WE HAVE ARRIVED !
WE HAVE ARRIVED !
WE.HAVE ARRIVED !
And the pictures say it all-
Arctic !
-
Antarctic !
The top of the world
The bottom of the world
Leaving Vancouver. 1 July 2012
Arriving Ushuaia. 6 December 2012!
And of the arrival into Ushuaia? Well those 99 kilometers counted down quickly. It was 40 km to go. Then 20 km! Then 10 km......
At the 5 km mark there were a few people on the side of the road. Then they were lining the road. Then they were several deep. They looked happy! They were throwing rose petals on the road. They were cheering! They were waving New Zealand flags! The cheering changed to a roar as Richard John Hubbard and Diana Katherine Hubbard rode triumphantly into Ushuaia. The oldest ( or at least the most mature!) couple to have ever ridden a motorbike " 2 up " from Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia had arrived.
Church bells started peeling. The message went out round the world!
Then of course there was the civic welcome. The mayor, the brass bands and all the Tierra del Fuego celebs were there. The President of Argentina flew in specially. She graciously pronounced an Argentine public holiday to be forthwith as "Kiwi Day" to mark the occasion.
Messages poured in from overseas! The President of Chile pointed out ( a little huffily!) that without Chile owning half of Tierra Del Fuego we would have never made it.
And of course our beloved Prime Minister of New Zealand and said he was the "Key" to our success! He then declared that all the new cycle ways he is building in New Zealand would henceforth become motorcycle ways!
The Prime Minister of Australia indicated that there must be an Australian connection somewhere!
Then it was the dawn break at the dawn break. I woke with a start! The dream was over. But it was a nice dream anyway and the most important thing was that we were really really were in Ushuaia.
In Prudhoe bay I picked up a little stone at the waterline of the bay and put in in my tank bag. It was now placed gingerly at the waters edge at the bay at the end of the road ( El Fin Del Mundo) in Ushuaia. You have travelled from one end of the earth to the other little stone!
And finally a few statistics
We have travelled 37,875 kms
We have passed through 14 countries
We have done 19 border crossings
We have had no speeding tickets
We have not hit anything or been hit by anything or anybody
We have gently tipped over and off 3 times
We have had no breakdowns or punctures
We have had no sickness
We have had thousands of laughs
We know each other better
And we believe we truly are the oldest couple in the world to have done this trip two up on a motorbike .
The world has not changed because of what we have done but we have !
Was it about the journey or the destination? It was about both. They are intertwined concepts and you cannot separate the two out. And that applies to life really also. This we now know!
And on that note............
WE HAVE ARRIVED !
WE.HAVE ARRIVED !
And the pictures say it all-
Arctic !
-
Antarctic !
The top of the world
The bottom of the world
Leaving Vancouver. 1 July 2012
Arriving Ushuaia. 6 December 2012!
And of the arrival into Ushuaia? Well those 99 kilometers counted down quickly. It was 40 km to go. Then 20 km! Then 10 km......
At the 5 km mark there were a few people on the side of the road. Then they were lining the road. Then they were several deep. They looked happy! They were throwing rose petals on the road. They were cheering! They were waving New Zealand flags! The cheering changed to a roar as Richard John Hubbard and Diana Katherine Hubbard rode triumphantly into Ushuaia. The oldest ( or at least the most mature!) couple to have ever ridden a motorbike " 2 up " from Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia had arrived.
Church bells started peeling. The message went out round the world!
Then of course there was the civic welcome. The mayor, the brass bands and all the Tierra del Fuego celebs were there. The President of Argentina flew in specially. She graciously pronounced an Argentine public holiday to be forthwith as "Kiwi Day" to mark the occasion.
Messages poured in from overseas! The President of Chile pointed out ( a little huffily!) that without Chile owning half of Tierra Del Fuego we would have never made it.
And of course our beloved Prime Minister of New Zealand and said he was the "Key" to our success! He then declared that all the new cycle ways he is building in New Zealand would henceforth become motorcycle ways!
The Prime Minister of Australia indicated that there must be an Australian connection somewhere!
Then it was the dawn break at the dawn break. I woke with a start! The dream was over. But it was a nice dream anyway and the most important thing was that we were really really were in Ushuaia.
In Prudhoe bay I picked up a little stone at the waterline of the bay and put in in my tank bag. It was now placed gingerly at the waters edge at the bay at the end of the road ( El Fin Del Mundo) in Ushuaia. You have travelled from one end of the earth to the other little stone!
And finally a few statistics
We have travelled 37,875 kms
We have passed through 14 countries
We have done 19 border crossings
We have had no speeding tickets
We have not hit anything or been hit by anything or anybody
We have gently tipped over and off 3 times
We have had no breakdowns or punctures
We have had no sickness
We have had thousands of laughs
We know each other better
And we believe we truly are the oldest couple in the world to have done this trip two up on a motorbike .
The world has not changed because of what we have done but we have !
Was it about the journey or the destination? It was about both. They are intertwined concepts and you cannot separate the two out. And that applies to life really also. This we now know!
And on that note............
Comments
Sincerely, I admire your achivement!I understand how much it takes to complete the journey. I like you said:"The world has not changed because of what we have done but we have", even we are on 1/4 of our journey, we have changed. Thanks for sharing with us your adventure, we will share ours with you again soon.
Lots of Love from Ellen and Andi