and had a pleasant evening.

 It is a friendship with a future as they are planning a trip to Alaska nex summer and we have made plans to host them for part of it. They invited us to stay a third night no charge and since it is a typhoon outside we are going to take them up on it. We ate Red Snapper with them which he caught off the beach at his former dairy farm. The pastures here go right down to the beach and there are hundreds of miles of them. He had a unique method of fishing. He has a powered torpedo sort of thing which he points out to sea and it drags several hundred yards of heavy line with it. The line has places to clip short leaders on with hooks and bait on the ends of the leaders, like halibut long lines. Then he reels it back in after a while and gets the fish, if anny took the bait. They also scuba dive right off the beach and get plentiful crawfish, which we call lobsters, and eat them in abundance. Limit 6 per day per diver. Not a bad spot of the globe I Would say.

We are still at their place and plan on heading over to the East probably tomorrow, arriving in Nelson around the 4^th to begin the Motorcycle portion of the trip. I will post this and add pictures later today.  Dick