Road Trip

[nztimb]

We had intended to stay a couple of days at Akaroa but I am not a coastal person so this morning g I felt we had seen enough of the little French influenced settlement and moved on to Hanmer. The near 1500ft hill that rose from sea level that guarded the township and rose to the height in a very short distance with dozens of 10 and 15 mph corners the last two days had been on the Plains that stretch up the coastal highway so I was pleases to get back into some hill country today for the shortish 225,km drive to Hanmer. Tomorrow will take us on to the Lewis pass on the Southern Alps so hope for some more good pics to add to those already safely in the camera.

 

[Ray B]

Between Akaroa and Hanmer did you happen to drive through Christchurch? I'm wondering how it has gotten along since that earthquake.

 

[nztimb]

We went into Christchurch on the way to Akaroa an that is an experience I don't want to repeat in this lifetime. I was looking for a gunship that I was informed would be interested in my knives. We spent over 20minutes looking for a car park so we get directions and eventually pulled into a car dealership. No one knows how to give directions as the roads are constantly being changed. Was pleased to get out of there. Just spent the one night in Akaroa and then headed for Hanmer which is a nice Alpine village. Have some nice pics to put up later of the entrance bridge and river system and the next day's drive to Nelson over the southern Alps via the Lewis pass. Have today in Nelson and at the moment am sitting on the Mapua watf with a coffee. Hope to catch up with a couple of friends later in the day and to. Tomorrow will look to get on the ferry to go over to the north island

 

[nztimb]

So the two days in Nelson were very productive in that I caught up with an internet friend of 15 years that I had not met in person before so that was a good yarn session and I was able to deliver the 350 400gn cast bullets I had done for his 404 J. He had recommended an independent gunshop in the area and I spent a quite productive hour or two there with the result that he has ordered an initial number of knives and will advertise the whole range that he will copy from my website through his shop facsbook page and regular mail out. Yesterday we left Nelson and after stopping at the Havlock cemetery for a successful search for Lynette g g grandparents who settled there in the 1850s. Will update again later as ph battery is about gone.

 

[nztimb]

We drove through the largest wine making area of the country and one road was about 15 mile of solid vines as far as we could see either side of the road. Onto the ferry at 2pm and off in Wellington just after 6. The first half of the trip is out through the Marlborough Sounds so the speed has to be kept down so the wake doesn't effect the shorelines as they pass through. Wellington is the capital city and the traffic was 4lanss and bumper to bumper at about 2mph for the whole way till we got back out and onto the state highway roads again so we went on to the first rural town of Grey town where we have spent a rest full night. Off to Master ton which is just up the road about a half hour where I will get to meet them who have been supplying me knife steel. Will pick up a bit of a supply while I am there.

 

[Ray B]

How was the water through the straits? The water can be still as glass in both sounds, then if there's a differential between ocean heights between the two seas, about two miles of ocean can be quite rough.

 

[nztimb]

Like a mill pond in the sounds Ray bit it chopped up a bit out into the straight but a smooth sailing considering.

 

[mikee]

If only I had known you were in Nelson, I would have tried to catch up for a coffee

 

[nztimb]

If only I had known you were in Nelson, I would have tried to catch up for a coffee

I should have thought of you Mike. I guess I was more focused on meeting Shane at Kelly's Country and catching up with Lindsay who has been an internet friend for years so this was the first face to face with him. Going home via Blenheim to see Brian at NZ Walnut who I have dealt with for quite some time and had over 20 blanks from. Want to do the Kaikora road and see how it has been changed after all the earthquake damage.

 

[nztimb]

Yesterday was fairly busy with another 200 and some miles more on the clock but it did start out with a little complication as the early morning sun and a little bit of innatention had a small collision result on a roundabout. My land cruiser has just the front wheel arch damage while the other very small Suzuki town runabout had a bit more but nothing we couldn't drive away from after a civil exchange of insurance details. I will get mine repaired after we get home. The next port of call was at Gameco in Master ton where I have been getting all my knife steel and it was good to be able to put a face to the voice on the end of the phone. Igor a good supply to keep. Me going for a while and saved on the usual freight charges. Up the road some more and in Hawera I spent a couple of hours talking knives and sharpening with the owner of the scary sharp system who also supplied all my Blackwood and the small amount of swamp kauri. While he was looking over my knives and shoeing me some of his he took a fancy to my buffalo handled field scalpel so it stayed with him. Lynette had sat PAITENTLY reading a book while I was there and seeing it was 5.30 we decided to camp up for the night.

 

[nztimb]

First up yesterday was the Magnum gunshop on Stratford where he bought 7 knives as an initial buy with more to come as he promotes them. After that we headed over the forgotten world highway and that was an eye-opener with the steep windy road with about 15 mile being gravel. It took 3 hours to do 60 mile so it was a slow trip but still had 170 mile added to the trip. We had lunch in whangamomana pronounced as well fong a mom a na. It is not a road I would travel again but the steep hill country was well worth seeing and I got numerous photos and some vid to post when I get home. We arrived at Mangakino where a very good friend of Lyne now lives so I had an early night while there was a flurry of girl talk that kept them gabbing till late I to the night.

 

[cagkt3]

Sounds like you're having quite a successful trip on the knife front!

 

[Shootist43]

How is the road trip going? Has Lynette been able to see a few of her relatives? Glad to see/ "hear" that there are some gun shops interested in carrying your knives.

 

[nztimb]

Sounds like you're having quite a successful trip on the knife front!

It has been and more so than I had anticipated as I am not a salesman and cringe at the thought of self promotion but the meetings with the gunshop owners has been very easy with the knives doing most of the talking for me. I was given the address if a gunshop in Tauranga where we will be on Monday so if that is successful I will have an outlet distribute at each end of both islands. My stock is quite depleted but there is a representative one of the most popular ones so if this next shop owner is going to be involved it will have to be on an order basis to be made and shipped after I get home.
It was just a short drive yesterday over to Murspara where Lynes brother and his partner are based. They have a big motor home and are usually on the road but are having a few weeks at their base so we will stay with them for 3 days and then head up to the last stop going north before we turn round for the drive back home.

 

[nztimb]

Yesterday was a family outing in bil, s vehicle to Waikarimoana for a picnic at the lake. The greater part of this road is all gravel back into more tribal lands and there are lots of wild horses wandering the roads. We must have past over a hundred in the 60 to 70mile of road over the steep mountain roads to the lake. We stopped at a wonderful spot on the river to check out the waterfall and clean mountain water in the surrounding waters. Went for a walk over an old swing bridge further on and got a picture of some really interesting rock strata on a cliff side on one portion of the road. The were a couple of less ordinary tribal marai which is like their meeting house or town hall where everything of importance takes place.
Today has been a rest day with more family joining us for a day of yarning and catching up while the rain fell heavily all day.

 

[nztimb]

How is the road trip going? Has Lynette been able to see a few of her relatives? Glad to see/ "hear" that there are some gun shops interested in carrying your knives.

Been a really good trip for Lynette family catch up. We spent 3 days at her brothers and one of her sons and her sister came down with the appropriate partners so it was an intensive yarn session with a side trip to a lake system so a couple of nice pics to show from there. Yesterday we came further north to as far as we are going to spend a few days with her youngest son and family. Heading in to a new gunshop up this end of the country I was told about over the last few days and have the magazine editor meet tomorrow morning and hopefully if the weather allows there is a very good walk we want to do that should produce some more good photo opportunities. Looking forward to posting them all when I get home.

 

[nztimb]

Today has been another very successful visit to the gunshop up this end of the country with the fourth confirmed outlet and more orders in the book so that when I visit with the magazine editor in the morning, he can add the details of the four outlets to the end of his review article along with the pics he wants to take of some more of my sample knives although there has been a lot that have been sold to the gunshop further down country when I thought it was the last marketing option. It has been far more successful that I had anticipated or hoped when we set out. I am not very comfortable at self promotion or salesman type activities but it has been quite easy with it being more a question and answer meeting with the knives taking the focus off me thankfully.

 

[Ray B]

Garry, If it will help, I'd be honored to send e-mail photos of the knife I received from you to prospective customers and magazine editors, providing an unbiased, unsolicited, unpaid recommendation of both your products and your person. PM any e-mails that I would contact.

 

[nztimb]

That is a very generous offer thanks Ray but it is all in hand as far as the magazine is concerned with the review having been written on the knife I sent to home a couple of months back that he has done the roar hunts with. I expect he will take a few pics of the knives he feels are relevant to the NZ hunter and add the four gunshops details that will be outlets here. Having said that any reviews are welcome as I will add them to the review page on my website.

 

[nztimb]

Well that went very well with The 2 1/2 hr meeting that covered a wide ranging area of subject matter. The one thing that was decided after he discovered the range of knives I had was that he suggested that we leave it till the oct/nov issue when he does all the pre Christmas gift promotions and has give away competitions so I will give him winners choice option on any knife within a 5 knife range which will be another avenue of advertising (for free) as one of the prizes. Will be doing a year's advertising in the trade directory from that issue so it will keep the brand in the hunting publics eye and being the only knife maker in the trade section won't hurt the exposure at all. He took quite a lot of photos and wants me to send some of me working at my bench as apparently he thinks I look like he thinks a grizzled old style backwoods maker should look. Not sure what to think about that but if it keeps me being able to make knives then who am I to argue the point.
Start the homeward trip tomorrow down the desert road through the Central North island where the national military museum at the main military training area where my father trained in 44/45 so lots of pictures to come from there. I have been there before but hadn't taken pics so am looking forward to that stop off.