TRAVEL FEATURE I NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURE: SUMMIT TO SEA
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off in the morning light on the Queen Char-
lotte Road through Nelson towards Lake
Rotoroa. On the rocky trails I was happy to be
on a lighter KTM 690 rather than a larger 890
Adventure R, but the NZ guys made it look
easy on the big bikes. These guys can ride!
The skies opened up in the afternoon as we
crossed over ridges toward our stop for the
night in Westport. However, we had one big
obstacle to cross—a wide river that was rising
quickly due to the rainstorm. Chris said we
should help each other walk our bikes across
so we wouldn't lose a bike, so it was into the
almost waist-deep water we went. Luckily,
we got all seven bike across safely. Soaked
to the bone, we made a quick stop at the old
fog-covered Denniston coal mine.
We were happy to find a laundry at our
Westport stop and were able to get our gear
dry for the next day.
>DAY 4:
Day four became known as "The Longest
Day." Leaving Westport, we did some road
miles on the Lower Buller Gorge Road that
featured magnificent scenery. Winding up to
Reefton, we took a 20-mile out-and-back de
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