There was thunder and lightening, and torrential downpours all night. In the morning it was still raining but we headed down the coast. One of the interesting things they have in rural New Zealand is one way bridges. There is a sign at both ends of the bridge that indicates who has right of way. Most of the time you can just drive across, since there is no traffic coming the other way. Below Greymouth we came across a bridge type I’ve never seen before. It was one lane and also had a train track down the middle. On the second one we came to, I stopped since there were two bikes stopped after crossing. There were two Germans and one had dumped his bike when he hit a rail entering the bridge. Dave came driving up, went to cross the rail line at an angle and down he went! There was a turn signal and mirror broken off and scratches in the faring and on the
motor casing, and Dave only sprained and cut a finger, so minimal damage.
We stopped at Hokitika for lunch and Dave located a shop where they could weld his mirror bracket. At the shop, apparently the previous week, three guys traveling together all went down on the same bridge. Apparently it has been happening for years but there are no warning signs. From then on the sky started clear up and we arrived in Franz Joseph in sunshine. We immediately signed up for a full tour on the glacier tomorrow so
we hope the weather stays clear!
1. Leaving Greymouth in the Rain 2. Jade Capital of New Zealand
3. Daves Injured Thumb 4. First Glimse of Franz Joseph Glacier
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