A small contingent from the north headed south for the RAG Rally over the weekend. We met at the ferry terminal on Friday morning for the 8:25 crossing. Wellington members included Bruce and Virginia Frost, Norm and Marie Nicol and Jo and I. Gerard and Kathy came down from Palmerston North and Noel Walker turned up having come all the way down from Auckland. I can see those Fly Spots adding up pretty quickly Mr Walker!The crossing was smooth and the weather pretty good considering the forecast. After gas in Blenheim we enjoyed a spirited run through the Wairau Valley, marred only by a very strong and gusty headwind.We needed a bit of a stretch and some lunch at Murchison, which also gave me a chance to refuel, said headwind and spirited pace making short work of the 13 litres I can get in my tank.Lunch in MurchisonWe cracked on, the trip down through the Upper Buller Gorge as stunning as ever before taking a left at Inangahua through to Reefton before the absolutely beautiful stretch alongside the Grey River to Greymouth.Short stop in DobsonWe got to the Beachside Motel in Hokitika just in time to unpack, grab a shower, catch up with a few people other points south before a short walk into town for dinner.Sunset on Hokitika BeachSaturday morning’s breakfast was a well put together BBQ, many thanks to chefs Ross, Sally, Peter, Irene and Jo for feeding roughly 30 people that turned up – and it still hadn’t rained yet!Ross and Jo – chefs extraordinaireAfter breakfast, we split into two groups with 7 riders, some with pillions, opting for an off-road excursion and the remainder heading out for a road going equivalent. We’d see each other at many of the same points of interest, just got to these a slightly different way. Funnily enough, I went with Ross on the off-road bit.Ready to goOur first stop, after a couple of forestry roads to warm up, was Koiterangi, a farming settlement situated about 24 kilometres from Hokitika, on the south-western bank of the Koiterangi River and site of the memorial to the victims of the Stanley Graham shootings. Koiterangi memorialStanley Graham, NZ first mass killer, grew up in Longford, Kokatahi but his mother left him a 40 hectare farm in Koiterangi. Graham was just one of many farmers who faced extreme hardship during the Depression and soon became financially strapped. As the problem got worse, so did his grasp on reality. His milking shed was unhygienic and the Westland Cooperative Dairy Company returned his cream (dyed blue) which caused him to become more furious. He got behind in mortgage repayments and had no way of meeting his commitments.His behaviour got worse and he started threatening and abusing neighbours passing his house. Graham and his wife practiced target shooting out the back of their home, often at 4:00 am. Graham was an expert marksman and had an assortment of firearms.In May 1941, the government directed police to collect all .3O3 rifles from householders, to help the war effort. Local constable, Ted Best, went to visit Graham to collect his .303 rifle which Graham said he didn't have and then changed his story and said he would send it to him. He did not send the rifle as promised.Graham's persecution complex worsened. He thought his neighbours were poisoning his livestock (it was in fact his lack of hygiene in the milking shed that caused stock to die). When he confronted his neighbour and a carpenter with a rifle, they called Constable Best. The Constable couldn’t reason with Graham and went for reinforcements.Four police returned to the farm, Sergeant William Cooper and Constables Best, Tulloch and Jordan. After a struggle, Graham shot Cooper in the arm and Best in the hand. Graham gunned down the others on the track from the farm and shot Best again in the back while he tried to help them. Cooper tried to get away but Graham shot him dead. Best, though twice wounded, was still alive.Graham then escaped into the bush and one of New Zealand's largest manhunts followed. After 13 days, he was shot and died the next day in hospital. He had killed seven people.Our next stop was the Hokitika Gorge, about 33 kilometres from Hokitika, and it is truly one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand. The turquoise blue water is quite breathtaking as is the gorge itself. A bit further up the gorge the rough water is popular with adventure kayakers and is apparently quite challenging.We stopped at the small parking area and walked the very short track down to the swing bridge. At the other end of the swing bridge, there’s a short track that goes off to the left and down to the rocks - a good area to take photographs.HP2 at Hokitika GorgeGorge from the viewing platformSwing bridgeRoss had planned a ‘short cut’ on the next stage to Lake Kaniere. There was a buzz of excitement as we came across a gate at the end of a short gravel track and a sign about the road “not being maintained” and being “passed at one’s own risk”. Unfortunately, one look over the gate was enough to suggest it would be very hard work for anyone two-up and on a 300kg bike. We’ll just save that one for another day.Road closed – love these signs!Because of the Westland Rally, many of the roads we’d intended to take weren’t open unless we could get to them between Rally stages, so our second gravel session did not happen either. Therefore, a quick run around the back of Lake Kaniere and down the side of the Arahura River back to the main road was the only option. At least it was dry and the road in very good condition. We took the opportunity for a coffee stop at Kumara. There’s not much going on there to be honest, although Brian picked up a bargain at a local garage sale and his $1 Kiwi joined us for the ride.Kumara$1 KiwiWe headed east, taking the Kumara-Inchbonnie Road through Greenstone and Mitchells, on the western shore of Lake Brunner. The Rally boys had just been through and we had a short window of opportunity before the reverse stage happened later in the afternoon. They make a real mess those guys! Mixed in with the well swept gravel was loads of mud and slush that made some of the corners very interesting on two wheels. Obviously all too much for some on four wheels as well, as we rounded one corner to find a rally car parked quite neatly against a tree. Fair to say we all had a bit of fun though.MitchellsPeter and Lesley BathOff road groupPeter and Irene HadfieldJust shy of Inchbonnie we turned left onto Lake Brunner Road for the short run alongside Lake Poerua then back onto the gravel of Bell Hill Road. Again, we’d just managed to sneak in as the Rally was finishing off for the day. This was one of the best roads of the day; wide, well swept gravel and flowing corners. I had a great time sitting as corner man then catching Ross before the next corner came up to do it all over again.We gassed up at Moana then headed back to Greymouth, via Stillwater, for afternoon tea.We were back in Hokitika shortly after 4:00 pm and there was time enough for a wee rest before getting ready for dinner at Stumpy’s. What a day!Just before dinner, it started raining. Fortunately, the motel owners let us use their van to ferry people into town and back. Dinner was just brilliant, and the servings on the Coast are not the namby pamby minimalist plates you get at restaurants these days. I recommend the lamb shanks!Sunday morning it was still raining but Ross and the crew managed to put on another very good effort with the BBQ after which we packed up and headed home. It rained all the way to St Arnaud, but cleared into the Wairau Valley and the crossing home to Wellington that evening was smooth as silk.It was a really good weekend all around and everyone seemed to be pretty pleased about turning up, I know I was. If you’ve not done a South Island RAG Rally before, have a think about coming along to next year’s one. Ross is cooking up something extra special for that. Well done that man, another good show!