Bonjour from Paris (Jeremie)

[Jeremie]

Hi everyone,
I'm Jeremie, 33 years old, living in Paris and proud owner of a Triumph Street Triple 2009 which now has about 9500kms. I got my motorcycle driving license in January 2008.
I currently work for Warner Bros but am getting the boot soon (someone up there decided it was best to externalize/delocalize all the IT) so I decided it was time for me to have some long vacation far away from France.
I've been to NZ only once and was about 10 at the time but I have very fond memories of it so I was thinking in maybe coming to visit for a month or so in November/December and, of course, renting a motorcycle to travel.
Any tip, advice that you would have would be greatly appreciated.
I'm joining this forum on the advice of Blackbird whom has already comforted me on the idea that this trip is... well, a very good one (although its cost is a bit scary).

Cheers,
Jeremie

[YellowDog]

Hello Jeremie and welcome to KB.

If you look in this thread: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=63

You will see that a lot of your questions will have be answered by others.

As you already live in my favorite motorcycle touring country I won't try and put you off :)

NZ is a great country for touring.

You must visit the famous French enclave in Akaroa where, much to my dissapointment, no one speaks French :)

'bon chance'

[CookMySock]

Greetings! You will have a lot of fun here! If you meet the local people, it will not cost you much to visit here. Kiwis are always interested to meet someone new and show them around.


Steve

[BiK3RChiK]

Welcome to KB... Good idea to meet local peeps and see how much couch surfing you can do, or stay in backpackers to reduce costs. It's good you have at least one contact here already. Blackbird should put you on the right track :yes:

[yungatart]

Welcome to the nuthouse that is KB!
If you find yourself in Hawkes BAay (award winning wine growing area) make sure you look us up.
Our young fella has just spent a year in Brussels and is keen to speak French again before he loses the ability to do so!

[Blackbird]

Hi Jeremie - glad you joined us. The people on here are a fantastic bunch and even the knuckle-draggers are pretty harmless. As I mentioned, always a bed in Coromandel!

Geoff

[Jeremie]

Thanks everyone. This trip already sounds awesome.
And if one of you passes by Paris in between now and November, let me know. I live in a very small apartment but have a couch and it's only a few hundreds yards away from the Eiffel tower. And I do have a secure underground parking that would accommodate another bike.

Jérémie

[crazyhorse]

Hi Jeremie

Good to hear you will be visiting us on the other side of the world. Happy for you to stay here with us in Hawkes Bay too, if you require a bed. Put in some dates of where you'll be approximately, and you'll probably save heaps in accomodation. We KB'ers are a friendly bunch and always love meeting new people.

Have fun in planning your trip. NZ is a great place to ride.

[cold comfort]

Bonjour Jeremie,
I sympathise with the job situation- my son, in IT management, is also having his position "disestablished" We had planned to get to return to Paris this yr but the trip is now pushed out to 2011 due business committments. As said, there is also a bed here if you're down this way! My advice would be to hire a adventure bike to open up the variety of roads/scenery available in the South. Just ask Jantar or Ruralman!:Punk:

[Ixion]

You gotz da gooder England 4 cumming from da forn partz!

[Blackbird]

As said, there is also a bed here if you're down this way! My advice would be to hire a adventure bike to open up the variety of roads/scenery available in the South. Just ask Jantar or Ruralman!:Punk:

Jeremie,
You've got to watch these South Islanders. They'll also advise you (Jantar especially) to bring a banjo for evening entertainment. The South Island is where they got the idea for the movie "Deliverance" :laugh:. Stick to the main highways and you'll be fine. DO NOT venture onto the backroads though:shutup:

[Quasi]

Thanks everyone. This trip already sounds awesome.
And if one of you passes by Paris in between now and November, let me know. I live in a very small apartment but have a couch and it's only a few hundreds yards away from the Eiffel tower. And I do have a secure underground parking that would accommodate another bike.

Jérémie

Bonjour Jérémie and welcome to KB. Its a strange pace but a bit addictive, all sorts of weird and wonderful people on here and we all love to welcome new ones. I am in the Wairarapa - in the land of great grapes and the best wine in the land so if you need a stop over here to remind you of home, you will be most welcome to stay:sunny:. My daughter has been living in Paris for last six months, and if i can get over to visit her later in the year - I will be in touch:no:

[fire eyes]

welcome :niceone:

[Jeremie]

Hi again,
I'm leaving my job at the end of the month but unfortunately, am giving up for now no my idea of a NZ trip. With my current situation, it's a bit too much spending. But that's still something I really want to do, so hopefully, in the future...

In the meantime, if any of you guys are passing by France (I probably won't be staying in Paris but still), feel free to contact me on my personal e-mail jeremiebouet@yahoo.fr. I'd be glad to show you around or give you some tips on how to handle crazy frenchmen.

Jérémie

[marigami]

Hey un autre françcais ici, nous sommes en force.
Welcome here, so bad you just can't come over now but I do understand this very well.... sigh.

Anyway even if you can't come over kiwis are worth keeping contact and have a little chat whenever possible.
Enjoy.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

Hi everyone,
I'm Jeremie, 33 years old, living in Paris and proud owner of a Triumph Street Triple 2009 which now has about 9500kms. I got my motorcycle driving license in January 2008.
I currently work for Warner Bros but am getting the boot soon (someone up there decided it was best to externalize/delocalize all the IT) so I decided it was time for me to have some long vacation far away from France.
I've been to NZ only once and was about 10 at the time but I have very fond memories of it so I was thinking in maybe coming to visit for a month or so in November/December and, of course, renting a motorcycle to travel.
Any tip, advice that you would have would be greatly appreciated.
I'm joining this forum on the advice of Blackbird whom has already comforted me on the idea that this trip is... well, a very good one (although its cost is a bit scary).

Cheers,
Jeremie

Look up in the members list. The Vet. pete is an american doing a year over here he has some amazing storys and pictures of his journey.

Welcome to kb

[Jeremie]

Hi guys,
I'm back from the dead :msn-wink:
No that I have a job and french style 5 weeks of vacation, I'm resurrecting the project.
I'm waiting for approval from my boss (I'm not sure he'll be too keen on letting me go for 2+ weeks) but am back thinking about coming to visit NZ in February/March for a shortened version of the original plan.
I have some friends who've been residing in Auckland for 3 years (they have a travel agency called Once upon a trip) so I'd be staying with them a couple of days in order to recover from the jet lag, then I plan to rent a bike (I'd like to try the Triumph Tiger 800, other I guess I'll go with a BMW F650) for about 10 days and tour the North Island.
The hardest part seems to find a flight with less than 10 hours layover...
Regarding my motorcycle life: I still have my 2009 Triumph Street Triple, which now has over 46000 kms. I was thinking in getting either the new Ducati Streetfighter 848 or an MV Agusta Brutale 920 but now I've decided it would be better to spend the money on this trip.

Cheers,
Jeremie

[Jeremie]

I'm starting to work on the itinerary. So far, I got that but it's still in the early stages:
255218
It's about 1800kms in 10-11 days.

[oneofsix]

I'm starting to work on the itinerary. So far, I got that but it's still in the early stages:
255218
It's about 1800kms in 10-11 days.

Bonjour,
A couple of suggestions that will increase your travel but two rides I have on my target list are the forgotten world highway and Gentle Annie. You should look into working these into your route.
to copy from the AA; The Forgotten World Highway, one of New Zealand's most secluded roads, explores the ever-changing landscape between Taumarunui and Stratford.
as for the Gentle Annie; "a road near Taihape, New Zealand; Gentle Annie Summit, an elevation near Tiniroto, New Zealand" and ""Gentle Annie Road". ... there you'll see some amazing scenery through a 'true' piece of NZ"

[Jeremie]

Thanks.
I'm a bit wondering how much is too much in terms of distance covered per day: I'm not afraid of doing a few hundreds kilometers per day but the goal of this trip is vacation and sightseeing, not doing the Dakar.
Right now I'm looking at doing something like that:

Auckland
Coromandel 179km
Rotorua 289 km
Taupo 81 km
Napier 141 km
Wellington 330 km
Stratford 318 km
Tongariro 220 km
Waitomo 180 km
Auckland 239 km

[Jeremie]

Version 2 :

Auckland
Coromandel 181km
Rotorua 289 km
Napier 337 km
Wellington 328 km
Stratford 312 km
Tongariro 220 km
Waitomo 227 km
Auckland 202 km

255271

[vifferman]

Bonjour, Jeremie!
The route looks to be pretty good to me, apart from the leg to Wellington (only because I'm not that familiar with it). I rode the Forgotten World Highway recently, and it was great! (Or "C'est magnifique!", if you prefer. :laugh:) None of those distances are too great. Are you planning stopovers in between?
I envy you, and hope the weather is as good as the weather we had last year in our three weeks in La Belle France: perfect (apart from being in a car instead of on a bike...)

Keep us posted - I'm sure you'll get some locals joining you on some parts of the ride. :yes: