UK and Iceland

I was going to wash the car, but it’s raining, so I had better do the blog instead.

These pictures were taken on our bi-annual Blighty trip to visit family and friends. We also managed a side excursion to Iceland.

The whole vibe of this trip was much more positive than the last one and consequently was one of our most enjoyable visits, albeit much too short.

The highlight for me was my sister Aprils wedding to Sean. To be honest, the last couple of years have been rather grim and unsettling so it was a privilege to attend such a joyous and positive occasion. It was all very low key with the ceremony taking place at the Harlow registry office with the reception held in April and Sean’s garden, but all the better for it without any of the stuffiness and formality of a church wedding.

 April, Sean, Thomas and Daniel.

The Glynn clan.

Below are random photo's taken on our various escapades on the UK leg of our trip.

 Somewhere near Malvern with Robin, Eddie and Neena.

 Worcestershire Beacon.

 A rather lovely church, again somewhere in the Malvern area.

 I didn't catch much, but had a great day fishing at Dobb's Weir.

Clacton.The new wheels.

As befitting its name Iceland was rather cold and wet, but great fun all the same. If you are into waterfalls and geysers and being cold and wet then this is the place for you. If your idea of a holiday is stuffing yourself full of ice-cream and chips on the Costa del Sol, then avoid like the plague.

 Geysir doing its business.

The geysir erupted every few minutes and varied in intensity quite a bit.

Neena and I

Gulfoss.  I didn't really get any great pictures as the weather was particularly foul at this point and I was having to clean the camera lens every few seconds.

Gulfoss - not a good place to fall in.

This one was taken a little way below Gulfoss.

 On the road

The wheels. Our hire car was the size of a truck, went like the clappers and I want one for Xmas.

Moss

 Seljalandsfoss

There was a track running behind the waterfall, which of course we just had to do.

How to get real wet, real quick.

 Skógafoss - the perfect waterfall.

This was taken on our last day in Iceland and lo and behold the sun decided to make a belated appearance, hence the rainbows.

On the way to the Myrdalsjokull glacier. In stark contrast to the rest of the trip the weather was glorious and was real tee shirt and shorts stuff at times.

 The Myrdalsjokull glacier. It was about a 20 minute walk to the terminal face.

Wise advice I am sure, but what the heck....

My brother Robin, risking life and limb.

Yours truly.

     

Waiopehu Hut

I went on an overnight walk to Waiopehu Hut with the Wellington Tramping and Mountaineering Club (WTMC). The hut is situated in the northern Tararua's right on the bushline at 900m.

The Tararua range and was taken on the way to the (Poads Road) roadend.

On the way up we went via the Waiopehu Hut – Ohau track and on the way back via the Gable End Ridge track.

This shows the middle part of the walk.We came up via Bush Corner and Back along the yellow track from Richards Knob.

The weather in the few days before the walk had been absolutely foul with ice cold southerlies and snow down to low levels. Come the day of the walk however, the weather had miraculously turned with wall to wall sunshine and not a breath of wind. It was still cold though.

The walk up to the hut was quite long, but not particularly steep, and as we ascended the odd patch of snow appeared and gradually increased in depth to 30cm or so at the hut. This is a nice depth to be walking in as it is enough to make it fun. Any more than this and the going tends to become hard and tiring.

 The start of the walk.

 Just about to enter the bush.

 As we ascended we started to see a few patches of snow.

 Further up and more snow.

 Up at the treeline.

Above the trees, close to the hut looking over to the main range.

The hut had some rather stunning views over to the main Tararua range on one side and the Kapiti coast on the other. Mount Taranaki and Mt Ruapehu, both several hundred km away, were clearly visible and resplendently capped in snow.

 Waiopehu Hut.

Sunset.

The hut itself was nice enough, if a bit chilly. There were nine of us in the party and by the time we had finished cooking and with a bit of collective body heat the place warmed up nicely. Mind you our gas stoves were on a fair bit, as the hut’s water tank was frozen so we had to melt a lot of snow for cooking. Snow typically, by volume, is about 90% air to give you an idea of how much you need, even for even a cup of tea.

Unsurprisingly, the next day started off freezing cold. One of my least favourite tasks is getting out off a nice warm sleeping bag and putting on cold, damp boots, but there was walking to be done.

Starting out the next day.

From the hut the track climbs steeply up to the memorial on Twin Peak (1097m) which marks the highest point on the track. From here the track follows the Gable End Ridge taking in the splendidly named Richards Knob. As is so often the case with ridge walking, this part of the walk involved lots of ascending and descending and was a lot tougher than the first days walk. The snow, and then lower down the mud (lots of mud!) made things a little tricky at times, but around 7 hours after we left the hut, we arrived back at the roadend.

 Walking along Gable End Ridge.

 Richards Knob.

You can see the track zig-zagging  its way along the ridge.

Apologies, but I didn’t take any pictures beyond this point. I had a splitting headache, most likely due to dehydration, and had lost any interest in taking pictures. From this point on you will have to use your imagination. If you imagine another 5 hours of slogging through the snow and mud, you will be on the right track.

Tongariro National Park on the MT-01

Having brought a new bike (see the previous post) the temptation to give it a good thrashing was just too great. The forecast for the coming weekend was superb, so I jumped on my Yamaha MT-01 and headed up to the Tongariro National Park, staying the night in Ohakune and then heading back to Wellington the next day. This is my favourite part of the North Island and I always love riding up there.

 The mighty MT-01

 Mt Ngauruhoe

 Mt Ruapehu

  Mt Ngauruhoe, taken from just below the Whakapapa ski resort.

As was this.

Ohakune.

Yamaha MT-01 Review

Before getting onto the review, I thought I would make a few notes on why I brought an MT-01 in the first place.

I have had a Bandit 1250 for the last three years and have carried out all sorts of modifications resulting in a really nice all round machine. The bike is good in the twisties, great for touring and goes like the clappers. I love the bike, but can find it frustrating at times, and it also lacks a certain visceral appeal.

The engine has had a stage 2 tune including new headers and removal of the throttle body secondary butterfly valves. Prior to this the bike pulled like a train, but ran out of puff at 7000RPM, whereas now it still pulls like a train, but now accelerates very hard from 7000RPM up to and over 9000RPM, all accompanied by a tremendous howl from the exhaust and induction. The temptation to ride like a lunatic is ever present, and this is where the frustration comes in. Here in New Zealand the speed limit is pretty low at 100km per hour, so I have all this power, but can’t really use it.

Great though the bike sounds and rides, to me it lacks a certain something. Like most riders, I have had plenty of bikes over the years, but on reflection, it has always been the v-twins that have made the most impression on me.

The above got me thinking about maybe getting a second bike - something that I can ride at much lower speeds and still get a buzz from.

I was having a coffee at my favourite café in town, when a guy pulled up on the most extraordinary looking motorcycle, namely a Yamaha MT-01. The bike had, to my eyes, brutal, industrial, almost transformer like styling along with two ludicrously large exhausts. It also had a huge looking v-twin motor which vibrated and shook the entire bike. As ever with bikers, the guy was only too happy to talk about his two-wheeled pride and joy, and reckoned it rode as well as it looked. I was smitten (with the bike that is) and decided there and then that an MT-01 was going to be next bike in the stable.

Funds were rather tight, but that has never stopped me in the past, and to cut a long story short I ended purchasing a 2005 MT-01 with 40K on the clock.

The new wheels.

The heart and soul of any bike is its engine and this is certainly the case with the MT-01, courtesy of a humongous low revving long stroke 1670cc v-twin motor. Usable power starts at about 1300RPM and it is all over by 4500RPM. Mind you, the drive and thrust you get is absolutely instantaneous with the bike flying up to 160km/hr pretty rapidly, though it starts to run out of puff after this. 

Having come from my relatively high revving Bandit a certain amount of adjustment was required, but I quickly got the hang of things.

At low revs you can really feel the v-twins huge pistons firing with the bike feeling like a two-wheeled vibro massage machine. The good news is that this is all low frequency stuff and feels just great. At typical NZ cruising speeds the engine is turning over in the 2 – 3000RPM range at which point the vibes magically disappear with just a distant rumble felt through the bars and seat. Yamaha talk about the bike having Kodo, which is Japanese for a heartbeat or rhythm and I can well see what they mean.

Even with stock cans the bike sounds terrific. The MT may have a cruiser style motor, but certainly doesn’t sound like one, as it emits a bellow somewhere between an outboard motor and a spitfire with some Kodo drums thrown in for good measure. The stock exhaust is surprisingly loud, and this is one of the few bikes I have owned that doesn’t really need an aftermarket item.

Ludicrously large, but just right.

The fuel tank is a tad on the small side at 15litres. In touring mode I get around 220 – 240km and in bonkers mode a lot less than this. This hasn’t proved much of an issue so far, but is something to bear in mind.

A big heavy bike with a cruiser engine doesn’t sound like a recipe for much fun in the bends, but the MT-01 has proved very agile and is a real pleasure to throw around. Yamaha have installed some high quality suspension which gives a firm ride, but which is somehow also compliant and comfortable; none of your budget stuff here, ala my Bandit.

The brakes are also terrific, and once again put my Bandit to shame, but then so they should as the MT-01 costs a great deal more. The brakes I believe come straight of the R1, and have tremendous feel and pull the bike up very well.

From an ergonomic point of view it is mostly good news. The pegs are a little on the high side but are still comfortable and give pretty good ground clearance; certainly more than I am ever likely to need.

I brought the bike on Trademe without a test ride, which is always a bit of a risk. The advert showed the MT-01 with what looked like fairly stock mirrors but when I picked it up found that the owner had swapped them over for another set. I was pretty pissed about this, but let it go in the end.

The mirrors were absolute garbage and looked like they had been sourced from the nearest skip. They were rusty, vibrated badly and offered zero view behind me. This was cured by installing new bar end weights and bar end mirrors which combined gave me a clear view behind with no vibration and a rather nice street fighter look.

The seat is heavily scalloped and a bit like sitting on a spoon, and results in you being locked into one position, but is comfortable all the same. 

The riding position overall is very nice, with a gentle lean to the bars and surprisingly good protection from the small screen. I have no idea of the make of the screen, but it does a good job and is well made. My original plan was to remove it for that that naked look, but it seems to suit the bike, so has been given a reprieve.

A special mention must go to the truly excellent clocks. It is the little stuff like this that makes so much difference and makes you feel that you are riding something special and not just some appliance. The large circular unit is dominated by an analogue rev-counter, with an easily read digital display situated below it. The whole instrument setup including the sculptured clock support is beautifully designed and emits a lovely eerie white glow at night.

Just lovely.

On the subject of illumination, the headlights are also pretty decent. 

Unlike my Bandit, I don’t see me customising the MT-01 too much, with the exception of maybe installing a scottoiler and a Ventura pack-rack for a bit of added practicality.

It is still fairly early days yet, but so far, I have had as much fun on the MT-01 as any bike I have ever owned (FS1E excepted), which after all, is what it is all about.

The MT-01 was too expensive when new and never really seemed to find a market. It had a cruiser type engine in a sports bike chassis with Yamahas idea being that you get the best of both worlds. Most riders seem to think pretty well the opposite. To me at least, I reckon Yamaha got it right.

Cruise

My idea of a good time is to disappear into the wilderness and not see another soul, so quite how I ended up going on a cruise with over 3000 other people I will never know.

The cruise was a 10 day one departing from Auckland visiting the Pacific islands of The Isle of Pines, Mystery Island, Port Villa, Noumea and Lifou.

The ship was the Pacific Pearl and was jolly big with 14 decks and around 1800 passengers and included numerous restaurants, bars, swimming pools and shops along with a casino, a theatre and a gym. It is a big boat and despite the number of people rarely felt too crowded.

 On the boat.

Heading out of Auckland.

Most food and drink on board is included in the price with only “speciality” items such as booze and lattes and the like costing extra, so overall was spectacular value.

We spent the first two days cruising North with the weather becoming progressively warmer until eventually reaching the Isle of Pines.

There was no port there so we were ferried over to the island on tenders. The island was just lovely and certainly my idea of a tropical paradise. We spent most of the day there snorkelling in amongst the coral reefs or lounging around on the wonderfully sandy beaches. Despite its tropical location there are numerous pine trees scattered around and while they look rather incongruous give the place a unique character.

On the tender to The Isle of Pines.

On The Isle of Pines

The next island to visit was supposed to be Mystery Island but we headed off to Mare Island instead. A couple of weeks ago a category 5 cyclone passed through the area and caused major damage on Mystery Island meaning a visit was not possible.

Mare Island was very pleasant, but not as nice as the Isle of Pines.

The next port of call was Port Villa. This area had also suffered extensive cyclone damage and we were the first cruise ship to call in since the storm. The Pacific Pearl delivered tonnes of relief supplies to the islanders. The best way we could contribute was to boost the local economy by spending money at the various local bars and shops, which we duly did.

I can’t say that Port Villa itself, cyclone damage aside, is that great a destination as the town is full of rather samey shops selling pretty much the same things. My tip, is if you do find yourself in this part of the world, is to book onto one the local tours to check out the various sights on offer. We originally intended to go on a tour to Turtle Island which came highly recommended, but was alas sold out.

At Port Villa.

We were due to sail to Noumea next, but trouble was brewing in the shape of yet another cyclone, namely Cyclone Solo. The storm was tracking straight towards us, so the ship was forced to detour several hundred miles further North to safer waters, which put paid to Noumea and Lifou.

Instead we had a stop at the rather stunning Champagne Bay in Vanuatu. The beach here was superb though despite there being lots of coral, the snorkelling wasn’t that great. Close to the shore much of the coral was dead or dying with consequently fewer fish on view. I am not sure of the reasons behind this but have a horrible feeling, that at least in part, it could be due to the sheer numbers of tourists the cruise liners bring in. A case in point; we were warned numerous times that the coral is very delicate as well as very sharp, but witnessed a number of idiots walking on the coral. Other than that grumble, Champagne Bay was a fine way to end the island hopping part of our cruise.

Champagne Bay.

As a consequence of the cyclone we were further North than planned and had a long three day sail back to Auckland.

On board.

This section of the cruise was not without incident, as due to the storm, we had swells of 6m and more for much of the trip back. I can’t say this bothered me too much as I have endured much worse on the Cook Straight ferry over to the South Island, but there were plenty of people who were disappearing to the loos at a rate of knots, if you excuse the pun.

Arriving back in Auckland.

All in all the cruise was much better than expected. I can’t say that the experience grabbed me the way it did other people, but I would happily go again, not least as we have unfinished business with Mystery Island, Noumea and Lifou.