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3L4NS1R
15th January 2009, 21:43
This is going to be a long one, so I'll do it all in several installments.

Ever since getting my first bike, a KLX 250, I've been itching to do a mammoth ride. Not just a quick pottle out of Auckland, but a marathon effort that tests me and the bike to breaking point and beyond. So, when my mate got a brand new Ninja, it seemed the perfect excuse to go on a New Zealand tour. Unfortunatly, on a warmup run up north, the Ninja bucked it's rider and the rider was invalidated. So, I found another riding buddy. Being raised on a farm, my fellow rider who shall be known by his middle name: "Danger", has a vast amount of offroad biking, so he was very keen to borrow a road legal bike and accompany me on the epic trip of a lifetime (whilst on a 250 anyway).

Using all of his barganing power and sheer charm, he managed to wrangle up a 2004 GN250 from a fellow army mate. We were set. 2 weeks later, and much Christmas/New Years celebrations, we set off of the 3rd, with Danger nursing a slight Hangover, and me recovering from a moderate amount of sleep depravation. Little did we know how much of a pattern this would become.

To make this easier for me to keep a track of without rambling, I'll post them as seperate days.

shafty
15th January 2009, 22:09
Good stuff - keep it coming - and plenty of pics! :banana:

Ixion
15th January 2009, 22:10
Respect. The true biker spirit.

EJK
15th January 2009, 22:11
Whoah thats crazy! Amazing man!

3L4NS1R
15th January 2009, 22:12
The day started at 0600, with a short ride to Danger's lair, where apon we discussed what gear we were clearly missing, took photos, and saddled up. The aim for the day was to get all the way to Cape Reinga, stopping for some sleep in Kaitaia afterwards. We would take the West Coast route, crossing the ferry at Rawene, and rejoining SH1.

It was clear sailing until Dargaville, when the heavens opened. Sitting in a gas station eating a pie, we figured out the rain was set to stay, and it was about time to get wet. After Danger had a near death experience while negotiating a corner with oncoming traffic and a fogged visor, a coffee at Tane Mahuta was a godsend.

Falling quite far behind schedule, we hit Rawene by 1700, and just as we did the rain stopped. Seeing the ferry loading the last cars on, and not knowing if there was another for the day, we raced on board without looking at our petrol state. Kawasaki decided that KLX's clearly don't do long hauls, so they equiped them with a 7.7L tank. Blissfully light when on the trail, they are a bitch to work around when road triping. So it was that we spent the rest of the trip to Kaitaia fretting about when the KLX would cut out. Luckly it turned out it lasted until the edge of town, coughing its last just as the petrol station came into view.

Grateful of the short walk/push, we realised it was approaching 7pm. Too late to carry on to the cape, so we located the backpackers, accquired a pack of beer, and nursed them while chatting to some dutch backpackers.

Reido
15th January 2009, 22:14
bastard... i want to do that.. but i have no $$$

good on ya :niceone:

Lucy
15th January 2009, 22:25
Falling quite far behind schedule, we hit Rawene by 1700, and just as we did the rain stopped. Seeing the ferry loading the last cars on, and not knowing if there was another for the day, we raced on board without looking at our petrol state. Kawasaki decided that KLX's clearly don't do long hauls, so they equiped them with a 7.7L tank. Blissfully light when on the trail, they are a bitch to work around when road triping. So it was that we spent the rest of the trip to Kaitaia fretting about when the KLX would cut out. Luckly it turned out it lasted until the edge of town, coughing its last just as the petrol station came into view.

Grateful of the short walk/push, we realised it was approaching 7pm. Too late to carry on to the cape, so we located the backpackers, accquired a pack of beer, and nursed them while chatting to some dutch backpackers.


Keep it up, I am loving this one too! (is there gas at Rawene anyway?)

3L4NS1R
15th January 2009, 22:34
Starting off with a hearty breaky of Egg in a Hole, we were on the road by 0900, blatting north for Cape Reinga. If anyone is planning on doing this trip on a bike with a small gas tank, fill up wherever you can, the station near the end is often out of gas, like it was today.

The morning went without a hitch, and we reached the edge of the metal road that claimed the pride and leg of my previous biking buddy. Naturally I had a slight amount of anxiety when we came to this, if there was a repeat performance, it was going to be a major downer on the rest of the trip, primarily due to the possible loss of one of my best wingmen in social arenas.

A couple of close calls later, and we got the Cape. This place never ceases to amaze me. Something about it makes it seem a significant place for any New Zealander. My hat goes off to the architects and planners of the new buildings at the carpark, the way the sea vista unrolls as you walk through the passageway is an awe inspiring experience.

We take the obligitory tourist photos, pay our respects to the Northern Most point on the trip, and head back to Auckland. Negotiating the returning Holiday Traffic, we hit Auckland around 1930, and went off to our own homes to have one last night in our own beds for a while.

mark247
15th January 2009, 22:43
That's a long way. Keep up the posts.

3L4NS1R
15th January 2009, 22:52
0500 sees me blatting out to Danger's farm house, taking in the pre dawn vista across the Bombay Hills. I've mentally prepared for what will be our second longest day of the trip, theres gas in the tank (for now) and the bike is purring for the attention it's had. After a quick Salami on Toast (new for me) we are on the bikes, and hitting the road. Our progress is quick, with the only stops being Hamilton and Taupo for petrol, and lunch in Waiouru with a fellow army mate. Heading south from Waiouru, we notice the GN's chain is starting to hit the center stand, and by the time we hit Bulls, it was draggin across is more or less constantly. Filling up in Bulls, we were discussing the issue when we spyed a large collection of bikes in an unlabeled warehouse across the road. Going across there, we find its no other than Bulls Motorcycles (or something like that) with the awesome slogan "Ride-a-bull" (every business in Bulls has a similar slogan, quite funny for the first 3 times you see it). Upon inspection, the chain is pronounced dead, and a new one fitted. It was also here that I noted a moderate amount of oil leaking through the seals on the rocker cover of my bike. Didn't seem a major issue, so we shrugged it off and carried on. We reached Wellington by 1900, found my Aunty and Uncle's house, wrestled with the cousins, and crashed out on the lounge floor, amped for the journey to be made tommorow.

3L4NS1R
15th January 2009, 23:32
Another 0500 start, partly due to the 0700 ferry time, mostly due to excitement, as this was, at least for me, when the trip started for real. The last time I had been to the South Island was now 5 years distant, and then it had only been around the Lakes district.

We found the BlueBridge ferry terminal by 630, parked up our bikes, and sat down to wait. Danger suddenly realised Parliament house was one block away, and thus our 30 minute Tour Wellington mission began, consisting of a quick walk to get the obligitory photos outside parliament, and a quick discussion with Gandhi, who turns out to be a bit of a silent type.

The crossing was enthralling for the first 20 minutes. It was then discovered that the scenery doesn't change as fast as it does on a bike, so we settled in front of Get Smart, and chowed down on some breaky.

Getting off the ferry, we got a quick photo of the Picton War Memorial, which on second thought was not a good note to start off the leg with.

The next stop was enroute to Blenheim, where it was discovered the chain change in Bulls had not included replacing one of the chain tensioner bolts. This was quickly remedied by a quick visit to a hardware store to aquire a galvanised bolt. Unorthodox sure, but it seems to have worked.

Carrying on to Christchurch, arriving about 1830, we stayed in the one place that we had booked accomodation on the whole trip, after being recommended it from a friend. Jailhouse Backpackers is a converted Prison, with the Cells now housing 4-8 bed dorms, and it has taken off, with the owners capitalising well on the novalty of the building. I'd recommend it for anyone travelling through ChCh if you're looking for something different from your standard backpackers accomodation.

In an act that would become standard practise, we picked up a doz beer, and spent the evening talking to the other 'inmates'.

3L4NS1R
15th January 2009, 23:54
The next target was for Wanaka, cutting inland to the Southern Alps, a trip of about 450kms. By this stage the oil leak on the KLX had gotten to the level where I was starting to get concerned about oil loss, so I got a spare litre of oil from Superior Motorcycles before leaving Christchurch. This turned out to be possibly the best decision I made on the entire trip (aside from the idea of the trip itself). After a small amount of initial confusion with getting out of Christchurch we bit the bullet and went halves in a map book of the South Island. We quickly managed to get out of the city and onto the plains. I have to say, as exciting as farm machinery is, this was one of the few bits of the trip that I severely wished I had slightly more that 250cc of power under me, especially when a headwind started up, cutting our average speed down even further.

Once out of the plains we made good time, stopping in Fairlie for some lunch, then the lakes started. Despite this not being the first time seeing them, I was still blown away with how blue they appear. We took the next bit leisurely, even getting a bit of dirtbiking in to get to the top of a small rise for a spot of photography.

We got into Wanaka at quite an early 1600, after we decided not to do the side trip up to Mt Cook Village (low clouds would mean Mt Cook wouldn't be seen anyway). After cruising the streets of Wanaka, we settled on Purple Cow Backpackers. By now we had formed a bit of a routine when getting to a backpackers, where we pick up a doz beer, then walk in to the room/dorm offering a drink. This time we were greeted by 4 females, 2 german and 2 brits. Not one turned down a drink, and a few doz turned into 2 doz, a bottle of port, and tequila. Demons played thier game, and morning saw us still drinking, watching the sunrise over the town. It was decided that we would have a Day Off.

motorbyclist
16th January 2009, 00:04
moar!

what's the bet the GN dies a horrible death?

:corn:

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 00:06
I'd like to say we had a day off because we'd ridden hard, that we had to maintain our bikes, or that the weather forced us to stop. But ultimately we had a day off because we were severely hungover and didn't sleep, as our new friends were far too entertaining.

After a morning nap, we got up and accompanied our new german friends on a small hike up Iron Hill, highly recommended for the awesome vistas from the summit. Coming down, we ended up at Puzzling World, a cool little theme park with all sorts of illusions/puzzles and a huge 2 floor maze.

However we quickly realised our mistake when we walked into the 'tilting room', the floor of which is on a 15 degree angle. This would normally be fine, however it was almost the breaking point for those of us still inficted with a severe hangover, especially when a large wall instructed us to look at it and wait to see the colours merge and the wall begins to swim.

Walking back to Wanaka township, we vowed that we would have a quiet one that night. That vow lasted until we got back to the dorm, when Danger asked 'Anyone for a cheeky dozen?'

Alas. Another big night ensued.

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 00:31
Originally we had the notion that we'd go to Bluff from Wanaka, and stay there the night. However one of the German girls we'd befriended was having her birthday in Wanaka, so it would have been rude not to make it. Thus, hungover and reasonably sleep deprived, we dumped our cargo and decided to do the 540 km wanaka to bluff to wanaka.

Topping the KLX up with oil, and making sure the GN's chain was still healthy, we set off about 0900. The Crown Range is an excellent piece of road, every bit of it so well laid out for any motorbike, however I must admit that first hour of biking was hell. With Danger coping with a pounding head and me with eyes that threatened to pop out of thier weary sockets, we survived the ride, and beelined to Queenstown to refresh with breaky and coffee.

Feeling more human we set out again, taking SH 6 to Bluff in torrential rain. I'd like to mention a remarkable happening on this leg, but that would be lying. The rain and wind forced us to be sensible road users, and we put our heads down and gritted out teeth, willing Invercargill closer. Due to the stinky weather, we got to Bluff by lunchtime, taking both of us off guard, as this was the first and only time we had beaten our time estimate.

It was at Bluff that I realised the greatest lie New Zealand has ever been told. Cape Reinga claimed that Bluff was 1452 kms distant. Bluff however insisted on it's black and yellow sign that Cape Reinga was only 1401kms away. Which one is it! Have we gained 51 kms or lost it?

Returning to Wanaka, this time with clear skies, we got back about 1730.

We arranged a cake and candles for the German girl's b'day, got dressed decently, and hit the town. Staggering down the street a few hours later, I spyed a Red Camouflage biker with neons on his bike coming into town. Remembering GiJoe when he stopped to help my mate when he came off at Cape Reinga several weeks ago, I proceeded to chase him down the street on foot. He stopped at a Give Way sign, and I approached him, shouting "IT'S YOU!" I was on the verge of hugging him, when he saw me, U-turned, and rode off quickly.

Returning to the backpackers, me and the bday girl decided a late night swim in the lake was in order, so we disappeared, returning a few hours later to, for the first time, a quiet dorm.

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 00:34
(is there gas at Rawene anyway?)

Apparently so, just next to the queing area for the ferry, gotta get there before 5 though, it closes anytime after that...

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 00:56
We had planned originally to get on the road by 9, so we had plenty of sightseeing time for the vista pinnicle of the trip, Milford Sounds.

However, by 1000, it was clear that Danger had indeed lost his wallet during the night, so after a town wide search was conducted, and a police report submitted, we were on the road for Te Anau by 1200. While I was waiting for Danger to get back from the police station, I took the Bday girl on her promised motorbike ride, this time enjoying the Crown Range for what it was, a supurb bit of road engineering, clearly designed and built by bikers.

After returning from the outing, just as Danger got back, we bid our fairwells and departed Wanaka. Doing the Crown Range for the 5th time in 2 days, I could say I was warming into the route, possibly enjoying it a bit tooooo much for the likes of some of the cagers. We arrived in Te Anau aroung 1700. After some discussion, we decided to do the Milford Sounds trip that evening.

We picked up two 5L gas cans to compliment our rather short fuel tanks, and set out. When I said this would be the vista pinnicle of the trip, I may have slightly lied. This was the vista pinnicle of life in general. If you ever have the option, do the Milford Sounds in the evening. The light and shadows makes you realise how vast and how tall the stone walls are, and how deep the canyons go. If I was to say I was exhilerated by the end to the point of hyperventilation would be an understatement.

If there was a New Zealand ride to end all New Zealand rides, the Milford Sounds is definitly it.

We got back to Te Anau in dark, and the lack of bottle shops and supermarkets forced us to walk into our dorm room and ask 'Anyone going to the pub?'. Fortunatly for our bodies, only one tenant was keen, unfortunatly for us, it was a Scots man.

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 00:57
[Mid feature interval for sleep]

Ms Piggy
16th January 2009, 06:08
This is awesome stuff! Love your writing style & it makes look forward to my next ride South in a few weeks! :niceone:

hellnback
16th January 2009, 09:57
...Returning to the backpackers, me and the bday girl decided a late night swim in the lake was in order, so we disappeared, returning a few hours later to, for the first time, a quiet dorm.

Skinny dipping??? :devil2:

musicman
16th January 2009, 18:31
Oh look! It appears they've replaced the sign at Cape Reinga. This is how it looked in June 2008.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=97701&d=1212921958

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 18:49
Skinny dipping??? :devil2:

well... didnt have togs with me so we improvised.

Hitcher
16th January 2009, 19:18
A top effort. And a great read.

gijoe1313
16th January 2009, 19:44
Well well, so you were the enthusiastic chap who flashed towards me in Wanaka! I thought you were a drunken lout and I had no wish of a stoush in the middle of a small NZ town late at night :rofl:

If only you had shouted out gijoe or something and I would have easily have stopped! I did circle the town again (not too hard in Wanaka) before heading back to my lodgings for the night!

Most excellent and triumphant is your write up so far, most gratifying is the challenges you have met, faced and over-comed. I couldn't imagine being plastered and recovering from hangovers and riding! :sick: :lol:

I like the cut of your jib sirs, getting up early and commencing riding! Done in the spirit I love! Reading your stirring tales of daring-do makes me grit my teeth for the lack of riding I encountered! :msn-wink:

It is a terrific and exciting thing to read about your exploits in conjunction with Gremlin and my travels in the same neck of the woods!

Looking forward to the rest of your write-ups.

BTW, how is your mate doing? Is his bike rideable again as well?

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 20:15
Continuing on from last night:

Turns out its hard to find a decent coffee in Te Anau. Ether that or the ones that we found were the excactly wrong ones to go to. Not wanting that sour taste to ruin a day, we were out of the town by a reasonable 8am. Taking the same route back to Wanaka was a drag, that stretch of flats and straights gets mighty old mighty quick, especially when you are fighting to keep 100kph anyway.

Not bothering to brave the packed Queenstown streets again, we had lunch in Frankton, and completed the Crown range in a record time of 42 minutes. We were pretty stoked with our effort, and even when we got the news Danger's wallet was still not found we were still on a roll. After managing to miss the turn off for the West Coast, forcing us to backtrack several kms, we struck out along SH6, pootling around several large, beautiful lakes, so desperatly wanting a swim, but not wanting the bother of the effort required.

The scenery rapidly changed at the Haast Pass. Suddenly the stretching tussock clothed vistas closed up to dense, close jungle, often forming a continous roof over the road. After several days in the open, it was enough to make us feel slightly claustrophobic.

The Haast Pass itself is intense. Possibly made more intense to me because by this stage the oil leak had become so severe it was splattering onto my rear wheel, so any slight lean meant I could feel the back spin around.
It's also intense because of the geography. Not only are the corners wicked, but the steep inclines and declines add in a third dimension, which made the riding experience very rich indeed.

Of course, with all this up and down, it took us quite by suprise by how many cyclists we saw in this area, you know, the hard ones, the ones without motors...
So it was that we adopted a habit, where upon spying a cyclist, we'd drop our feet off the pegs and make cycling actions with them as we sped past.

I think they saw the humor in it too...

We made one stop on the way through, at the Blue Pools, thinking it would be a refreshing swim. It was definatly refreshing, pity the swim lasted about 20 seconds before we realised it was far too cold.

Can't say we took many photos on this leg, jungle starts to look the same quite quickly. So it was a twistie-weary biking duo that rolled into Haast that evening, searching for a feed, a coffee, and desperatly hoping there wasn't any tourists wanting to drink with true blooded kiwis.

Thankfully there were none, just a group of Vstrom riders from Nelson. To celebrate the first time in several days that we weren't socially obligated to drink, we went out and got a doz.

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 20:17
BTW, how is your mate doing? Is his bike rideable again as well?

Got his plaster off, now its just the long process of rehab and physio. I picked his bike up for him from the fixer of bikes. $3100 all up for repairs.

When I grow up, I want to be a dealer of aftermarket fairings. Turns out there's a bit of money in it.

Pedrostt500
16th January 2009, 20:37
Good travels young sirs.

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 20:54
Escaping the sandflies and trying to find cell phone reception were our main motivators to get out of Haast. Sure, nice town, good people, wouldn't want to stay there too long. So we found the petrol station, filled up, and jumped back on the road.

Now, being an army officer, I pride myself in my ability to gauge direction and bearings. Navigation is drilled into any soldier, and is a core competency that any military person must become fluent with if he is to go anywhere in his career.

So it was that two officers were absolutely stumped when they emerged from the dense jungle lane to find the road continuing .... south. Somehow we had taken the wrong road. To be perfectly honest, we hadn't actually realised there WAS a wrong road to take. So the bikes were turned around, the map consulted, and Haast was reentered after a 1 hour, 97 km detour. After filling up again, we relocated SH6, and cruised.

Our plan for the day was to get to Greymouth, as this would give us a good day to explore around the Nelson area, something that had be recommended to both of us. Our detour south had cost us an hour, so we pushed through the normal photostops, trying to make up for lost time. Ultimatley we ended up in Fox around lunchtime. Here a chain adjustment was made to the GN, and we made our way out to Fox Glacier. We walked right up to the glacier, braving the numerous warning signs, fording the rivers, and dodging the falling rocks (seriously, there would be a sizable fall every 5-10 seconds).

On the way back, it was decided that our bikes needed to see the glacier too, and that the shingle track would be fine for even the road faring GN.

This plan lasted about 30 seconds into the track, when we were told to turn around by a courteous DoC officer. Being rebelious youths, we did what came natural. We obliged, and instead took photos of our bikes in a rock field next to the car park.

We carried on up the highway to Franz Joseph. I must explain, almost everyday of the trip we had managed to cheat ourselves of a decent breakfast, usually due to late starts and quick exits from backpackers. So we had become accustomed to having oversized lunches. The downside of this is that we would have oversized mid afternoon slumps.

Our pub lunch along with a cheeky pint at Fox managed to hit the spot just as we got to Franz Joseph. We felt f*@ked. It was unanimously decided that we would spend the night in Franz Joseph, so accomodation was found, and we were about to enter our assigned dorm when Danger stopped me, and reprimanded me for not having a doz under my arm. So we aqquired the liquid bread, and promptly found we were sharing a room with 2 aussie girls, an irish, and a guy from sweden. It really sounded like the start of a bad joke. They were all game for a big night, so we hit the bar/s of Franz Joseph, returning for a quick sleep the wee hours.

gijoe1313
16th January 2009, 21:22
I think this thread of yours should be renamed "Doing the SI by the dozen!" :drinkup::apint:

Good hard riding there mateys!

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 21:25
Due to our failure to do our planned kms the day before, we faced a long day ahead of us. Farewelling our new friends, we hit the road at a reasonable 0900. The KLX only needed a quarter of a litre that morning, and the GN had managed to keep it's tension in its chain over night. The day was set to be a stunner. Unfortunatly the sheer length of the day ahead of us set a grey cloud, dampening our sightseeing moods, and sapping our photographic fervour.

About the biggest highlight of the day included a quick peek at Mt Cook's summit, however it's fleeting showing was too quick to get a shot of it. So you'll have to take my word that we saw it.

The second biggest highlight was observing a rather humourous creek sign. It was too good to pass up a photo, even for our travel-weary minds.

The third highlight struck just before Greymouth, when my bike turned a very significant number, for which we had to pull over and celebrate. I apologised to the KLX for not having a cake for it. Instead I rewarded it with a quick top up of oil and a triumphant wheelie.

We reached Greymouth by lunchtime, and realised we weren't close to half way. This cast an even larger cloud over us. However, one bright point came to surface, in that this was the first time I had ever seen Greymouth without overcast skies.

After a quick visit to the Monteiths brewery (it would have been an insult to the entire trip had we missed it) we pushed on through to Nelson, gritting our teeth and sucking up the soreness from our undersized motorbikes, arriving in Nelson at a very respectable 1900.

For the first time on the whole trip, there was no dormatory accomodation available to us, so we settled for a two bed room in the YHA, stinging us nearly double what we would pay for a dorm, and attractive european girls weren't even provided!

Keeping true to the tradition and heritage of the tour thus far, we finished the day with a hearty steak and a couple of quiet ones at the local bar.

For the first time, we actually looked forwards in time and realised we would need a decent sleep, for the next day, the last day, was to be our longest day by nearly 200kms, and we would need all our wits about us to keep on the road.

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 21:57
We awoke to the sound of my cellphone's alarm at 0500. A quick packing and coffee from the dispensing machine in the kitchen and we were out the door. We had consulted the map book the night before and had worked out we had a cool 100 kms between Nelson and Picton, where we had a 0700 date with Bluebridge ferries. However, our plans were quickly put under pressure by a sign that proclaimed Picton actually lay 150kms distant.

Needless to say throttle was twisted, and our 250cc engines screamed through the twisting passes, with only well behaved trucks sharing the roads with us. By this stage my rear tyre was liberally doused with oil, so it was all I could do to keep up with the GN through the corners, making up any ground lost on the occasional straights.

I have to say, incredible adventure riding country around that region. Just from the highway, I could count many trails leading off over saddles and peaks, beconing to be explored, and I cursed our short day to Franz Joseph, that had crippled us so much for time now. We hit Picton at 0710, and promptly found out we were actually booked for the same ferry one day later. After quick negotiations, we got a spot on the ferry about to depart. Aboard, strapped in, and with breakfast in hand, we were able to rest and relax. We waved goodbye to the South Island, and settled in to watch Hoodwinked and some teenage chick movie.

Arriving in Wellington, we made our way to the Lower Hutt Hospital to have lunch with an old army friend, which took us onto SH2.

Little did we know, this lunch that lasted 20 minutes would cost us close to 3 hours later on. We struck out going up SH2, planning on meeting up with SH1 at Palmy. Just short of Palmerston North however, I spyed a sign pointing down a road claiming Taihape was 122kms away.
Thinking if this were true, it would be an epic shortcut, we turned up it. The sign warning us that is was not an alternative to SH1 should have warned us, but we being reckless youths, we plugged on, and promptly hit gravel.
About 50kms and nearly 3 hours of fickle gravel later, Danger got impatient, and asked a farmer how to get back to SH1.
Armed with directions, we successfully rejoined SH1 at Mangaweka, and blasted to Waiouru, having dinner at hot shotz cafe with our highly jealous army friends, sharing stories and declining polite invitations for a beer. We were on a mission.

The ride to Taupo in twilight was nothing short of breathtaking, mainly because we were both still in wifebeaters and shorts under our gear, and the temperature dropped in the space of about 5 minutes. Too proud to admit we were cold (clearly indicating we had the smallest male appendage) we shivered to Taupo, where a hot McD's coffee and fries warmed us up.

From there, it was standard SH1 fare. As proof that I can do it with my eyes closed, I slept for half of it, as I cannot remember Putaruru, or many of the other smaller towns we must have passed through.

Supper in the Tron at 0100 was a welcome relief, and with caffene again surging through the veins, we strode on to Auckland.

A tear nearly left my eye as we decended the Bombay hills with Auckland stretched out in front, and a lighting storm giving a demonstration off in the East. Then I realised I had left my visor open, and once closed my eyes were fine again.

The relief I had as I dismounted at home was rivaled only by the drive to get my photos uploaded to the computer. Unfortunatly I only got to plugging in my camera before I collapsed on my bed and crashed out.

gijoe1313
16th January 2009, 22:23
Wahay! :clap: Nice going there! And from what I can see the bare minimum needed to get the tour done! :niceone:

Sounds like you had an epic time, reading your posts makes me want to fire up the Big Ol'Hornet and go do it all over again! :msn-wink:

Y'know something?

I will! :rofl:

3L4NS1R
16th January 2009, 22:46
do it.

next time i do it will be on a slightly larger bike. now... 300cc or 450? hmmm

:msn-wink:

but seriously.

Next time, I'm going to take more than 2 sets of clothes. Didn't realise the quality of talent that comes to New Zealand in the form of european backpackers.

Also not going to take my sleeping bag. Far too much space taken up in the luggage, and ultimately in New Zealand you can usually WALK to the next town if required.

Tools were a must, but remember kids: bring spanners for ALL the sizes of bolts you use. You never know which one you'll need to adjust.

Spare oil: bikes need 'em.

Last and not least: Plan as little as possible. This will mean you don't get annoyed with yourself when you fail to meet your days objective due to a large night before hand.

Gremlin
17th January 2009, 04:05
With you and your mate, gijoe and I, and probably others... just how many were circulating the South Island in the New Year? :rofl:

Looks like you had a ton of fun like us, amazing you did it on 250s.

We did 6350km (gijoe did more) in 13 days, but on 900-1000cc bikes, aided with GPS navigation etc. Luxury compared to maps and 250s!

Paris
17th January 2009, 06:51
cool thread .. reminds me of some of the coolest places .. wonder if you tried to yo could pick up other kiwibikers along the way!?

3L4NS1R
18th January 2009, 18:34
planning to do a repeat trip once the vfr project is finished...

currently its still in my garage waiting for my mate to get the parts and me to sand and paint the fairings.

Id say there were heaps of bikers doing similar routes, like the v-strom crowd we found from nelson. Funny thing is every biker we met along the way typically said without fail one of 2 possible lines:

"you're keen"

or

"good luck!"

I really don't think we understood the full implications of doing that distance on 250s until about halfway through...

Sharry
20th January 2009, 21:17
Excellent read:2thumbsup:2thumbsup
You guys are real pioneers doing all that on 250's. It's not surprising that you 'slept' through part of the last leg.

Great photo's too

clint640
22nd January 2009, 14:23
Last and not least: Plan as little as possible. This will mean you don't get annoyed with yourself when you fail to meet your days objective due to a large night before hand.

:laugh:

sage advice indeed!

That was an enjoyable read & a good effort on a couple of 250's

Cheers
Clint

mark247
22nd January 2009, 16:07
planning to do a repeat trip once the vfr project is finished...

currently its still in my garage waiting for my mate to get the parts and me to sand and paint the fairings.

Id say there were heaps of bikers doing similar routes, like the v-strom crowd we found from nelson. Funny thing is every biker we met along the way typically said without fail one of 2 possible lines:

"you're keen"

or

"good luck!"

I really don't think we understood the full implications of doing that distance on 250s until about halfway through...

VFR project? What type?

Just finished reading your write up now, I have to do this sometime! Bloody awesome.

3L4NS1R
22nd January 2009, 16:11
VFR project? What type?


It's a 2007 vfr 800, bit scratched up and needing a few things replaced after the previous owner laid it down compliments of a cager. planning to have it on the road by mid feb!

buggsubique
22nd January 2009, 19:43
Great read, and great spirit too :Punk:. I rode my old 250 from Threntham to Waiouru then back to Linton one day and it sucked majorly - it jsut gets so boring! I'm not patient enough to sit there and rev along! Mind you, a 400 on the road is not thaaat much better!

You'll have to join us for the Dusty Butt one year!

MXNUT
23rd January 2009, 07:54
What a legend, great read.
I have to say i would not even consider that kind of epic voyage on my 400 let alone a 250. :cool:
Knowing what the seat comfort ( or lack of ) is like on a KLX
you are indead a HARD MAN, maybe it helped by being hung over most mornings. :lol:

Howsie
25th January 2009, 12:33
What an epic adventure! Just the sort of thing i am looking at doing end of this year on my new Ninja :Punk:

3L4NS1R
26th January 2009, 21:13
cheers for the comments guys!

dusty butt looks like a goer next year! just gotta convince the boss!

and i found hangovers don't help much... if anything they take any slight uncomfort and times it by ten. however I suppose they can help by distracting you from the slow ache!

and Howsie, I rode my crippled mates ninja back from kaitaia to auckland after he had crashed. the seats a bit better than the klx, but not by much! invest in a sheepskin or a thermal mat folded up...

talbertnz
27th January 2009, 09:25
...We walked right up to the glacier, braving the numerous warning signs, fording the rivers, and dodging the falling rocks seriously, there would be a sizable fall every 5-10 seconds)....


Should i make a lame joke about some ozzy tourists?? :nono:

great write up!

3L4NS1R
27th January 2009, 09:33
Should i make a lame joke about some ozzy tourists?? :nono:


well... you could. but would it really be funny? probably not...

Fumph
13th February 2009, 21:13
A good read thanks guys... and the GN made it the whole way with the Galv bolt...amazing

Laxi
14th February 2009, 02:10
moar!

what's the bet the GN dies a horrible death?

:corn:

i would have lost that bet too

3L4NS1R
16th February 2009, 07:41
i would have lost that bet too

Only by the width of a bolt... Massive servicing bill for the gn back in aucks. Turns out it was ready to give up the ghost in another 100kms...

3L4NS1R
9th March 2009, 14:19
Due to several requests/demands to see the quality of talent Germany is sending our way, here's a pict of the Birthday Girl in Wanaka. Oh, and some looney who had done Wanaka to Bluff and back to Wanaka that day.

The Pastor
9th March 2009, 21:35
6000k in 12 days? crazy. I'd do that in 5.

LBD
10th March 2009, 03:44
Way to go guys, good ride that made for a good read. I love multi day tours, you get into a rythmn and veg out and relax like no other holiday can.

Radar
10th March 2009, 07:43
:2thumbsup Great story and clever pics.

The best ride report I have read.

Thanks for taking the time to post.