Weird and wonderful

 Along with bikes, classic cars and sea fishing, I like gardens; if not the actual act of gardening!  Where we live in NZ, it's a very mild climate and frosts are rare.  Much of the area is bush-covered including a fair bit of our property but there's still space for interesting stuff to be grown which is generally low maintenance.  We're not into formal European-style gardens so in addition to various citrus trees, apples and plums, we like to grow colourful plants and have plants in flower the whole year round.  As we're only a few days into summer and just for a change from things automotive, I thought I'd share some of the plants which are making a great show right now.

We overlook Coromandel Harbour and have tree ferns, succulents and native trees planted in the front garden, with lower colourful plants under and between them. The two spiky plants almost centre are Yucca Rostrata Sapphire Skies.  Wonderful for impaling incautious grandchildren and unwary visitors.

Looking south over the harbour

I'm a big fan of bromeliads as they're relatively low maintenance and a lot of varieties prefer shade or semi-shade.  Perfect  for growing under taller foliage. The one below is about 70 cm across and keeps its colour all year.  Most of them propagate by growing pups so there's not much work involved.

 

Variegated bromeliad

The bromeliad below has old family friend status.  It was on special in a pot at our local supermarket in Tokoroa about 30 years ago.  It was in a wizened state which reflected the price of under $1.  It remained in the pot on our deck as we got winter frosts in Tokoroa and didn't do much.    We brought it to Coromandel, stuck it in the garden and it took off, producing lots of pups which have been scattered round the garden and also given to neighbours.

Nondescript bromeliad

The following bromeliad is one of the really weird ones in our collection.  The leaves aren't much to look at, just being green and narrow but it throws out flower spikes about 50 cm long which last for about 9 months and look like something out of a sci-fi movie!  I'm terrible at keeping the name tags and can't remember what it's called.  It's a prolific grower and we've divided it up and foisted it on unlucky neighbours up and down the street.

Not a clue what the latin name of this bromeliad is

The Guzmania is another type of bromeliad which produces a scarlet bract about 50 cm tall with yellow flowers at the top.  We call it a Triffid for anyone who is familiar with the original John Wyndham book or the movie.

Guzmania, aka The Triffid

We have many more types of bromeliad in the garden but they don't flower at this time of the year.  One particular type is about 1.5 metres across!

The purple-flowered ground cover is Spanish Shawl from Mexico and Guatemala.  We have a number of tree fern trunks which have remained standing after they have died and provide a nice platform for Spanish Shawl to grow on.  Basically zero maintenance and makes an excellent weed mat.  The orange-coloured plant in the foreground is a climbing orchid.  It used to climb up one of the departed tree ferns but I haven't got round to relocating it.

Spanish Shawl and a climbing orchid

A rather less exotic plant than those above is the Lacecap Hydrangea.  We brought it as a cutting from Tokoroa nearly 20 years ago, much against Jennie's wishes as she doesn't like it.  Consequently, it's in a part of the garden rarely visited by Jennie. Quite slow-growing in dry clay soil but it will eventually grow to a couple of metres.  We have other hydrangea varieties which Madame approves of!

Hydrangea Macrophylla Lacecap

The variegated Canna Lily is mainly grown for its foliage, although the flowers are attractive too.  Like the rest of our plants, they're low maintenance and form dense clumps.

Variegated Canna Lily

The Hibiscus is one of several around the garden.  It's slow-growing in our more temperate climate as it's a fully tropical plant.  Nonetheless, it flowers prolifically and each flower is as big as an adult handspan.

Tropical Hibiscus

We have a couple of Bird of Paradise plants which form dense clumps up to nearly 2 metres tall.  They've just about finished flowering for the year.  Another zero maintenance plant which looks spectacular.

Bird of Paradise

We have a number of different types and colours of Bottlebrush in the garden.  Apart from the long-lasting flowers, the bees and Monarch butterflies love them.  They're reasonably fast growing so pruning is a more or less annual activity.

Australian Bottlebrush

We planted the Jacaranda tree back in the early 2000's not long after we'd bought the place.  It's in an area of the garden with minimal topsoil and is a slow grower.  It was only about 3 years ago that it flowered for the first time.  I suspect that it was my threat of cutting it down which prompted action on its part.  It's only 3 metres high at present but they do eventually grow into large specimens.  More pruning ahead.  

Jacaranda tree flower spike

The photo below shows 2 varieties of Bougainvillea - Scarlet O'Hara and something else.  They have a charmed life.  We must be the only family in Coromandel that has trouble growing them and they have narrowly escaped pruning to ground level on multiple occasions.  Maybe it's the threats or the fact that we had a wet 2023 but they're currently flowering well for the first time.  Must try talking to plants on a regular basis.

Bougainvillea species

The NZ flax leaves (Phormium Tenax) have been traditionally used by Maori for weaving etc as the fibres are long and extremely strong.  However, the flower spikes are extremely decorative as the photo below shows.  They also attract the nectar-eating native Tui bird.

Flax stalk

There are heaps of additional interesting plants in the garden but they'll flower or fruit later in the season.  To finish off, we have quite a bit of garden art and my favourite one of a stylised bird was made by a local German potter, Petra Meyboden.  The pottery pole it sits on is about 1.5 metres tall and the glazes she uses are really bright.  Petra is an interesting character and owns a few hectares of land.  All her pottery is on display around her kilns and if she's not about, there's an honesty box for payment!

Garden art

The photos below show part of Petra's pottery for sale on her property.

Petra's garden art for sale

Petra's domestic pottery for sale

I might add that we get heaps of native and non-native birds in the garden at this time of year.  There are plenty of nectar-producing plants to attract the native Tui.  The following photo was taken about 3 weeks ago when our kowhai tree was still flowering.

Tui drinking nectar from the kowhai tree

We also get flocks of Californian Quail in our area and they become quite tame as most people feed them in the winter when food is less plentiful.  A few days ago, one of the male quail brought its babies to introduce them - awfully cute.  

Pa Quail and chicks visiting for a feed

 I hope that you've enjoyed this diversion from the normal blog subject matter - it's a nice time of the year down south to enjoy nature.

A bit of variety

There's been plenty going on in our neck of the woods over the last fortnight.  With national school holidays, pretty nice weather and no lockdowns, families have been flocking into our area which is a popular tourist region.  Good for the economy, even if the number of stupid people on the road also increases.  There have been a couple of events too.  One was the annual Illume festival where the village is lit up at night, as indeed are the locals together with a lovely firework display.  Pretty darned good for a static population of around 1600.  The photos are ones I took a couple of years ago as I didn't bother this year.  The fireworks were taken from our deck, about 1km away from the action.

Family fun with an umbrella

Local H-D's festooned with LED's

Shane, the local butcher on his bike

Village shopfronts

Trees in the village

Awwww.... pretty!

It was also the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the visit of the Royal Navy ship HMS Coromandel, after which the village was named.  Naval vessels visited Coromandel and other northern locations on a regular basis to harvest Kauri trees which were knot-free and made wonderful spars for their sailing vessels.  You could call it rape and pillage of natural resources but we won't go there!

Kauri trees near our place

Anyway, to mark the occasion, there was an unveiling of a seriously cool commemorative sculpture.  A young local artist made a representation of HMS Coromandel with a ceramic hull and stainless steel sails.  It was housed in a glass case made to look like a ship in a bottle and the timber surround was made from floorboards from the 1800's local settlers hall when it was recently refurbished.  Pretty darned nice!

HMS Coromandel representation

 

A really nice commemorative work of art

The climate in Coromandel is benign and the number of (slight) frosts we get in winter can easily be counted on one hand.  It's a perfect climate for growing semi-tropical Bromeliads in the garden.  Two large examples which we planted 5 years ago as just small plants have just developed flower spikes for the first time.  They haven't opened yet but I'm worried that they might turn out to be killer Triffids as per John Wyndham's 1950's post-apocalyptic horror story!  That aside, they're looking pretty cool.

Flower spike 1.5 metres tall

Flower spike 1 metre tall

Motorcycles haven't been forgotten though.  Just over a week ago, I took out a serving Highway Patrol Officer for his Advanced Roadcraft Test.  Trevor drives a patrol car in NZ but in the UK, he was a Class1 motorcycle cop - the best of the best and it showed!  It was a near-flawless ride with a running commentary to match and boy, could he make his ST1300 shift down twisty, narrow country lanes.  Made it look easy, which it wasn't of course.  A really nice chap and a joy to spend the the day out with him - it's a tough life!  He just rides in his spare time here and owns several modern "classic" cars and bikes.

Trevor and his ST1300

Saving the best until last, yesterday was supposed to be an IAM monthly meeting where we do some coaching or go for a spirited social ride in the back blocks.  I should have smelt a rat when Jennie asked me a couple of times during the week whether I intended to go!  

Rocked up at the meeting point cafe some 100 km away and not only were there members from our local group there but a bunch of them from Auckland too.  The common thread was that over the past few years, I'd either coached them directly or had a hand in coaching them to pass their advanced qualifications.  STILL DIDN'T CATCH ON!  It wasn't until my good mate Tony stood up and said that we were all going to have a social ride together on the 200 km Coromandel Loop as recognition of our long association.  Apparently, my face was a sight to behold!  I felt pretty humbled and we had a wonderful time riding one of the great north island motorcycle routes together.  We even stopped at the Coroglen Tavern for lunch.  Not for a beer, but so that I could enjoy my all-time favourite scallop burger!  The ride finished on Coromandel Town wharf, only a few hundred metres from home which was just perfect.  What an incredible day and I'm really privileged to have mates who would do something like that.  Must have a bit of dust in my eye or something..... 

Memorial to Sir Keith Park, a Kiwi who played a major role in the WW2 Battle of Britain

Arriving at the Coroglen Tavern

Some of the team next to a mussel boat - Coromandel Town wharf

Great variety of machinery on Coromandel Town wharf

Some old geezer front and centre with great mates

 

In praise of warm paws, a tyre update and other stuff

Even where we live in NZ, we get sometimes light winter frosts first thing in the morning.  Before readers who get REAL winters tell me to harden up, let me explain!  Most of the mentoring I do involves 500 km days, often in colder parts of the country which also means early starts from home.

On a naked bike, wind chill is a big factor.  I hate the loss of feel with thick winter gloves and although I've had heated grips on some previous bikes, my fingers have still suffered on longer runs.  Not good for control, especially when in the company of other riders.  Last spring, I took the plunge and bought some Gerbing G3 heated gloves from Revzilla in the US.  They sat in the cupboard until yesterday when the first cold spell of winter struck - the first opportunity to try them out in anger!

Gerbing G3 heated gloves

The gloves themselves have heating wires throughout the whole glove, including the fingers which is what I saw as the big advantage over heated grips. The componentry consists of a fused connector to the battery, a variable temperature controller and a wiring loom from the controller to the gloves.  In my case, this goes up the inside back of my cordura jacket and down through the sleeves between the jacket liner and the shell.  Gloves were US$140 and the temperature controller a further US$50 -  a little more than heated grips but not expensive in the scheme of things.  Incidentally, the gloves are made from the softest leather I've ever encountered.

Battery connector from under the seat - tucked away when not in use

Connector to the temperature controller

Temperature controller

The temperature controller sits in a purpose-made case which is looped onto the waist tensioners of my jacket - very quick to adjust (but not on the move!)

Connector from sleeve to glove

Connecting everything up is hassle-free as the ample wiring length means that you can connect up the gloves before slipping them on.  It's easy to run the surplus back up your sleeve but it's not really necessary as they don't flap about or get in the way of anything.  Similarly, there is sufficient length in the wiring from the controller to enable you to get on and off the bike without having to unplug.  The connectors look pretty sturdy which was a worry when initially buying the gloves as fellow moto-blogger Richard Machida let me know that he'd had some connector breakages on his. Perhaps they've been redesigned since then but time will tell.  Besides, with Richard residing in Alaska, his probably get a lot more use than they're likely to in NZ!

On to the million dollar question - do they work?  Well, before leaving home yesterday, I deliberately set them at the low end of the range and they were fine in 2 or 3 degrees C temperatures.  Plenty of scope for cranking them up when temperatures drop even lower!  Happy?  You bet!

In a previous post, regular readers will remember that I was less than impressed with the Dunlop D214 sport tyres which were OEM on the Suzuki GSX-S 1000.  There were several reasons for this but as I cover up to 20,000 km per year and the rear D214 only lasted for 3700km before having to be replaced, cost was certainly a consideration!  I reverted to Michelin PR4's which I'd had on the Street Triple.  As well as being better suited for a bigger range of weather conditions, speed of roll-in to corners was markedly improved as the 55 profile PR4 has a sharper crown than the 50 profile D214.  The PR4 has now racked up nearly 7000km including a trackday. The profile remains excellent with heaps of tread left.  I'm picking that life will be 10000 km or better, which is pretty satisfactory on a 1 litre sport bike.

PR4 at ~7000 km

Finally, nothing to do with motorcycles but living in a benign climate, there are plants flowering in our garden through the whole winter.  Here's a selection of photos I've just taken.

Neoregelia Carolinae Tricolor bromeliad and the ever-present Annie

Close-up of unknown bromeliad variety

Various bromeliads - the banded Vresia is nearly a metre across

Climbing orchid

Cabin fever!

I haven't ridden the Triple for nearly 3 weeks and I'm like a bear with a sore head and a bit stressed too!  It's winter Down Under and although it doesn't get particularly cold where we live, boy - we've had some rain. Today, this is all we can see of Coromandel Harbour from our deck..... it's early afternoon, dark as heck and liquid sunshine is falling like there's no tomorrow.  Of course, it doesn't help that a lot of our overseas blogging mates are all together currently enjoying great weather at the moto-blogging convention in Oregon.  I wish.....

Rain, rain......go away

It hasn't just been the weather which has put paid to riding recently.  Jennie and I are volunteer tutors for SeniorNet, a nationwide voluntary organisation which provides support for senior citizens wanting to learn about computers or needing tuition in particular computer topics.  The workload has been pretty heavy for a while now and as we've been doing it for the last 4 years, it might be getting close to the time when someone else in our region has to step up.  Immensely rewarding but there are only so many hours in the day.....

All this non-riding activity has added to stress levels as next weekend, there's a 2 day intensive Institute of Advanced Motorists training camp for trainee instructors (Observers).  It's a mixture of theory and practical riding under the eagle eyes of some of the very best riders anywhere - IAM Examiners and experienced IAM Observers. I feel extremely rusty and way below the top of my game which is a real worry.  Just going to have to bite the bullet and get out in the atrocious weather for some practice if  conditions don't improve.  As mentioned in previous posts, there is never any compromise in IAM standards.  Having battled so hard and for so long to meet the membership standards, none of us would have it any other way but sure is a worry when you feel out of sorts.  Fellow mate and blogger Rogey is on the course too so I dare say that there will be a public report in the next couple of weeks!

Anyway, enough of the grizzling!  There was a break in the weather yesterday so Jennie and I drove down the coast road in her sports car with the top down (and heater on to generate a hot air cocoon, haha). It's a good time for planting so we visited a specialist garden centre down the coast.  I'm a great fan of bromeliads which grow well in our garden with varieties for both deep shade and full sun.  The colourful leaves are really attractive and some have flowers which look like they're an alien mutation! All of them grow "pups" which you simply cut off and plant elsewhere.

For fellow bloggers who are keen on gardening, here's what we bought......

Alcantarea Vinicolour - grows to nearly 800mm high and across with crimson leaves.  Currently about half that size.

Viresia Dark Knight.  Has really attractive leaves and grows to about 800mm.

Guzmania Lingulata.  Grows to about 500mm and centre leaves turn bright scarlet.

And I've saved the weirdest for last!  This is Aechmea Blue Rain.  It has plain green leaves but throws out a crimson near-metre-long flower stalk with the most intense blue profusion of flowers.  This is a close-up of the top of the flower stalk.

After the buying spree, we stopped off at a waterside cafe for lunch.  I had grilled Portobello mushrooms topped with blue cheese and served with a spinach and chilli salad.  Jennie had creamy button mushrooms served with bacon and a mixed salad - simply wonderful.  No photos as our moto-blogging mates from the Americas photograph food so much better!  I'll just settle for a shot of the C.E.O reading magazines on the verandah of the cafe whilst waiting for lunch!

Blissfully unaware......

Addendum:  Bugger!  After 260mm of rain in the last 48 hours, our village is cut off from the rest of the world with landslips.  Wonder how long it's going to take to clear them???