Bonjour from Paris (Jeremie)

[Mrs Busa Pete]

Hi everyone,
I'm Jeremie, 33 years old, living in Paris and proud owner of a Triumph Street Triple 2009 which now has about 9500kms. I got my motorcycle driving license in January 2008.
I currently work for Warner Bros but am getting the boot soon (someone up there decided it was best to externalize/delocalize all the IT) so I decided it was time for me to have some long vacation far away from France.
I've been to NZ only once and was about 10 at the time but I have very fond memories of it so I was thinking in maybe coming to visit for a month or so in November/December and, of course, renting a motorcycle to travel.
Any tip, advice that you would have would be greatly appreciated.
I'm joining this forum on the advice of Blackbird whom has already comforted me on the idea that this trip is... well, a very good one (although its cost is a bit scary).

Cheers,
Jeremie

Look up in the members list. The Vet. pete is an american doing a year over here he has some amazing storys and pictures of his journey.

Welcome to kb

[Jeremie]

Hi guys,
I'm back from the dead
No that I have a job and french style 5 weeks of vacation, I'm resurrecting the project.
I'm waiting for approval from my boss (I'm not sure he'll be too keen on letting me go for 2+ weeks) but am back thinking about coming to visit NZ in February/March for a shortened version of the original plan.
I have some friends who've been residing in Auckland for 3 years (they have a travel agency called Once upon a trip) so I'd be staying with them a couple of days in order to recover from the jet lag, then I plan to rent a bike (I'd like to try the Triumph Tiger 800, other I guess I'll go with a BMW F650) for about 10 days and tour the North Island.
The hardest part seems to find a flight with less than 10 hours layover...
Regarding my motorcycle life: I still have my 2009 Triumph Street Triple, which now has over 46000 kms. I was thinking in getting either the new Ducati Streetfighter 848 or an MV Agusta Brutale 920 but now I've decided it would be better to spend the money on this trip.

Cheers,
Jeremie

[Jeremie]

I'm starting to work on the itinerary. So far, I got that but it's still in the early stages:

It's about 1800kms in 10-11 days.

[oneofsix]

I'm starting to work on the itinerary. So far, I got that but it's still in the early stages:

It's about 1800kms in 10-11 days.

Bonjour,
A couple of suggestions that will increase your travel but two rides I have on my target list are the forgotten world highway and Gentle Annie. You should look into working these into your route.
to copy from the AA; The Forgotten World Highway, one of New Zealand's most secluded roads, explores the ever-changing landscape between Taumarunui and Stratford.
as for the Gentle Annie; "a road near Taihape, New Zealand; Gentle Annie Summit, an elevation near Tiniroto, New Zealand" and ""Gentle Annie Road". ... there you'll see some amazing scenery through a 'true' piece of NZ"

[Jeremie]

Thanks.
I'm a bit wondering how much is too much in terms of distance covered per day: I'm not afraid of doing a few hundreds kilometers per day but the goal of this trip is vacation and sightseeing, not doing the Dakar.
Right now I'm looking at doing something like that:

1. Auckland
2. Coromandel 179km
3. Rotorua 289 km
4. Taupo 81 km
5. Napier 141 km
6. Wellington 330 km
7. Stratford 318 km
8. Tongariro 220 km
9. Waitomo 180 km
10. Auckland 239 km

[Jeremie]

Version 2 :

Auckland
Coromandel 181km
Rotorua 289 km
Napier 337 km
Wellington 328 km
Stratford 312 km
Tongariro 220 km
Waitomo 227 km
Auckland 202 km

[vifferman]

Bonjour, Jeremie!
The route looks to be pretty good to me, apart from the leg to Wellington (only because I'm not that familiar with it). I rode the Forgotten World Highway recently, and it was great! (Or "C'est magnifique!", if you prefer. ) None of those distances are too great. Are you planning stopovers in between?
I envy you, and hope the weather is as good as the weather we had last year in our three weeks in La Belle France: perfect (apart from being in a car instead of on a bike...)

Keep us posted - I'm sure you'll get some locals joining you on some parts of the ride.