Well, 2660 km each and 110l fuel each we're back in Auckland after a fantastic 9 days away.
We left home a day earlier than planned and spent night one at Pussy Palace (many thanks John! and yummy easter egg from Annie); then on to Masterton (night at me mum's) then tally ho to the ferry. This was via the Rimutakas in soddingly cold rain, cloud and road works; however once at upper Hutt all was well again with the weather and we dried out in the wind waiting for the ferry.
Beautiful weather all round the SI - went from Picton to Punakaiki with stop at Lake Rotoiti at St Arnaud. Stunning!! Murchison to Punakaiki was great; got my bike up to 180kph as my only rebel moment but by the time we got to our destination for the evening my energy, patience and mood had soured somewhat. I hadn't realised just how draining a big trip can be. However after food and a good sleep the rest of the trip went without any further melt downs from me.
From there across to CHCH via Arthurs Pass. Stopped at lake Brunner - stunning!
BIG road works heading into Otira gorge, but basically everywhere we went the scenery was just jaw dropping. (The Buller gorge - have I said it before? STUNNING)
Did a day trip to Hanmer Springs and Balu's day was made when we saw the Weka Pass steam train doing it's thing.
Back up to Picton via Kaikoura; made such good time were able to catch the earlier ferry. I love seeing the sea lions sunning themselves, noses pointed to the sky.
Again we stayed at Finns of Paekakariki - even thought the restaurant and bar are closed on Mon nights the owners fired up the kitchen and cooked dinner for us and we enjoyed a beer with our meal. Given that we could have been directed to the nearest take away place we were stoked that they were prepared to allow us to have tea there. The perfect place to stay where you can park the bikes undercover (with security gate for peace of mind) and wonderful hosts.
We did the return trip to Auckland setting out at 7.30am with brief stops for refuelling and pop in to see my brother at Taupo; by 5.30 we were home. My knees were sore, my right arm was aching like crazy but thanks to katman lending me his smoky visor (we have the same model helmets) I didn't have to put up with the additional discomfort that my sunnies were causing to the sides of my head inside my lid.
Great things about our trip: the weather was superb, the bikes both ran like dreams, the scenery was ......I think you know (starts with S), and I realised I can make do with far less clothes than I've taken on trips before! Heated hand grips are wonderful (boy, I was thankful for them coming through Waiouru and past Ruapehu), and it's lovely riding with someone whose riding style means you can travel together without conflict regarding speed, stopping places etc.
Not so great things: can't think of too many of those, but one thing that jumps out is the incredible amount of roadworks in both islands. Had a heart-in-mouth moment while stopped at the road works at Utiku when, as I went to put my feet down to stop, realised that my left foot (which was the first one I went to put down) didnt' quite reach the dirt as there was a slight dip on that side of the bike aaaarrrggggh! Thankfully the worst that came from the moment was a mouthful of dust from a passing truck while putting my visor up.
So, all up no downsides really. But it's nice to be home, and I think I'll sleep well tonight.
Most likely though long bike trips won't feature too frequently in our future - it made both of us realise just how much abuse your bodies can take when you're younger and more resilient; as you get older recovery takes a while longer!
Originally Posted by Katman
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Oh bugger
:
but please don't let everyone in on how stunning it is 
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