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Day 5 - Palmerston North to Blenheim

Published by miken on December 27, 2007 in Roadtrip 07-08. 0 Comments

Leaving Palmerston North with clear instructions to take SH57, we pointed the steed south and followed the tarmac. The weather had turned, and while the rain was not a problem the wind was significant, and even with a fully mounted Sprint we were being blown about quite badly. The wet roads, the wind and Myra’s new found reluctance to lean into a turn made the trip quite a wrestling match between me and the bike. At times I really did have to muscle the bike over and take the buffeting as well as I could. We’ve been in windier weather but Palmy has to rate right up there. Ironically enough as we got closer to Wellington the wind died down, and became a lot more manageable.

We reached the ferry in Picton with plenty of time to spare, and apart from the frosty harbour breeze while we waited to board, had no problems checking in. I had been quite apprehensive about the whole securing your bike process, because, well you know, no biker wants to look like a dick in front of another biker, but it turned out to be a pretty simple process that was easily picked up by watching the bike next to me.

The Interislander is not a particular comfortable ship, but they had Sky Sports on so I watched the cricket for a few hours while Myra had a sleep. I did in the back of my mind keep going over how tight I had tied the bike up ever time we pitched and rolled, but a strong Kiwi performance against Bangladesh kept me occupied.

About two hours into the trip we hit the Marlborough Sounds, and tiptoed our way at reduced pace through the landscape over fairly glassy seas. The photo opportunities here were fantastic as long as you could brave the cold. At one stage while I was out on the front deck, completely by myself, I thought it had started snowing but on closer investigation it turned out to be very light hail. The wind chill was face numbing and while I took as many shots as I could, I did not have the fortitude to stay out too long in the open! It is a great testament to my BMW jacket and pants though that no one was out there with me.

We debarked the ship with no dramas, and were very glad the ride to the B&B we had booked was only 30 minutes. The rain was so bad at this stage that I couldn’t see very much at all, my boots were soaked and the cold was really making the trip difficult. It was a huge relief to arrive at the base of the famous Wither Hills to meet our hosts for the night, Mike and Cathy. Now Mike has an MX5, which Jeremy Clarkson and I both agree normally means he is a social cog lower than the average motorist, but any man, who gives up a prized garage park in such hideous weather for a visitor, deserves a mention and we shall overlook his motoring feau-pax because he is a genuinely top bloke. The Redwood Heights B&B is a wonderful place and Mike and Cathy have just the right style to be our kind of hosts. They have a leave you to it type of arrangement, and do not impose themselves at all. The room we stayed in was fabulous, with one of the best showers I have ever had, and we ordered ourselves some pizza, had a few red wines and slept soundly.

Morning dawned with all trace of the bad weather vanished. It was plain to see that the day would be brilliant for our traipse down the coast to Kaikoura. Mike and Cathy prepared us a superb breakfast, and Cathy really nails a great scrambled eggs with Pizza Thyme and Parsley from her immaculate herb garden out the back. We spent a good hour getting to know them over breakfast which really was nice, and then packed our gear, said our goodbyes and left the beautiful Blenheim behind us. It has been a real shame we didn’t get more time here, and I definitely think from the little we saw we will endeavor to get back here again.

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Day 4 - Napier to Palmerston North

Published by miken on December 27, 2007 in Roadtrip 07-08. 1 Comment

We headed out Christmas morning after a light breakfast, continuing south with Palmerston North the next destination. I have family that I have not seen in a very long time and was looking forward to catching up again and spending Christmas with loved ones. My Aunty Jackie and Cousins Sam and Kate were expecting us, so onwards we went!

Myra’s body seemed to be faring a lot better and her hay fever and spirits were in much better shape, and we were both pleased to only have a relatively short 2.5 hour ride time, so it was in fine weather and good spirits we ventured off.

The ride to Palmerston North unfortunately took us inland, so the last couple of days of beautiful coastland were going to be missed. One thing we can definitely feel as we head ever south is the temperature dropping. This is especially true when you come through an inland section of road and are about to hit the coast. You can smell the sea and feel the slightly cooler sea breeze before you see the ocean; it’s a fantastic experience on a motorcycle.

We arrived in Palmerston North much earlier than expected and found said loved ones in Pajamas having a very relaxing morning. They were slightly mortified but Myra and I loved it, and after such a long time between visits (we’re talking 10 years maybe) it was great to come into such a relaxed and friendly environment, with minimal fuss and plenty of smiles.

It wasn’t long before the champagne was opened, and the conversation was easy. This is what Christmas should be all about, no matter what country you’re in or religion you practice. We’ve been absolutely spoiled for the last couple of years with fantastic Christmases at our place, with Myra’s family and my mother congregating, and while I missed that this year it really was a great day and a fantastic time had by us in Palmerston North, and couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

Now Palmerston North and the Manawatu in general has a pretty bum rap these days, but the property Jackie has purchased goes a long way to convincing you it is a extraordinary place to live. After having a brilliant day, a magnificent meal and a several more wines we all retired for the night as the Christmas sleepiness overcame us. We awoke the nexy morning to a perfect sky, in absolute silence and with a million dollar view of rolling hills, forests and isolated farmland. Even Te Puia Springs could not match this, the hotel there is on the State Highway, so every now and then you would get a truck rumbling through, but here there is just nothing. The only sounds are a distant dog barking, birds singing their morning welcomes and a faraway sheep calling for its lamb. It seems somehow to cleanse the soul and its mornings like this that stay with you for a long time. It is such a foreign experience for an Aucklander!

Unfortunately after getting up and being treated to a café worthy breakfast, the wind had picked up to something resembling a gale and with it the chill came. Myra, particularly prone to the cold, was overjoyed when Katie proffered up some thermal leggings and top she could borrow for the rest of the trip. I think it’s the best gift she could have received! She donned these pretty quickly, and after a round of goodbyes and hugs and some photos, we mounted the sturdy Sprint and headed off again. South. Always south.

I hope all our family and friends had as wonderful day as we did, we were thinking of you all.

Day 3 - Te Puia Springs to Napier

Published by miken on December 25, 2007 in Roadtrip 07-08. 1 Comment

Merry Christmas all!

Yesterday we traveled from Te Puia Springs to Napier, which was another long day in the saddle, but the ride made up for it. I would have to give the journey a perfect 10, it is simply the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen in New Zealand. The roads are simply stunning, the traffic sparse, the scenery breathtaking, and with the clear skies and sparse traffic you couldn’t ask for anything else in a motorcycle journey.

Traveling through Tokomaru Bay, Tolaga Bay, Whataupoko, Whakaki, Raupunga and Tutira has just been such a sublime experience. The Sprint seemed so in its environment, and really shined yesterday.

Shearing cliffs rising straight out of the ocean to several hundred meters in the sky, expansive bays and small public DOC campgrounds sidled up to lakes full of brown and rainbow trout were just some of the things we stopped to admire yesterday. If New Zealand really can beat what we glided through yesterday, I’m going to be blown away.

The scenery didn’t however make up for Myra’s posterior, which is now beginning to give her some serious grief. That along with some bad hay fever she is getting from all the natural pollens we are traveling through is really testing her fortitude. I’ve got no idea how she can do it but she is a trooper and is determined it will only get better. It’s difficult for me because all I can do is try and ride as smoothly as possible, the rest she has to deal with by herself. Today we are taking a relatively short trip down to Palmerston North to see an Aunty and two cousins who I have not shared face time with in so many years. This is only about 2.5 hours away, and tomorrow it’s to the ferry in Picton and then staying in Witherlea, total riding time of only a couple of hours, so I am hoping it will give her a chance to recover. I am still getting an aching backside and wrist but I think it is getting better, and is quite manageable with stops every 90 minutes or so.

We’re staying in Top 10 Kennedy Holiday Park, which is the most established campground I think I’ve ever seen. If you’ve got kids, then this would be the place to come. It just about has everything you could conceive covered, with a restaurant, bar, all types of units you could think of, and one of the best playgrounds I think I’ve ever seen, including an awesome inflated massive pillowcase. This bouncy castle without the castle, only the floor, and you’ve got what I mean. It’s pretty impressive. Napier itself is a beautiful city and I am slightly disappointed we are not staying here another day, I would have loved to check it out in more depth.

Wherever you are, I wish you all the best. Have a great Christmas and thanks for reading. The next report will be from the business end of the trip, the revered south island, a nirvana for motorcyclists. The ferry has got me a bit nervous, after reading so many horror stories, but it will all be part of the journey. Have a great day.

Day 2 - Papamoa to Te Puia Springs

Published by miken on December 23, 2007 in Roadtrip 07-08. 0 Comments

Today we covered what seemed like a massive distance, in absolutely perfect riding conditions. We left behind our damp and mildewed cabin at the Papamoa Holiday Park at roughly 9am and headed into the plaza to find some breakfast. The choices for dining in Papamoa are fairly limited, so it was at an American style diner we found sustenance. Now this may sound far fetched, but I can guarantee you there was not a single healthy option on their menu, and some patrons were feasting on cheese burgers and fries at this time of the morning.

After breakfast Myra got some new earplugs from the chemist, the alpine rider ones I gave her keep falling out and she is not happy with them, so she now has pair of squeegee yellow numbers. They seem to do a great job, maybe too great as communication between us has resorted to me having to yell for her to hear me while we are at highway speeds. Oh well, who needs talking anyway right?

So once this was all taken care off it was off on the road to our next stop, the Te Puia Springs Hotel. The Garmin tells us it is only 345kms away and it looked like nothing on paper, but boy it was a hard days riding.

The roads through this region are absolutely wonderful. The trip was about 5 hours riding time, and I can honestly say that for large periods of that we would maybe see one to three cars per half an hour coming the other way. There is pretty much nothing heading the same way as us. I had head that Gisborne is remote, but had no idea at how sparsely populated it is.

The coastal route is stunning; with so many gorgeous bays and inlets where families have pitched their tents and have the kids out in the glassy sea collecting kinner and mussels with snorkeling gear. It has really made me wonder if we need to start heading out this way instead of the Coromandel come camping time. The small towns we passed through, Matata, Paroa, Kutarere, Torero, Omaio, Waihau Bay and others, are blink and you miss it type arrangements. It is just so peaceful here, hardly a sound, and nothing that you would call built up.

The ride is awesome, huge long straights with high gear sweeping bends for a large part of it, until you get near Te Araroa where you turn south as you come upon some breathtaking cliffs that rise intimidating from the ground and soar skywards. Once you take the turn off you’re treated with some slower more challenging roads, plenty of signposted 25/35/45/55 corners for what seems an eternity as you climb through the hills. We were far past the comfortable ride length stage at this point though, with sore backsides and my throttle wrist not happy, so it was a shame we did not really get the most out of this section as we should.

When we came to Te Puia Springs we actually drove straight through it without realizing. This place is great; it has a general store, a fish and chip store, and the hotel. That’s all I’ve seen! We had to turn back when we realised there is no centre of town. As I said, we’re staying in the Te Puia Springs hotel, and it’s so cool here. We are the only guests in the whole hotel. It is a very old school type of establishment, a la The Shining type thing if you know what I mean. The people are fantastic and have been extremely friendly, cooking us a magnificent dinner of fresh of the boat Terakahi with chips and eggs and a side of home made coleslaw. This was after a soak in their natural Te Puia Springs hot spa, with apparently the most mineral rich spring water in the world! Right out back in their shed with the warm fuzzy inducing painted yellow door. For $90 a night, I’d thoroughly recommend you give this place a try if you ever come through this way.

Anyway, tomorrow is another long hike to Napier, so I’m hoping a good nights rest will rejuvenate my wrist for another lengthy ride. After that it’s two fairly short riding days so if we can just get through tomorrow fine we’ll be able to recoup over Christmas and Boxing Day.

Day 1 - Auckland to Papamoa

Published by miken on December 22, 2007 in Roadtrip 07-08. 0 Comments

Well day one has been a blast. I was awake this morning from about 4am with my mind racing through everything I needed to take again and again. Sleep was something elusive so it was a welcome sight to see the dawn break. I decided not to check the forecast today because it didn’t matter; we were leaving no matter what, so what a great surprise to have pretty perfect riding conditions all day.

We headed south down old faithful, SH1, and turned off towards Tauranga after the Bombays. It was a fantastic ride through countryside I have only ever seen through the car window in the past, noticing so much more.

We passed through several small towns where you wonder what every that lives there does. Towns like Maramarua, Turua and others of the same ilk. We put our feet up at a rest stop about 1 hour out of Auckland and met a nice deaf man, who has embraced modern technology and used his mobile phone to communicate with us. Myra has had trouble with her ear plugs since we bought them for her and needed to reassess the situation inside her helmet, so once that was done it was back on the road.

Next stop was Paeroa, for the obligatory L&P bottle shot, with a twist. The coast was clear so we couldn’t resist a park up for a candid picture. From there we shot through to Papamoa with only one small town dairy visit for a thirst quencher. I think Tauranga must have had a whole lot of road works recently because there were numerous times when Karen, our Aussie tour guide that lives in the GPS, became completely disorientated. It was a fun exercise trying to navigate through non existent roundabouts and turns that were not there!

Eventually we made it to Papamoa unscathed, only to realise we could not remember the place we were staying, so it was to the car park of the local dairy to unpack the rear pannier so we could find the details. Once we did sort it out, we saw we were only 450m away.

It was excellent to get out of our riding gear and into some shorts. The place we are staying is the Papamoa Village Holiday Park, and it looks like a small town preparing for war. The influx of youth and alcohol to these types of establishments really is something they are battening down the hatches for. One of the locals we met in particular was in no mood for out of towners, and did not mind letting that be known! The people that reside here through the year must dread New Years.

We visited an awesome little authentic Italian restaurant in Tauranga for tea called Bel Mia Pizza. Giuseppe cooks a mean pizza, and the family establishment is an awesome place to dine, even if they did seem a bit rushed of their feet tonight.

So that was day one, a good start, I’m looking forward to the long haul to Te Puia Springs tomorrow. The roads look nice and I’ve never been in that part of New Zealand, so it should be a great day.

Here we go, T-24

Published by miken on December 21, 2007 in Roadtrip 07-08. 0 Comments

Well it’s nearly apon us.

After nearly a year of discussing, convincing, saving (well probably more spending than saving!), reading, packing practice and trying to think of everything, we’re less than 24 hours out from departure.

The day seems long ago that I came to this epiphany while looking through a motorcycle magazine, and to actually have gotten to this point without wavering has been an achievement in itself.

To all our friends and family we will not see this Christmas, we love you and wish you the very best, we’ll be thinking of you. It will be very unusual to not see your smiling faces this year, and this will be the largest price we pay for this trip.

To the family we will see, it’s been so long I hope we are not strangers.

To all the morons, idiots, unobservants and ignorants on the road out there, please look for it in yourself to take it easy and lets hope our journeys do not intersect.

To everyone who is just here to see what we see and read what we write, I hope I can do this country’s beauty justice with my limited writing and photography skills, and hold your attention through the next three weeks. I would like to say thank you for taking the time to come here in the first place, even before we begin.

I hope everyone enjoys the winding down of 2007 and the dawn of 2008. We shall tread carefully around the shores of Aotearoa and return next year, a little more educated about the place we live and love I am sure.

Think of us when you raise a toast this year, for we shall be on The Great New Zealand Motorcycle Adventure, but will not forget to do the same for you.

Mike & Myra.

Planned Route, clockwise from Auckland to Auckland.

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