New Zealand again, this time with my own bike.

[Three Dawg]

Another wee trippie downunder, but this time instead of renting I shipped the GS over.    Here's a taster -  Goood riding!

9300Km.



Took the tent.  Properly repaired after the red ant attack at Kapishya in Zambia a couple of years ago. :



The aptly amed Rainbow Road in the South Island.



Did about 27 of these fords in one day on the Nevis Road.  Neither of us fell...



What December should look like



Aye.



Just as well I am lucky enough to have two bikes, the GS was gone from early September until May the following year.  We have friends in Auckland who helped make this possible by looking after the bike while we were out of the country.  I was really happy when they visited us in Scotland recently and we were able to use both bikes to show them something of the area.

 

[Oubones]

:sip:

 

[Ama ride ride]

:drif: :ricky:

 

[Striggs]

Show us more please...

On my bucket list...

 

[Three Dawg]

Now it may seem that I'm loaded, but I ain't - the bike is 21 years old after all, which is actually an advantage in some circumstances.  What I do have is plenty of friends and relatives over in NZ, because Mrs Three Dawg is a Kiwi, and our daugter lives in Australia.  Usually the expensive bit is getting the bike over there, but it needn't be. 8)

You need to be over there for at least three weeks for shipping to work (we had about 10 ) because shipping needs to be less than rental.  We used a mob called New Zealand Motorcycle Adventures https://www.newzealandmotorcycleadventures.co.uk/ who organise everything including crating, the TIP (temporary import Permit), freight insurance, customs clearance, WOF (their MOT), ACC (a universal liability insurance for all NZ), registration (rego) and port fees.  They also sorted out delivery to a friend's place in the northern sububs of Auckland.  If you can't arrange this then there is storage available at a reasonable cost.  I had to buy third party insurance (about 65 quid) and delivery to Tilbury (and return at some stage) by van.  All in it was about two grand, or a little over two weeks rental of a 1200GS.

The downside is that the bike is away for months, and if you can't store it for free (massive thanx to Jo and Neal for helping out with that)  that cost has to be added in.

Off it goes in September.  It will never be this clean again.  NZ biosecurity is super tough, and any dirt will mean incurring a cleaning cost, and that is not cheap.





Crated up - the panniers and bag go in the tray on top.  It has to be spotless to get past NZ biosecurity checks.



And ready to be loaded into the container.

 

[Motor1]

Watch out for those bloody sand flies on the South Island

 

[dpmza]

I have seen a few YouTube videos and that South Island looks like paradise

 

[Three Dawg]

The bike was waiting for us in Auckland when we arrived in early December.  Most of the friends and family stuff was in the North Island, but I still managed to squeeze in a bit of riding other than up and down State Highway 1.

First bit of gravel we tackled was on the Eastern Cape from Opotiki to Gisborne.  This is known as the Motu Road and winds through thick bush.





Wierd shit on the way



From Gisborne we took the road north towards Lake Taupo past Lake Waikaremoana.  Absolutely beautiful.  Road doesn't look that challenging, but I think it had been recently graded so was covered in ball bearings, or so it seemed.  A firm hand on the throttle and gentle input to the steering did the trick.





Stopped for a bite to eat by the water's edge





One thing I was very keen to do was ride Ninety Mile Beach.  You're not supposed to take hire vehicles on to the beach which is why I haven't done it before.  We headed up via Russell in the beautiful Bay of Islands - it's the old colonial capital, now a quieter place to stay than Paihia over the water.



One the ferry to Paihia - always happy to be on a ferry.



The beach is firm and easy to ride on.  Normal road rules apply - just don't stray too close to the dunes unless you fancy digging.





Getting off the beach is another matter.  You ride 3 1/2 km up a stream.  Ordinarily not a problem as long as you don't plunge into a hole dug by a bogged tourist or have to avoid the charging 6x6 tour busses, but there has been little rain and about 500m of the stream was VERY dry and soft sand.  I binned it on the loose sand (naturally) and sweated cobs pushing the bike out.  The rest of it was a hoot though.

The beginning of the stream to leave the beach.  Mrs 3D bailed out and went in our friend's 4x4, sensible lass.



After the soft bit riding the stream



Then you pop out on to firm stuff!



A bit further up the road is Cape Reinga, the northern tip of the country.  The Maori believe this is where the spirits of the dead jump off on their way to the mythological lisland of Hawaiki.

Reminded me a bit of the Stephenson Lighthouses in Scotland.









Ah, bugger.  I made the mistake of using old glue, so the repair didn't hold. Found a bike shop in Keri Keri, got it fixed properly.  Managed 13000km on a Mitas E-07 on our last trip without a puncture though.



On another day, a bit further south I spotted this - check out the right hand sign - that's Gaelic, thought all the Scots went to the South Island!



Stayed with friends north of Auckland - not a bad view from the road leading into their place.



Before we had Christmas and then headed south we went over to Kawhia.  Lovely place to camp and definitely old skool Kiwiana feel to the place.







Next, the South Island.

 

[Slainte Mhaith]

Following

 

[Three Dawg]

Heading down to the south island we were joined by good friends on a variety of bikes:  Neal and Jo on a very sensible wet head GS, Ron and Rachel on a slightly less sensible Multistrada and Neal's Brother Alan with his ol' lady Ann (ahem) on a Harley.  Alan and Ann would only be joining us for the road bits, as you would expect.

Sensible:



Nearly sensible (17" front wheel tho')



Not sensible, but in Alan's hands pretty good on tarmac



First up was the Molesworth Road fron just outside Blenheim to Hanmer Springs.  This goes through the biggest station in New Zealand and is not very demanding, but the scenery was pleasant and the traffic very sparse.









Looking back towards Hanmer the foillowing day



It was actually bloody cold in parts on the Molesworth.  As soon as we got to Hanmer we stopped for soup. 



The following day we were doing the Rainbow Road.  It's a must do road and is a little more challenging in places...







Looks easy...





Wasn't.



I have a big dent in my bash plate now :

Go back up?  On those tyres?  FFS!





Funny.  Yeah... :



At the end you need to pay a toll.  This is now $20 because of the increased costs of maintaining the private part of the road.





The guy at the the toll shack told us about a bridge that was worth walking over nearby.  They call 'em swing bridges, cos they do, from side to side. :





Multistrada river crossing no problem



Having all fallen off on the Rainbow (no pix of Ron dropping the Duke unfortunately) we were all ready for a beer when we arrived in Murcheson, our overnight stop.

 

[dpmza]

Awesome pictures

 

[Goingnowherekwickly]

Great stuff, thanks for posting..
looks beautiful there, lovely riding country

 

[Three Dawg]

Thanks all.  It is a great country to ride in, although taking liberties with the speed limit on tarmac will get you in to hot water pretty quick.  Riding in the south island is a lot like riding up here in Scotland with roads being pretty flowing, in the north island the roads can be very very winding, especially in places like the Coromandel. 

There is some off road riding to be tackled in the north, but the south island is where the best of the off roading is, and there is going as tough as you like there if you want it, but plenty of easier stuff for a two up GS too. :ricky:

More to come, but it's the National Rally of Scotland this weekend and the lads will be here tomorrow ready to spank our Laverdas around the country in exchange for a cheap certificate you have to fill in yourself and a badge you'll never wear. :biggrin:

 

[NoRush]

:sip: really enjoying this RR. Thank you

 

[Three Dawg]

OK, National Rally of Scotland completed, six Laverdas at the finish, and a grand couple of days riding.



Now we have a quiick transit stage now from Murcheson to Queenstown via Arthurs Pass and Lake Tekapo.

Noticed a fork seal had gone just before we set out the next day.  A dish cloth and some cable ties stopped anything more running down the fork leg



River running through Arthurs Pass



These things (it's a Kea) will rip open a tank bag and scatter the contents in minutes.  No wonder they're endangered..



The riders: L-R  Ron, Rachel, Mrs 3D, Jo, Neal, Ann, some bloke, Alan.



On the way through Arthurs Pass we stopped for fuel.  Was quite surprised when a million quids worth of perfectly patinated Bentley 4 1/2 rolled in.  Probably the coolest car I've ever seen.  The owner (in oiled stained shirt) was happy to talk about it and show us round.



I'd love to post some photos of Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook (circa 12500 ft) but it slung it down for about 36 hours.  We did go up to the Hermitage hotel and dripped over the floor of their restaurant giggling like naughty kids.  Rachel was easy to track from her wet footprints...



From an earlier trip - Lake Pukaki and the Southern Alps.  Not visible this time unfortunately



Tekapo was an opportunity to do some washing.  All the facilities in campsites seem to have combination locks on the doors to keep out the 'free' campers.  These are not poverty stricken tenters but people in campervans.  Campervans are just as much of a pain in the arse over there as here in Scotland.  They should all be made to pay a tourist tax on each rental, cheap bastards.

Ron and Rachel were 'glamping' so we hung up our smalls in their tent.



Unfortunately this was the point where Ron and Rachel had to head back, and Alan and Ann on the Harley wanted to visit friends and family further south, so only four of us headed to Queenstown, which was massively busy as ever, but still a great base  The view from the apartment was Remarkables (a wee joke there, ahem).  The Harley couldn't have managed most of what we had planned for the next four days...



Next up, more gravel.

 

[Ama ride ride]

Thanks for the pics and RR mate.

I am planning a trip around parts of the south island. Sadly in the 4x4.  :thumleft:

 

[Three Dawg]

Right, where was I?  After a night in Queenstown we headed off to Te Anau to go to the world famous Milford Sound, a place that has around 6.5 meters of rainfall each year.  That makes Fort William (very wet place at the foot of Ben Nevis) look like the Sahara.  The idea was that we would put the bikes on the TSS Earnslaw, a steam ship built in 1912 to cross the lake to the Walter Peak station for a ride along the Von road and the Mavora lakes.  Unfortunately the lake level was too low - the ramp to the boat is short - so we were unable to do this.  A damn shame, especially as I have done this in the past and had built it up as a bit of a must-do to Jo and Neal.  Oh well.  We did some of the Von up to the lakes, but it wasn't the same.

There is a government run campsite here, not a bad place to stop, but you need to be completely self sufficient.





We got lucky at Milford, no rain at all.





You go through the  mile long Homer tunnel to get to Milford.  Hewn out of solid rock by hand it's one way traffic now which means a lengthy wait at the lights.



After Milford we went back to the apartment in Queenstown ready for a couple of days proper adventuring.  First up was the Skipper's Canyon road.  This winds for miles through the back country, sometimes 500 feet above the river.  There are no guardrails and your rental insurance is invalid.  It was spectacular.  Some of the road was a bit cut up and you need to keep an eye out for fast moving rafting busses, but it was spectacular and a bit scary. ;D

Vehicle damage possible?  Ooo err!



The famous old sign



No need to ride like a rabid KTM owner down here...



Apparently lunch not available at the Welcome Home Hotel...





Guardrails are for wimps.



The end of the main trail.



Health and safety..?  Nah.



On the other side was a refuge hut...



...with a library.  Looks like the books went in the fire.



The bridge from the hut side.





Same place 110 yeas ago!



Pretty impressive view at the start of the trail





Later in the day we headed up the side of Lake Wakatipu which is a fine piece of tarmac to the Paradise Road from Glenorchy.  Lovely run through shady forests - this area was used for some of the Lord of the Rings films apparently.  But then, down here, where hasn't?

 

[Three Dawg]

I am planning a trip around parts of the south island. Sadly in the 4x4

Plenty of places to rent, from plastics to 1200GSs  :deal:

 

[Three Dawg]

Now, the Nevis.    It's the highest road in NZ (IIRC) at 4100 feet going from Garston to Bannockburn and is another must do route.  It's classed as a 4x4 only road, but in most places the road is in in decent shape.  There are about 25 fords to cross of varying size and the climb up from  Garston is steep and spectacular.  The road exists primarily because of gold mining in the 19th century.

At the top of the climb from Garston, about 3500 feet.







There's another refuge hut, in better shape than the one on the Skipper's Road



Worth fifty quid a night in Inverness in August...



Meh



Many fords...





We rode round this one...





Now, you might be asking, why is this person walking the ford?  Well as any fule kno a 4x4 can dig a big hole if it gets bogged, and falling in to a hole is bad all round, especially with no mobile coverage. 



Old mining cottage and spoil heaps in the background.



Top of the world at the Bannockburn end of the Nevis



At the end, all back to Queenstown, when Alan and Ann turned up.



Yaaay!

 

[m0lt3n]

This is epic. As soon as my children is out of the house I will have to do this!
Or earlier....mm....