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Stylo
22nd April 2012, 19:56
Been a while since I've been down the coast , leaving on Wednesday for a few days on the Bike, Is there still petrol available in Haast ?

I'm sure there is , just wanna make sure .. cheers

Oakie
22nd April 2012, 20:09
Been a while since I've been down the coast , leaving on Wednesday for a few days on the Bike, Is there still petrol available in Haast ?

I'm sure there is , just wanna make sure .. cheers

Yep. Nice big petrol station down there. Just a bit more expensive than you're used to though.

FJRider
22nd April 2012, 20:13
Gas at Makarora and Hawea too ...

Stylo
22nd April 2012, 20:59
Gas at Makarora and Hawea too ...

Sounds good, just booked a cabin at Franz Joseph which is around 400km's from ChC h and I'll fill the 'Busa up at Hokitika then ...... head down the coast.....must buy a puncture repair kit ( on my list ) .

Next day maybe a coffee then look at the map .... I got 4 days

Oakie
22nd April 2012, 21:15
Sounds good, just booked a cabin at Franz Joseph which is around 400km's from ChC h and I'll fill the 'Busa up at Hokitika then ...... head down the coast.....must buy a puncture repair kit ( on my list ) .

Next day maybe a coffee then look at the map .... I got 4 days

Take your time. That road is worth doing slowly.

FJRider
22nd April 2012, 21:25
Sounds good, just booked a cabin at Franz Joseph which is around 400km's from ChC h and I'll fill the 'Busa up at Hokitika then ...... head down the coast.....must buy a puncture repair kit ( on my list ) .

Next day maybe a coffee then look at the map .... I got 4 days

There is a gas station in Fox too ... And a second gas station in Haast ... a few km's towards Jacksons Bay. Gas IS (well USED to be) cheaper there. (not 24hrs though) The gas station just off the Haast bridge IS 24hrs and is bothh card AND cash reader type pumps.

Wounded Bull prices in Makarora too ... (Two different places there as I recall)

unstuck
22nd April 2012, 21:49
Do not stop for fuel in makarora unless you have very deep pockets. Make sure you stop at bruce bay and leave a stone statue or some other form of artistic expression. Take a run down to jacksons bay if you have the time too, just be prepared to dig deep again if you have a feed there.:cool:

FJRider
22nd April 2012, 22:03
Do not stop for fuel in makarora unless you have very deep pockets. Make sure you stop at bruce bay and leave a stone statue or some other form of artistic expression. Take a run down to jacksons bay if you have the time too, just be prepared to dig deep again if you have a feed there.:cool:

Or unless you NEED gas ... the Haast/Makarora road has a few bits he may want to do two, three, four ... or more ... times ... :drool:

FJRider
22nd April 2012, 22:07
Take your time. That road is worth doing slowly.

AND TWICE ... :lol:

MD
22nd April 2012, 22:50
Take a run down to jacksons bay if you have the time too, just be prepared to dig deep again if you have a feed there.:cool:

Second that, Jackson Bay is well worth the detour.

People like us passing through moan about the price of petrol (guilty). Must be bloody hard on the locals down that way. At least by buying some you are helping secure the supply for the locals. If no one passing through topped up most of those pumps wouldn't be viable, then we would all be in the poo. Petrol has to be trucked down from NELSON to Haast! No wonder it's costly. What a struggle in a fully laden fuel tanker. Use quarter of his load to get there.

Fill in Hoki and top up at Fox and Haast.

FJRider
22nd April 2012, 23:21
Second that, Jackson Bay is well worth the detour.



mmmmm ... could be ... on a good day. If it's raining don't bother.

Jantar
23rd April 2012, 00:01
... Petrol has to be trucked down from NELSON to Haast! No wonder it's costly. ....

Not quite true, although the fuel companies would love to have you believe that. A couple of years ago (on the way the KB rally in Kopara) my wife and I saw a petrol tanker topping up the tanks at Makorora while we were stopped there for morning tea. Later we stopped for a walk at the Blue Pools near Haast Pass then when we stopped in Haast for fuel, there was the same tanker topping up their tanks. After lunch we continued north and saw the same tanker topping up the tanks in Fox. We stayed the night in Franz and ended up talking to the tanker driver. He came from Dunedin, but would end up in Nelson then repeat the journey south from there.

So why isn't fuel in Haast the same as in Hokitika? Its the same tanker doing the same run. He wouldn't answer my question as to why he was filling up Challenge in Haast, BP in Fox and Mobil in Franz, just that I would have to ask the fuel companies that one.

LBD
23rd April 2012, 00:09
Still a few days out but you may fit between the worst of it...

http://metvuw.com/forecast/forecast.php?type=rain&region=nzsi&noofdays=all

KiWiP
23rd April 2012, 00:10
Stop for a possum pie lunch at the road kill cafe http://www.pukekura.co.nz/index.htm good fun and tasty grub

Timber020
23rd April 2012, 00:13
There was a marked commodore doing good trade a couple weekends back at haast

LBD
23rd April 2012, 00:17
There was a marked commodore doing good trade a couple weekends back at haast

And I donated to an unmarked silver Honda Accord at Lake Paranga...

unstuck
23rd April 2012, 07:21
And the plod from whataroa have been doing rather well around Franz lately.:msn-wink:

Maha
23rd April 2012, 07:47
There was a marked commodore doing good trade a couple weekends back at haast


And I donated to an unmarked silver Honda Accord at Lake Paranga...

They got that 'Bump Phone' technology down there yet? :Police:

unstuck
23rd April 2012, 08:13
Not a lot of side trips worth doing on a road bike on your way down the coast, but I would recommend turning off at the Forks and having a blast out to Okarito, just watch for Kiwis.:bleh:

JATZ
23rd April 2012, 09:38
mmmmm ... could be ... on a good day. If it's raining don't bother.

I dunno.... you appreciate the hot food more when it's cold and wet, and the scenery is still pretty good (what you can see of it :( )

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=203013&d=1270451718

MD
23rd April 2012, 12:52
Not quite true, although the fuel companies would love to have you believe that. A couple of years ago (on the way the KB rally in Kopara) my wife and I saw a petrol tanker topping up the tanks at Makorora while we were stopped there for morning tea. Later we stopped for a walk at the Blue Pools near Haast Pass then when we stopped in Haast for fuel, there was the same tanker topping up their tanks. After lunch we continued north and saw the same tanker topping up the tanks in Fox. We stayed the night in Franz and ended up talking to the tanker driver. He came from Dunedin, but would end up in Nelson then repeat the journey south from there.

So why isn't fuel in Haast the same as in Hokitika? Its the same tanker doing the same run. He wouldn't answer my question as to why he was filling up Challenge in Haast, BP in Fox and Mobil in Franz, just that I would have to ask the fuel companies that one.

That makes sense to complete the tanker trip to Dunedin for refilling. Possibly Hokitika gets supplied by rail or their delivery trucks don't go any further south i.e. they avoid the extra costs. Been a long time since I lived on the Coast, so I've no idea if the trains still run south of Greymouth.

Either way I feel for the locals having no choice all year but pay way above the rest of the country. That's the price of living in paradise I suppose - paradise when it's not raining I mean!

unstuck
23rd April 2012, 13:07
Be prepared for anything that mother nature throws at you. This is Bruce bay on a rough day and the signs had blown over up the road and caught a few people out.:devil2:

FJRider
23rd April 2012, 13:51
So why isn't fuel in Haast the same as in Hokitika? Its the same tanker doing the same run. He wouldn't answer my question as to why he was filling up Challenge in Haast, BP in Fox and Mobil in Franz, just that I would have to ask the fuel companies that one.

My father drove tankers for Mobil for many years out of Invercargill. The same ship unloading fuel in Bluff got piped to all the various companys tanks. As for the West Caost fuel supply ... it will be on a contract to fill those tanks for the various companys. Far cheaper and more sensible than sending a truck down just for one tank. The truck would refill at the ports in Nelson and Dunedin.

If memory serves ... the fuel prices are not based on "cartage rates added" ... prices. It is up to the retailer on what price they can get away with charging ... the basic rate they buy it for is no different to any other part of the country.

Cartage is only an excuse by the small garages (albeit in rural locations) to charge extra.

FJRider
23rd April 2012, 13:54
They got that 'Bump Phone' technology down there yet? :Police:

Too many places there where is NO phone coverage at all.

1billyboy
23rd April 2012, 20:00
Do not stop for fuel in makarora unless you have very deep pockets. Make sure you stop at bruce bay and leave a stone statue or some other form of artistic expression. Take a run down to jacksons bay if you have the time too, just be prepared to dig deep again if you have a feed there.:cool:

If you get to Jacksons Bay there might be a few sandfly to dogde.:killingme

Stylo
23rd April 2012, 20:16
Just put the Pack rack on the Bike, said puncture repair kit now purchased . Mosquito spray, torch , sleeping bag and acknowledge the weather reports and thanks for the advice guys ...will keep an eye out for the plod too .

Nice to know there's petrol available down the coast , hope there's 95 on tap

Stylo
23rd April 2012, 20:19
I dunno.... you appreciate the hot food more when it's cold and wet, and the scenery is still pretty good (what you can see of it :( )

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=203013&d=1270451718

Jatz, That looks like the Tenere I had in Europe back in '88 , nice one mate