Advertisement
Hurray up and Wait
Tiny, Scratch and Radar Motorcycles are finally Home...
After a long voyage from Chile to new Zealand, via China (Hong Kong), we have finally got our motorcycles back, but not without our fair share of frustration and delays.
The ship was due into port on a Thursday, and so I organised a run down to Hamilton see my sister, Robyn and brother in law, Rex, who was making up the steel work for my Parrilla (BBQ) project at home for me.
This would also allow me time to catch up with Barry Sproule, at Road and Sport Harley Davidson and visit the National Field Days at Mystery Creek, then back to Auckland to clear the moto’s on Tuesday or Wednesday, the following week, this looked like a good plan
For the first time, New Zealand Customs, selected our container for a random, but thorough search. This of course set up a pattern of delay after delay.
First, they had to X-Ray the complete container, with the relevant transport costs added to my account...This of course was not a ‘Rush Job’ so that took until Tuesday to accomplish.
Next the container was delivered to our Agent, where it was able
The Fire Box
Thanks to Rex, I have one of these now. to be unloaded, but in strict quarantine conditions.
MAF were then notified to come and clear the consignment, but “Sorry we can’t make it until at least Thursday morning!!”
In the mean time we could not get a time frame for Customs to come and make a personal inspection of the consignment.
This gave me plenty of time to catch up with folk I haven’t seen for a while in Auckland, and take in the odd movie..
We eventually got word, that they would be there sometime Friday morning, I would have now been away from home for over a week and was running out of my daily pills and itching to get back to catch up on ‘Stuff’.
When we return to Chile, after our adventure, we get the motos power washed and cleaned and over 9 shipments, we have never had any issues with the motos when they return to New Zealand, but this time, the fellow rejected three of the motos.
I asked him to show me where we failed, he put his finger under the rear mudguard and came up with some dust on it, I commented that it was
Hot Coals
This is a Fire Box fed a restaurant! “Just dust” he replied that it was Dirt, OK so we won’t be discussing that any further.... at this point he Red Stickered the three motos.
On further inspection of the green stickered ones, I really struggled to see why the three were singled out.
We were able to pick up all the other motos, but these three had to stay in quarantine and be trucked in a closed vehicle to a certified cleaner and that is not possible until next week!!
As there was nothing more that I could do, I loaded the pallets and Howard’s moto onto my truck and headed North towards home and hot soup....I dropped off Howard’s moto in Whangarei, had coffee with him and left around six thirty pm for the two and half hour drive home.
About an hour away from home, in the dark and no cel phone contact, my rear tyre exploded on the truck...WTF!
As there was no deck room for my spare wheel on this journey I had left it at home, as I have done over the 100,200 kms. I carry tyre repair things, including a pump in the truck, but
this just exploded...
Here Raewyn puts a fantasy spin on what happened next....
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful (?) fairy princess, who was all alone in her castle, waiting for her handsome (?) prince to arrive on his white steed to rescue her from the cold wintery blasts, after a long and courageous battle with dragons and grumpy authorities in a faraway Auck-Land, to negotiate the release of imprisoned iron horses, after their adventures across the seas in a far away land.
Said fairy princess had a communiqué from said prince to say his ETA was 9pmish, and so was merrily preparing nourishment in her kitchen, when verily the telephone rang and a stranger informed her that the prince was stranded on the northern side of the Maungamukas - a mighty big hill, with a blown rear tyre, and could the princess hurry/scurry to the prince's aid, with an assortment of bits and pieces, verily a very heavy spare wheel, steed jack and a wheel brace.
The princess thought for a bit, and nearly replied to the stranger that no way was she going out into the wintery blasts, when commonsense prevailed, and
sheheartily thanked the stranger (who was the prince's lifeline at this point, there being no other means of communication from the top of the mighty hill) , and changed from her fairy princess dress into suitable attire for taking sustenance (coffee and Moro bar) and aforementioned wheelie things, rolling the wheel across the shed, out the door and pondered awhile as to how to get the bloody thing into the boot of her pumpkin. Adrenalin (and a bit of cursing) did the trick, and away she went, into the darkness.
Hours later (or so it seemed) the fairy princess reached the stranded handsome (not so anymore) prince, who was patiently waiting, being sustained by his country music, and hastened to his side. It was a brilliant night with starry sky and moonlight (quite romantic really...........yeah right!) to assist in the task of jacking the truck, with the princess's pumpkin lights shining the way.
In less time than it took to say "what a wonderful job you're doing, isn't this just like doing running repairsin South America?" the spare wheel was bolted in place, the mortally wounded tyre was thrown on the back of the truck, and the little
Two Up Tour
We will ride this on the new Two Up Tour on the High Ways of Chile and Argentina in 2014 entourage was on its way down the mighty hill, through the surrounding countryside and back to the fairy castle, where finally the handsome prince opened the magic gates, and they wearily sat down together, for their late supper and then so to bed, and a happy ending to this story!
So after a few days catching up on my domestic duties, I get a call to say the Red Stickered bikes are ready to be picked up, so I call the guys to get that organised.
I have since spoken to them and find that the bikes are in the same condition that they last saw them in Chile, and still with some 'Dust' on them. It does just make one wonder if there is some sort of 'Quota' system here and lets just pick three out of nine..... I guess there is no legislation for ‘Common Sense’.
So, now we are planing our next High Andes Adventure for March/April 2014 on Duel Purpose bikes and also, we are planning a new adventure for Two Up on Touring Bikes, riding the Black Top Paved Highways of Chile and Argentina for 29 days in January/February 2014 as they
have been paving these countries as fast as we are able to ride them.
If you would like more information about these Adventures, please get in touch with me by e-mail-
rosco.adventure@gmail.com or Gerardo gerardo.otzen@gmail.com
Cheers for now,
Rosco
Advertisement
Tot: 0.208s; Tpl: 0.025s; cc: 25; qc: 83; dbt: 0.1201s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Linton & Heather
non-member comment
... happily ever after.
So sorry to hear of your travails when you thought the trials and torments were all behind you. Thank the gods for fearless fairy friends. With love from sunny England.