South Island Tour

[Warr]

Tis less than a week till we head off on our SI tour.
Backpackers booked and bikes preped. 3 bikes, 5 bikers.
1x Red VFR, 1x K1100 and mine 1x Black VFR. If you see us out give us a wave which we'll be sure to return it :)
Staying
24-Dec Sun Taihape
25-Dec Mon Picton
26-Dec Tue Kaikoura
27-Dec Wed Akaroa
28-Dec Thu Akaroa
29-Dec Fri Tekapo
30-Dec Sat Queenstown
31-Dec Sun Queenstown
1-Jan Mon Riverton
2-Jan Tue Arrowtown
3-Jan Wed Franz Josef
4-Jan Thu Greymouth
5-Jan Fri Greymouth
6-Jan Sat Takaka
7-Jan Sun Takaka
8-Jan Mon
9-Jan Tue Picton

[MyGSXF]

ferkin AWEsome guys!!! :Punk:

Have a blast!! & if ya need any help or get stuck while in Nelson area.. give me a shout!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

Jen :rockon:

[Warr]

ferkin AWEsome guys!!! :Punk:

Have a blast!! & if ya need any help or get stuck while in Nelson area.. give me a shout!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

Jen :rockon:
Cheers there. As you can see we have a few days spare after (Takaka) Pohara Beach, so if you PM me your cell "Ill put it in my phone. If you are around after the 8th. We will be down to 2 couples, 2 bikes by then too!

[Blackbird]

Have a wonderful and safe time Warren - the south island is just awesome.

I see you'll be at Pohara beach for a bit. Wonderful spot. We stayed as Sans Souci, the adobe mud block motel a few years back and just loved it. On the road between Pohara beach and Takaka are some limestone formations that have been set up like a maze - they are huge fun to go round. Have fun over the Takaka Hill:Punk:

Be safe and Merry Xmas.

Geoff

[NighthawkNZ]

Have a great trip... I may see you on the road... as I will be doing a bit tour up and down the country side over the xmas season...

[SDU]

Keep an eye out for the CHCH mob in Akaroa or on your way through.
Have a awesome trip.

[Warr]

Keep an eye out for the CHCH mob in Akaroa or on your way through.
Have a awesome trip.
Cheers SDU and yes we are looking forward expecially to the Akaroa leg. The place we were staying was a bit worried that we could be locals... what could this mean ?

[emaN]

That's right! Forgot you were doing this...

Have a wikkid time bro! Got the "new" front end on the bike, or the original?

[TerminalAddict]

will be thinking of you old chap ;)

needless to say .. .have a wicked time !!!

[Warr]

will be thinking of you old chap ;)

needless to say .. .have a wicked time !!!
Easy on the old eh !!! Yea will be thinking of you all too :) (not) :)

[Warr]

That's right! Forgot you were doing this...

Have a wikkid time bro! Got the "new" front end on the bike, or the original?
Actually still got your one on at the moment. Will have a measure up on Saturday and decide. The disc's on ther new wheel arent dont quite work as well with my pads, must have a slight difference in the wear pattern, so you have to use 3 fingers instead of 2 so my original wheel may well go back on :)

[oldrider]

All the best for your trip you guys, I hope to catch up with you somewhere, possibly Tekapo, if not have a great time. :ride: Cheers John.

[emaN]

...have to use 3 fingers instead of 2 so my original wheel may well go back on :)
Vale uses four, so you could be heading in the right direction! :yes:

Hope y'get :sunny: weather bro!
Ride safe, and i look forward to ride reports throughout!!...:scooter:

[Warr]

Well not sure what it is ... departure day, the packing is all done, the bike awaiting its cargo in the garage. You could say as prepared as you can be. But the mind wont sleep!! 2+1/2 weeks away on holiday, no not holiday this is an adventure. Plenty of others have done it before. But a 3500km journey .. no its not daunting. Its just the things that could go wrong with gear. Like we broke the pack rack and lost, yes lost our pack off the back of my XJ900. But the same pack and rack had made it up Ninety Mile beach and to Cape Reinga. Will the rack on my present machine handle 3500k's of journey ??
Tis only a few hours till leaving.. yes the adventure will begin. Shame about the sleep tho. Pehaps we should have left at 3 in the morning. I would have been ready for that!

[miSTa]

That will be a geat trip, have fun in our backyard.

[Warr]

Made it to Taihape without too much rain. Off to 2 pm ferry tomorrow. Light traffic on Tmn route.

[Warr]

Great to get your PM s. Just replying on my phone so bit of a mish! Cell is ....

[Warr]

All good. Made it to Wellington early quick bit at Oriental Bay then more food at Wild Bean as most places are closed! .... if you are in t area

[Warr]

Made it to Akaroa today. Lovely hills. They just go on and on. Lots of bikes out too. Will have a day of rest tomorrow as we are here for 2 nights. The road is like the steeper parts of coro and tight. So not like 22 which is flater and faster.

[oldrider]

Well Warr's itinerary said they would be in Tekapo today so I got on my bike and went to Tekapo for a ride to say hello.
Why? Just because I could.
Beautiful sunny day at Otematata, set off for leisurely (slow) ride over the saddle to Omarama and looked up the Mackenzie plains and rain clouds everywhere!
Around about the Ohau turnoff down she came in bucket-loads so I stopped and donned my rain suit.
When back on the road again I was passed by a couple of Suzukis? and you guessed it, I tacked in behind them and got to Tekapo way too early!
So much for the leisurely ride!
Had a nice time wandering around talking to the tourists (fellow motorcyclists from USA)
The weather had cleared and was hot and sunny until Warr and Co arrived, complete with police escort! (unplanned by either party)
Then the weather started to deteriorate.
Met Warren, Mrs Warren and friends, had a cup of coffee and set off for home via the Hakataramea Pass just as the weather started to change for the worse.
At least it held off until I was over the Pass but then it fair bucketed down but I had the most fantastic ride home.(water, water, everywhere.)
I am a little strange it seems because I really love riding in heavy rain, it adds greater dimension to the ride.

Nice to meet you Warr and put a face to yet another Kiwi Biker. :yes:

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Southern ride. :ride: Cheers John.

PS: It's still pissing down outside, hope it clears for you guys tomorrow!

Pics:
1 & 2 Tekapo as I waited.
3 Warr and friends.
4 Approaching the Haka Pass and the lovely rain.

[Warr]

Hey John thats a pretty good report. And jolly nice to meet you too. Too short even as never got a chance to see your bike. We arent sure what sort of weather we are in for tomorrow but am guessing it will be cool. Tis a nice spot we are stopped in at Tekapo too.

[Jantar]

We arent sure what sort of weather we are in for tomorrow but am guessing it will be cool.
This shit weather going through at the moment should clear tomorrow morning. It'll be a cool ride coming over the Lindis, but the roads will be good condition after the rain. Long range looks good for the rest of your trip. :sunny:

[Warr]

Can report that have made it back to hams in one piece.
4557 k's all up. No bike problems other than those man-made!!
May concentrate on some shorter rides for a bit

[terbang]

Good one Warren welcome back to New Zealand. We are doing the same in Feb. Any pointers..?

[kickingzebra]

Well done that man!!! Nice to finally have clean cloths then huh??

[NighthawkNZ]

well done.. great that you enjoyed it :)

[TerminalAddict]

welcome back (plus I caught with this therad :) )

[Warr]

Good one Warren welcome back to New Zealand. We are doing the same in Feb. Any pointers..?
Pointers. ... Travel light, there is always a Warehouse around for a change of dacks!
Hope the weather picks up for you. My grip warmers were well used! Hadnt used them all winter but SI summer's are something else :)

[Warr]

Well done that man!!! Nice to finally have clean cloths then huh??
Yep you have it in one :)