Roadtrip New Zealand

We left our hotel in the Wellington CBD this morning, with a photo in front of the Beehive on our mind. First though, we needed to refuel, and after a stop at the nearest BP, I noticed the ram mount bracket that holds the GPS had worked itself loose. We made our way to a local mechanics and borrowed some Allen keys and tightened it all up without any issues. Not too bad for our first problem requiring tools. One of the biggest concerns before setting out was that we would have a mechanical failure that I had no idea how to fix, if I haven’t said it before I will freely admit to not being mechanically minded. The Sprint though, apart from the tyre issue through the Catlins, has been immaculate.

Unfortunately by this time the rain had started up again and we wound our way through the central city in steady drizzle. Once we found an entrance to the Beehive, we pulled in and got as close as we could without arousing suspicion from the posted security. Such a historical building deserved a special photo shoot we thought, and once some snaps were taken we put our heads down and headed north in what had become atrocious weather.

I had planned from an early stage to revisit Foxton Beach as we came up through the West coast. This place has many misty eyed memories I wanted to share with Myra, from the time I spent as a child with my grandparents here. Every school holidays while I was young I would travel here from my mothers to spend time with my beloved Nana and Granddad, who sadly are not with us anymore. It really was a fantastic place to be a kid in those days, long before the gang related violence you seem to read about now. We parked up outside their old house and snuck a photo or two, I pointed out to Myra the driveway I had learned to ride a bicycle and the creek my grandfather took me white baiting. We even rode to the local dairy up the road where I learnt to clock Double Dragon; oh the memories were coming back. It was a very nostalgic detour, and it made me remember just how much I loved my grandparents and I miss them.

After this we carried on through Sanson and then out again toward the coast, after a bite to eat at the Church Café. The weather had fined up by now and while the skies were leaden the rain had abstained and the wind was calm. The roads were a blessing after the torture we encountered on the way to Picton the day before. Great wide sweeping 5th and 6th gear bends to really get stuck into and enjoy the wind in your face.

It was a fairly non eventful trip from that point on, nothing overly spectacular scenery wise but we were very happy with the pace of the roads. A good journey is one where you feel you’re making good progress, something just not possible in some of the wet, winding and windy legs we’d done recently.

Our place in Hawera was on the main route through town, and after checking in we sidled into town to check out the famous water tower and purchase some tea. It was a nice relaxed evening, a better end to the day than Wellington. The forecast is fantastic for our last large trek up to Kawhia, and although the roads do look suspiciously unsuited for Motorcycling, we’re going to stick to the plan and the original route. Hopefully it will be a decent farewell to the West Coast, as after this we move slightly inland for the final trip home. Home life is starting to work its way back into my thoughts, the thought of going back to work, doing groceries, feeding cats, playing the Xbox, all the mundane things you don’t think twice about normally but things I’ve been happy to take a break from. If I could I think I’d just keep riding straight past Auckland, but that may have to wait for the next road trip.

Â