Another South Island Trip Report

[buggerit]

So I have been planning to get south again for a while and finally managed a window of time.
Left home 9th of March with nothing booked, so took at tent, bag and mattress. I wanted the flexibility to
change my route as I pleased which worked well. In hindsight I could of left the camping gear at home
as I never had a problem just rolling up and getting accomodation anywhere.

Set off from home at 11am in drizzle, with the rain radar looking a bit average, so thought Id just
go straight down SH1 as I hadnt done it for years , should have taken the Western Bypas around
Taupo, I had forgotten how many restricted speed areas there were around the east side.
Arrived in Taihape and booked in to Taihape Motel with my old mate, real old school motel but
a good shower, good bed and a couple of beers and toast and cereal for breakfast for a
princely sum of $75, what more could a bloke want.

[buggerit]

Day 2

Left Taihape at 5am to catch the 9am sailing and had a brisk trip down, helped by it being a Sunday.
Had a smooth sailing, was surprised by how few bikes were on board.
Left the ferry and looped round through Queen Charlotte Dr to Havelock for lunch, road in good nick
and clear, once past the ferry traffic.
Had a great ride up the Rai valley and over the ranges to Nelson, really enjoying the Conti Road Attack 3s
I had fitted before this trip.
Carried on to Motueka and dropped by gear at cabin and then headed for Takaka.
After the heavy storm damage last year there are ongoing repair work, this means it is restricted
to one way over a section and this is controlled by lights on a 15 minute cycle.
Yes, you may have a 15 minute wait as I did, but it also means a clear road
for your motorcyling pleasure:devil2:
Had dinner at Takaka with a few local riders at their Sunday night meetup bar and eatery
then back over the hill to the cabin for the night.
500km.

[buggerit]

Day 3

Weather was looking dodgy on the west coast so decided to head back through Nelson and on to Kaikoura for the night.
The weather was good and had a most enjoyable ride, some very interesting changes to the landscape after the quake.
Dropped my gear at a cabin just out of town then down to the foreshore and dinner at the pub.
290km

[buggerit]

Day 4

Left Kaikoura in fine sunny weather, destination Akaroa.
Very impressive, the reconstruction work on the highway, the road is still very rough as you turn inland through the ranges to the plains
so still years of reconstruction ahead I would imagine.
Made my way to Christchuch and out to Sumner then thru the tunnel to Lyttleton then over Gebbes pass and on to Akaroa.
Met a retired bloke at my lunch stop who had gone out for an afternoon ride a week before to see a mate and ended up doing a lap of the south island, this
was his last feed before he got home to face the music:angry:
286km

[buggerit]

Day 5

Had a great day around Akaroa, relaxed breke of eggs bene and a good coffee, then out exploring the local
roads and nice dinner in a little bar eatery on the waters edge.

[buggerit]

Day 6

Traveled from Akaroa to Wanaka today with about 100km of drizzle which would be the last moisture I
saw in the South Island.
Trundled across the Canterbury Plains then onto SH79 through to Fairlie, a bit damp, but still fun
then through Burkes pass:cool: and onto Mount St John observetory . I keep meaning to stop here but
usually in a group making progress.
Had lunch here then a good run to Omarama then through the Lindis:cool: and into
Wanaka. Found a nice cabin, double glazed and well heated then into town for
dinner at the Lake Bar
I decided to make this my base for a few days to enjoy some of the local roads
without all my luggage.
481km

[Kickaha]

booked in to Taihape Motel with my old mate, real old school motel but
a good shower, good bed and a couple of beers and toast and cereal for breakfast for a
princely sum of $75, what more could a bloke want.


Been a few years since I stayed there but does he still give you a beer when you sign in?

[buggerit]

Been a few years since I stayed there but does he still give you a beer when you sign in?

yep, beer and chips, a real gent:):)

[buggerit]

Day 7

Traveled from Wanaka base to Cardronna Hotel for eggs bene breakfast (very good) and on to
Arrowtown, that Crown Range road is FFFFFun:devil2:
Managed to skirt round Queenstown then had a wicked run out to Glenorchy for lunch then
returned through Queenstown (should have avoided it again) and back over the Crown Range
to base. The road surfaces were great as was the weather, fabulous:first:
Picked up a nail on the return into Wanaka and went into the new bike shop
in Wanaka (Power Sports I think) and they dropped tools and fixed it straight away, great service.
235km

[gsxr]

Great report .You were lucky with a mild Autumn . Some great roads in the SI
Did you enjoy Queen Charlotte Drive . Its always a good road to remove any chicken strips.

[buggerit]

Day 8

Decided to do a loop out to the coast today, Wanaka, Cromwell, Alexandra, down SH85 to Palmerston,( the pig route?)
when up the coast and back inland on SH83 to Omarama and back over the Lindis Pass to Wanaka.
A great trip all round especially from Ranfurly to Palmerston.
SH83 had some long straight sections mixed up with some more intersting bits then The Lindis, funfunfun:wings:
533km

[buggerit]

Day 9

Wanaka to Cardronna for breke then thought I would try an inland southland route closer to the ranges.
Carried on through the Kawarau Gorge and onto Alexandra with a stop at Fruitlands to get a snap of the old cottage I lived in after uni.
then carried on towards Roxburgh for lunch. Was disappointed to see the Shingle Creek Pub had closed, had a few ales there in my time.
So turned left at Ettrick onto Moa Flat road and on to Heriot then onto Waikaka then on to SH94 at Riversdale for a coffee. This
was an enjoyable road with some country and views I hadnt seen before.
From here I headed for Lumsden then back up SH6 over The Devils Staircase:devil2: back over the crown range:wings: to Wanaka.
480km.

[buggerit]

Day 10

Had a quiet day today, went for breakfast and a look round the Warbirds Mueseum at Wanaka Airport
then a ride up past Lake Hawea and through The Gap past the northern end of Lake Wanaka to
Makarora for lunch, then returned to Wanaka and had a look around the lakes southern edge.

[buggerit]

Day 11

Today I decided to move camp so packed up and headed over the Crown Range:woohoo:witha a stop for eggs bene and caffine at Cardronna:rolleyes:
then down The Devils Staircase:devil2: and on to just north of Mossburn where I got a cabin and dropped my gear.
From here I carried on to Te Anau for fuel where I met another biker, Tom, on a rental GS 1200 we ended up riding together for a couple
of days.
So we rode to Milford Sounds but was a bit pushed for time to do a trip, so coffeed and headed back .
As we neared the tunnel we encountered a large que so filtered to the front to discover that a Tour bus
had run out of diesel in the middle of the tunnel 1.5 hrs earlier. This ment tunnel control had to back out
all the cars behind the bus as the tunnel is not ventilated.Also the bus had lost all its air.
To add to all this, a cruise ship was in Milford and alot of passengers had left on buses in the morning
for a day trip and were stuck on the other side so the ship couldnot leave.
Lucky there was a roadworks crew on the Milford side with diesel and a mechanic, so we only had a
30 min wait then clear roads back to Te Anau:cool:
We must of passed 150 vehicles in the que before the tunnel and they were only going
to let them go in groups of 20 from each side , glad I wasnt on 4 wheels:baby:
Had a coffee at Te Anau and Tom rang where I had my cabin and scored one for himself.
So back to the Mossburn Pub for dinner(very good) and back to the cabins for the night.
Great day, awsesome roads and weather and good company.
515km

[F5 Dave]

. . ..
Arrived in Taihape and booked in to Taihape Motel with my old mate, real old school motel but
a good shower, good bed and a couple of beers and toast and cereal for breakfast for a
princely sum of $75, what more could a bloke want.

Answer;
A knob job. But kinda depends on what your mate looks like and how big his tits are.

[buggerit]

Day 12

So departed Mossburn for Manapouri for breakfast then down SH99 through Tuatapere and
Riverton to Invercargill, a great ride. Went to Motorcycle Muesum with my new pommie mate
explaining that he would have seen bigger and better, to watch him pick his jaw up off the floor.
Best of all, he found a bike his father had talked about and come to the conclusion that
his father must of been mistaken ( a Vincent Black Shadow?)
Had a good lunch in their cafe then onto The Catlins and round to Balclutha for the night.

[F5 Dave]

Oh jeez. Read the rest and I'm wanderlust again. Going down November with a crew but can only do 5 nights. Super envious

[buggerit]

Day 13

Left Balclutha and trundled through to Outram then had an awsesome ride up through Middlemarch
and on to Ranfurly for lunch.
Then on through the Kawarau Gorge and over the Crown Range:wings: to Wanaka

[buggerit]

Day 14

Left Wanaka today for the trip north, Tom heading the inland road to Christchuch and me
heading up the west coast.
Left Wanaka a bit late at noon so really just stopped for food and fuel.
Arrived at The Blackball Hilton about 5.30 so had a pretty clear run.
Had a good meal and enjoyed the company of the locals, probably one
of the things I enjoy travelling by myself as you tend to mix rather than
just chatting to your mates.
482km

[buggerit]

Day 15

Blackball to Picton via Nelson
Another awsesome ride , first time I have been up the Blackball side of the Gorge.
Stayed at The Tombstone Backpackers, very good, the owner is a biker and you
park undercover next to the front door.
400km

[buggerit]

Day 16

Picton to Taihape
Got off the ferry and struck crawling traffic all the to just about Bulls, saw more cops than the whole of the South Island.
Had enough by Taihape so stayed the night there, then up the western bypass and accross to Tamaurnui, then home
616km

trip total 6056km

[buggerit]

Great report .You were lucky with a mild Autumn . Some great roads in the SI
Did you enjoy Queen Charlotte Drive . Its always a good road to remove any chicken strips.

Early March was my pick, not to hot, a fairly good chance of settled weather, and just off peak tourist season.
And a fair bit of luck.
Queen Charlotte was great, good surface and dry, must remember to fuel in Wellington before ferry ride to
get jump on traffic off the ferry.

[F5 Dave]

Talked to the cook at the blackball. Cool guy and his apprentice. Then proceeded to make a nuisance of myself.m

[BMWST?]

great report gonna save some of those names,have done a few trips down south but had not heard of all those places

[Gremlin]

So uh... you like the Crown Range? I have indeed done it a few times over, but not that many! :lol:

[buggerit]

So uh... you like the Crown Range? I have indeed done it a few times over, but not that many! :lol:

It just seemed to be on the way to somewhere else:innocent:

[buggerit]

great report gonna save some of those names,have done a few trips down south but had not heard of all those places

My pleasure, would be interested to hear of some good rides from your neck of the woods as I really havent ventured much into the SE corner
of the North Island:scooter:

[Frodo]

Great thread, nice photos with lots of blue sky. Think "I must do this again" and then it sounds like hail on the roof! My last trip around the mainland took seven days and it rained six of them. I guess August is not March. Not sure if I can wait until summer though...

[Daffyd]

[QUOTE=buggerit;1131132800]Day 8

SH85 to Palmerston,( the pig route?)
[/QUOTE



The "pig root."

[F5 Dave]

I'm sure they do. But in the privacy of their own field two consenting pigs:love:. . . .

[Southern scratcher]

Great report chap, as a Southener I know these roads so enjoyed the read. March is generally good down here as you found out.
Sounds like you found all the good roads, possibly missed the Arthurs and Lewis passes but you cant do everything eh.
Was impressed that you rode the route from Ettrick (south of Roxburgh) through to Riversdale. This is one of my regular haunts, there's next to no traffic (or cops) on it apart from the odd cocky on a 4 wheeler or tractor :shit:.
And yes, the corners on the Cadrona range are very well engineered indeed :yes: But, like the Milford road, it's hard to get a good run at it in summer unless you get up at sparrow fart.
Nice one, glad you enjoyed our back yard.

[buggerit]

Great report chap, as a Southener I know these roads so enjoyed the read. March is generally good down here as you found out.
Sounds like you found all the good roads, possibly missed the Arthurs and Lewis passes but you cant do everything eh.
Was impressed that you rode the route from Ettrick (south of Roxburgh) through to Riversdale. This is one of my regular haunts, there's next to no traffic (or cops) on it apart from the odd cocky on a 4 wheeler or tractor :shit:.
And yes, the corners on the Cadrona range are very well engineered indeed :yes: But, like the Milford road, it's hard to get a good run at it in summer unless you get up at sparrow fart.
Nice one, glad you enjoyed our back yard.

Really enjoyed the southern hospitality(and roads) and remember why I enjoyed living down your way in the 80s, great people:yes:

[Blackbird]

Great report Steve! I havent been down south since 2007 :( . Apart from the puncture, how did your Road Attacks handle the trip?

[buggerit]

Great report Steve! I havent been down south since 2007 :( . Apart from the puncture, how did your Road Attacks handle the trip?

Thanks Geoff, the Road Attacks went really well, turns in nice and heaps of traction wet and dry, I haven't tried them in standing
water yet, but are very impressed so far.

picture with approx. 6500km on rear.

[Blackbird]

Thanks Geoff, the Road Attacks went really well, turns in nice and heaps of traction wet and dry, I haven't tried them in standing
water yet, but are very impressed so far.

picture with approx. 6500km on rear.

That's excellent Steve, given the Torque Monster qualities of your bike and the grippy surfaces of SI roads. :yes:

[buggerit]

Great report Steve! I havent been down south since 2007 :(

I feel a roadie coming on:confused: