Went to day 1 of motofest at Hampton Downs.
That’s me the fatty!
I have always found the Brittens fascinating, ever since he came to Fisher and Paykel to tell us about it all.
Didn’t know that starter motors were not built in.
But anyway later Andrew Stroud had it running for a demo lap or two, along with the other classics and outsiders.
Outstanding also were the KTM guys, they had a good day
Finished 1, 2 and 4 in the 300 class after being 1,2,3 most of the way.
Going back tomorrow.
Port Waikato to the Nikau Cafe in Waikaretu
For a cold drink and some strawberry and rhubarb pie.
New BMW 900 Enduros and GS1300s there, along with a very red Ducati Panigale.
Things are looking quite dry out there in the Waikato, there have been a couple fires alongsode the road to Port Waikato.
Mt. Karioi out there in the background.
I went to Te Akau, then down the Ruakiwi Rd to Raglan.
Talked to the people at the canoe hire there, my old classmate Harry is still living over the other side and paddling across regularly.
Raglan was full of bikes.
Went to see my friends from University Ian and Karen for a cup of tea. Was great to catch up, and keep contact.
Got to look at Mt. Karioi again through their very finely situated lounge window.
A 2017 BMW F800GS Adventure
Ingredients before
And product after, an old favourite, Harissa lamb on eggplants, tomatoes, and red onoins, then with added coriander, pistachios, and pomegranate.
And for myself I finally managed to get the ABS controller coded on my Audi. My mechanic friend left me with the programming device.
What you are seeing there is no error indications.
I managed to get the aircon fan working again too.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.
Heralded by Pohutukawa as is the way here
Moira has gained more mobility
Feifeis parents are here.
Hi I think I have updated this enough now.
China was great, quite a different thing indeed.
11-12 hours in the Airbus to Shanghai PVG
Then not long at all in the Magnetic Levitation train from the airport. 301kmh
First area to visit the French Concession, french flavour from the early 1900s, I think we could have spent a lot of time in this area.
Good public transport, sometimes crowded, QR code on phone for ticket
Underground corridors
Security, bags always x-rayed going in, they want to see any liquid is drinkable.
And old and new buildings about the place.
Some artistic food I did not try
And the well known Shanghai skyline from the Bund.
Heading for 1933 the old slaughter house
Getting there. This is across the road.
And this is it.
Those would have been cattle races I guess.
Looking back across the road.
And at what has been built from the top level.
Awesome brutalism.
Now it is filled with web designers, landscape architects, designers etc, and still being developed.
Old style Shanghai is getting replaced.
Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, the dragon wall, and then more.
Roads
That Shanghai skyline from another direction.
Longhua temple.
The Shanghai Chinese Expo Pavilion
The arrival of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger.
Leader Deng having a smoke.
Back to the river and heading along it to the center
That’s a lot of apartments.
The Museum in Guangzhou.
Traffic
The Chen Clan Academy
Alleyways
Could remind me of work!
Old Guangzhou
Date and Yam seller with dozing driver
Fresh dates
More alleyways and street scenes, I really like the alleyways.
Then to the stuff I don’t know what it is, what part of an animal, dried, or plant or fungus.
Sending money to dead relatives
Shamain island in Guangzhou
I asked this guy what the thing was (with pointing and scratching my head). He indicated it was for shoving people, crowd control.
They were outside a Primary school that was closing for the day. I don’t know what the threat is but they look to take it fairly seriously
Not far along the kids are just kids though.
Travel in China needs a phone, Alipay, a VPN to get to real internet for Alipay to talk to the bank, powerbanksto keep the phone going, Cameras to charge…
I improved the solution while I was there
And there are these rental powerbanks all over the place
Off to see the five rams, or goats or sheep that brought prosperity to Guangzhou, first a park.
A classy dragon
Reminders of the excesses of the Japanese in an architecture exhibition.
The beasts
Back to the commercial world
And a Bhuddist temple in Guangzhou
Street scenes
A boat trip on the Pearl River, quite the light show they run there
Then a 2 and a half hour bus trip to Shenzhen, to see Leader Deng’s portrait…
A pillow in the Shenzhen Museum.
Rule 3.d keeps the methanol and petrol out.
Then to Window on the World, a n Exhibition, a fun park …
There was going to be a drone show, instead of fireworks that night, but we were too tired to stay for it
Under the pyramids they had quite a fun Indiana Jones odyssey, moving statues, thing swinging in front of you, a mirror maze and puff of air in your face
NY with towers
Back to the street in Shenzhen
And the subway again.
Up to the border at Chung Ying street, where on one side of the rd it is Hong Kong, and the other China, I was not allowed there but hey… Hope the kids liked it, they look suspicious of me, I did find myself to be scary to little Chinese girls.
Then to Dameisha Beach
Lunch at Dameisha Beach was nice, there were prawns too.
Then back to check out a big mall.
Then off again to check out the electronics markets of Shenzhen.
And the museum celebrating the Chinese progress in electronics.
I know what these are with the riot shields now!
Bus back to Guangzhou
And the next day the best coffee I had in China, with good music to match.
Picked up stuff at Jian huas cousins place then back into the pipeline home.
Fly back to Shanghai, Metro all the way across town to Shanghai PVG airport, then 11-12 Hours back to Auckland.
Quite an eye opener really the whole thing.
Scooters, hologram displays …
Easy choice for me!
LOTR country, and also the neighbourhood I grew up in.
Nice to get a great day to go for a ride.
The weather forecast was bad, but we were all booked to go. flew to Queenstown then drove to Te Anau.
Looking at Lake Wakatipu on the way.
Then to Milford sound, I had cancelled the boat trip there because getting there was so uncertain with the weather conditions.
Driving out from Te Anau
And we made it to Milford Sound
And then back again through the Homer Tunnel.
A trip to Doubtful Sound was logistically easier so off we went the next day to do that
First across Lake Manapouri
Then out on Doubtful Sound, into a wet world.
Big landscape out there.
Then to Wanaka, caught up with Ross Nicholson from High School, and to the Cardrona Hotel for the night.
Our little Toyota made it back across the Crown Range and into Queenstown for the trip back.
We missed some hailstorms in Auckland, and got many dramatic waterfalls in Fiordland.
