tbone
8th June 2008, 11:38
Little info about me, just so you have an idea about the dude riding the bike!
I'm a NZ citizen, but was raised in Papua New Guniea (where I was born), Australia, Pakistan and Canada. I came to NZ in 2003, lived in Napier and Whakatane for a bit and then moved to Tauranga. I'm a software developer by trade, and it's probably my hobby as well.
First time I thought motorbikes were quite cool was when I watched the Terminator 2 movie and saw Arnie on the Fat Boy, and thought, "Man - that looks cool!". Then about 3 months ago I sat on a bike and after sitting on it (didn't ride it - a Suzuki GN250) I thought, "Yep - this is what I want todo". So bout a month later, I had my Virago 250.
This is kinda a log of my riding from Tauranga to Bluff to Cape Reinga to Tauranga - about 4600km's on a 250cc with about 3 months riding experience behind me.
Without further ado, here's the trip!
May 17th - Tauranga to Napier
This is day one of the trip, left Tauranga at about 10am and headed off to Napier via Rotorua (backroad from Tauranga) and Taupo. Ride was generally pretty good - nice weather and no major events. Before this road trip around NZ, Tauranga to Napier and back was the largest I had ever travelled on bike.
May 18th - Napier to Masterton
This was the second day of the trip, and probably the most ground breaking. From Hastings onwards, I have never driven or riden on these roads so from here on until late next week, this is all new territory. No major events happened, some beautiful countryside though. Was basically sunny all the way, with some cloudiness. The photos don't really do justice as most of the scenery was about the transition - going from farm land into trees with red and yellow leaves and red barns on the side - what you see in movies really. Masterton was a little bigger than I expected. Left Napier at about 10am and got into Masterton at about 3pm.
May 19th - Masterton to Nelson
First big day really - went over some really big hills - awesome curves! Got into Wellington quite early so was waiting for a while. Finally got into the vehicle waiting area - on the ferries you generally get let on first (after the trucks and people with disabilities). Met up with 4 other bikers, 3 of them in a group doing a South Island road trip, the other 1 on a mission to somewhere. Except for that other solo person, none of us had been on a ferry with a bike before, so that experience was kinda interesting. Nothing much too it really - just ride your bike on - the metal on the ferry is nothing to fear - just take it slow and easy.
Quite windy going down to Picton, great weather though. Didn't do much on the ferry except from look about and sleep. Got into Picton at about 6pm and started the ride to Nelson. I missed heaps of great scenery, but even at night (moonlit) you could see the outlines of the mountains in the dark and the moonlit sky highlighting the mist/fog in the fields - looked spectacular!
Got into Nelson (through the Queen Charlotte drive) at about 8pm and took a while to find the hotel. Looking on your map on bike is abit more of a pain than in a car! After Nelson I memorised where I had to go - made the trip more enjoyable!
May 20th - Nelson to Greymouth
Nothing much on this trip - still nice and sunny - no rain yet (lots to come of that!). Saw some awesome rivers though - so nice and clear. Getting a little chilly, but nothing too bad.
Actually did meet up with a fellow KiwiBiker in the morning. Grabbed a big breakfast (most of my food during the trip was a massive breakfast and not much else). Talked about stuff and got some really good pointers with riding and maintenance on the bike. I am a mechanically minded person, but for some reason after owning a car and never really worrying about the internals (you can't really on today's cars!) I thought the same on the bike. Turned out the chain was really dry, so got some lube quick smart the the fellow biker helped out heaps - thanks to that biker!
May 21st - Greymouth to Fox Glacier
Starting to get some cold weather and when stopping, you tend to get eaten alive by bugs! Kinda a pain when you put your helmet back on and find some bugs want to call it home as well! Some great scenery, stopped at Frans Josef, but didn't bother at Fox. This is more of a hard riding tour and getting used to the bike, more so than experiencing the places I ride through.
Heard the weather was going to get rough, so started to get prepared for the worst!
May 22nd - Fox Glacier to Wanaka
This would probably have to be the worst day of the whole trip. Lots of learning to go with the worst day though! Put on my waterproof pants over the jeans for the first time, and they would remain on till I got back up the South Island and hit Kaikoura!
Was basically raining the entire day and some really nasty winds getting into Haast. Nasty as in nearly blowing the bike off the road! First experience with big rigs in pouring down weather with gail winds. Kinda scary the first time you see one of these monsters head your way with a massive wall of water behind them that you need to ride through, but after that, I found it kinda a blast and fun!
Got into Wanaka at about 5pm and was absolutely soaked. Socks were wet, boots were damp, leather jacket was about 5 times heavier from soaking up the rain and gloves were wet as. Needed the whole night to dry everything out. This drying out time turned out to be a regular occurence until about Ashburton.
May 23rd - Wanaka to Invercargill
Pretty uneventful day, nothing much happened except getting to Invercargill. By this time my riding times were getting better. What used to take me about 5 hours is taking me about 3 hours. Finding the absolute limits of the bike and what is a comfortable crusing speed. For anyone thinking of getting a Virago 250, top speed is about 130km/h, can maintain a comfortable speed of 110km/h and going up hills isn't that bad. Top speed on really steep hills is about 80-90km/h. Dropping down to 4th is mandatory. I'm about 65kg which probably has a pretty big impact on the speed, though you do get blown around by trucks and heavy winds.
May 24th - Invercargill to Bluff then Dunedin
Went from the home of the World's Fastest Indian down to Bluff, took a picture of the sign down there. Some nasty, nasty weather down there! From Bluff went onwards to Dunedin. Dunedin was bigger than I expected, motorways were not something I associated with Dunedin!
May 25th - Dunedin to Ashburton
Really nothing much on this trip! Except perhaps the first bit of welcoming sunshine!
May 26th - Ashburton to Kaikoura
Not a whole lot happened on this day, but getting into Kaikoura was absolutely stunning. Easily the highlight of the entire trip. The beach was great, never heard the waves against a pebble beach before! Plus the first sunshine was really coming out on this day. You could see the mountains, and the peaks of them pierced the clouds, making the snow covered apexes shine brilliantly.
May 27th - Kaikoura to Kapiti Coast
Some great scenery from Kaikoura to Blenheim! Got into Picton just on time, hopped back on the ferry, way more confident this time. Only bike on the boat though! Weather was pretty good, until about 30 mins out of Wellington.
May 28th - Kapiti Coast to Taumaranui
Awesome ride - went from Kapiti to Wanganui then to Taumaranui. The national park is gorgeous and lots of curves with great scenery. Probably my favourite ride of the entire trip (Kaikoura takes best spot!)
May 29th - Taumaranui to Kaitaia
This was going to be split up into parts, but decided to go for one big one! Left Taumaranui at about 8:30am (nearly all other legs of the trip involved riding between 10am and 4pm) so the road was icy and the weather was cold and foggy to begin with. Lots and lots of stops and didn't get to the entrance of the Munga's (bout 1 hour from Kaitaia) till about 6pm. I had driven this road heaps of times, in auto's and manuals, but on bike, it's something else! Total darkness enveloped you and I missed a pretty important sign that said "New Seal"! During a corner, the bike slid out, and I guess instinctively, I put my right foot down, didn't touched the brakes, kicked the bike up and all was good - from here on in my riding was alot slower.
Plus this was after being on the bike for more than 9 hours. My concentration was starting to fade, and my legs were so sore, it was a challenge to use the brake and the clutch!
Never mind, at about 7pm arrived at my destination and went to sleep pretty fast!
May 30th - Kaitaia to Cape Reinga
Small ride today (staying at Dad's place). Just went up to Cape Reinga and back - only about 250 odd km's. Great ride though, the last 15 odd km's to the Cape is gravel and was quite a challenge to stay on the road. Don't much like graders on dirt roads anymore!
May 31st - Kaitaia
This was Dad's 60th - so no riding happened on this day - much needed break!
June 1st - Kaitia to Tauranga
The last day! Left Kaitaia at about 10am and didn't get back into Tauranga till about 9pm. So pretty sore afterwards! The last part of the trip (Auckland to Tauranga) turned out to be a new experience - I've had heaps of experience in riding in the rain around town, but have never ridden on the open road in the rain at night, so went pretty slow and cautious, but finally got home. It still hasn't hit me that I've seen so much of NZ - probably will one day!
Photos
These are still being put online, but you can start to view them at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27442800@N03/
I'm a NZ citizen, but was raised in Papua New Guniea (where I was born), Australia, Pakistan and Canada. I came to NZ in 2003, lived in Napier and Whakatane for a bit and then moved to Tauranga. I'm a software developer by trade, and it's probably my hobby as well.
First time I thought motorbikes were quite cool was when I watched the Terminator 2 movie and saw Arnie on the Fat Boy, and thought, "Man - that looks cool!". Then about 3 months ago I sat on a bike and after sitting on it (didn't ride it - a Suzuki GN250) I thought, "Yep - this is what I want todo". So bout a month later, I had my Virago 250.
This is kinda a log of my riding from Tauranga to Bluff to Cape Reinga to Tauranga - about 4600km's on a 250cc with about 3 months riding experience behind me.
Without further ado, here's the trip!
May 17th - Tauranga to Napier
This is day one of the trip, left Tauranga at about 10am and headed off to Napier via Rotorua (backroad from Tauranga) and Taupo. Ride was generally pretty good - nice weather and no major events. Before this road trip around NZ, Tauranga to Napier and back was the largest I had ever travelled on bike.
May 18th - Napier to Masterton
This was the second day of the trip, and probably the most ground breaking. From Hastings onwards, I have never driven or riden on these roads so from here on until late next week, this is all new territory. No major events happened, some beautiful countryside though. Was basically sunny all the way, with some cloudiness. The photos don't really do justice as most of the scenery was about the transition - going from farm land into trees with red and yellow leaves and red barns on the side - what you see in movies really. Masterton was a little bigger than I expected. Left Napier at about 10am and got into Masterton at about 3pm.
May 19th - Masterton to Nelson
First big day really - went over some really big hills - awesome curves! Got into Wellington quite early so was waiting for a while. Finally got into the vehicle waiting area - on the ferries you generally get let on first (after the trucks and people with disabilities). Met up with 4 other bikers, 3 of them in a group doing a South Island road trip, the other 1 on a mission to somewhere. Except for that other solo person, none of us had been on a ferry with a bike before, so that experience was kinda interesting. Nothing much too it really - just ride your bike on - the metal on the ferry is nothing to fear - just take it slow and easy.
Quite windy going down to Picton, great weather though. Didn't do much on the ferry except from look about and sleep. Got into Picton at about 6pm and started the ride to Nelson. I missed heaps of great scenery, but even at night (moonlit) you could see the outlines of the mountains in the dark and the moonlit sky highlighting the mist/fog in the fields - looked spectacular!
Got into Nelson (through the Queen Charlotte drive) at about 8pm and took a while to find the hotel. Looking on your map on bike is abit more of a pain than in a car! After Nelson I memorised where I had to go - made the trip more enjoyable!
May 20th - Nelson to Greymouth
Nothing much on this trip - still nice and sunny - no rain yet (lots to come of that!). Saw some awesome rivers though - so nice and clear. Getting a little chilly, but nothing too bad.
Actually did meet up with a fellow KiwiBiker in the morning. Grabbed a big breakfast (most of my food during the trip was a massive breakfast and not much else). Talked about stuff and got some really good pointers with riding and maintenance on the bike. I am a mechanically minded person, but for some reason after owning a car and never really worrying about the internals (you can't really on today's cars!) I thought the same on the bike. Turned out the chain was really dry, so got some lube quick smart the the fellow biker helped out heaps - thanks to that biker!
May 21st - Greymouth to Fox Glacier
Starting to get some cold weather and when stopping, you tend to get eaten alive by bugs! Kinda a pain when you put your helmet back on and find some bugs want to call it home as well! Some great scenery, stopped at Frans Josef, but didn't bother at Fox. This is more of a hard riding tour and getting used to the bike, more so than experiencing the places I ride through.
Heard the weather was going to get rough, so started to get prepared for the worst!
May 22nd - Fox Glacier to Wanaka
This would probably have to be the worst day of the whole trip. Lots of learning to go with the worst day though! Put on my waterproof pants over the jeans for the first time, and they would remain on till I got back up the South Island and hit Kaikoura!
Was basically raining the entire day and some really nasty winds getting into Haast. Nasty as in nearly blowing the bike off the road! First experience with big rigs in pouring down weather with gail winds. Kinda scary the first time you see one of these monsters head your way with a massive wall of water behind them that you need to ride through, but after that, I found it kinda a blast and fun!
Got into Wanaka at about 5pm and was absolutely soaked. Socks were wet, boots were damp, leather jacket was about 5 times heavier from soaking up the rain and gloves were wet as. Needed the whole night to dry everything out. This drying out time turned out to be a regular occurence until about Ashburton.
May 23rd - Wanaka to Invercargill
Pretty uneventful day, nothing much happened except getting to Invercargill. By this time my riding times were getting better. What used to take me about 5 hours is taking me about 3 hours. Finding the absolute limits of the bike and what is a comfortable crusing speed. For anyone thinking of getting a Virago 250, top speed is about 130km/h, can maintain a comfortable speed of 110km/h and going up hills isn't that bad. Top speed on really steep hills is about 80-90km/h. Dropping down to 4th is mandatory. I'm about 65kg which probably has a pretty big impact on the speed, though you do get blown around by trucks and heavy winds.
May 24th - Invercargill to Bluff then Dunedin
Went from the home of the World's Fastest Indian down to Bluff, took a picture of the sign down there. Some nasty, nasty weather down there! From Bluff went onwards to Dunedin. Dunedin was bigger than I expected, motorways were not something I associated with Dunedin!
May 25th - Dunedin to Ashburton
Really nothing much on this trip! Except perhaps the first bit of welcoming sunshine!
May 26th - Ashburton to Kaikoura
Not a whole lot happened on this day, but getting into Kaikoura was absolutely stunning. Easily the highlight of the entire trip. The beach was great, never heard the waves against a pebble beach before! Plus the first sunshine was really coming out on this day. You could see the mountains, and the peaks of them pierced the clouds, making the snow covered apexes shine brilliantly.
May 27th - Kaikoura to Kapiti Coast
Some great scenery from Kaikoura to Blenheim! Got into Picton just on time, hopped back on the ferry, way more confident this time. Only bike on the boat though! Weather was pretty good, until about 30 mins out of Wellington.
May 28th - Kapiti Coast to Taumaranui
Awesome ride - went from Kapiti to Wanganui then to Taumaranui. The national park is gorgeous and lots of curves with great scenery. Probably my favourite ride of the entire trip (Kaikoura takes best spot!)
May 29th - Taumaranui to Kaitaia
This was going to be split up into parts, but decided to go for one big one! Left Taumaranui at about 8:30am (nearly all other legs of the trip involved riding between 10am and 4pm) so the road was icy and the weather was cold and foggy to begin with. Lots and lots of stops and didn't get to the entrance of the Munga's (bout 1 hour from Kaitaia) till about 6pm. I had driven this road heaps of times, in auto's and manuals, but on bike, it's something else! Total darkness enveloped you and I missed a pretty important sign that said "New Seal"! During a corner, the bike slid out, and I guess instinctively, I put my right foot down, didn't touched the brakes, kicked the bike up and all was good - from here on in my riding was alot slower.
Plus this was after being on the bike for more than 9 hours. My concentration was starting to fade, and my legs were so sore, it was a challenge to use the brake and the clutch!
Never mind, at about 7pm arrived at my destination and went to sleep pretty fast!
May 30th - Kaitaia to Cape Reinga
Small ride today (staying at Dad's place). Just went up to Cape Reinga and back - only about 250 odd km's. Great ride though, the last 15 odd km's to the Cape is gravel and was quite a challenge to stay on the road. Don't much like graders on dirt roads anymore!
May 31st - Kaitaia
This was Dad's 60th - so no riding happened on this day - much needed break!
June 1st - Kaitia to Tauranga
The last day! Left Kaitaia at about 10am and didn't get back into Tauranga till about 9pm. So pretty sore afterwards! The last part of the trip (Auckland to Tauranga) turned out to be a new experience - I've had heaps of experience in riding in the rain around town, but have never ridden on the open road in the rain at night, so went pretty slow and cautious, but finally got home. It still hasn't hit me that I've seen so much of NZ - probably will one day!
Photos
These are still being put online, but you can start to view them at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27442800@N03/