In case anybody has been wondering why I have been strangely and uncharacteristically silent over the past couple of weeks, that is because Mrs H and I have been biking the Great Southern Land.
First-off thoughts...
-- 4,200km over 13 riding days.
-- Mostly fine weather with no wind (wets on as a precaution on two occasions).
-- Shiny sides up throughout.
-- Over 400 pix taken (thank goodness for digital cameras).
-- Flat spot worn onto rear Battlax (thanks to SI hard chip roads, I suspect).
-- Pinfolds in-helmet intercom system is bloody magnificent, at speeds of up to 120km and with earplugs in (although one of the DIN plugs has gone pfutt).
-- The Bluebridge has good bike parking on its upper vehicle deck -- first on, first off too. Take your own tie-downs (theirs are a bit cruddy). Don't park in the stern-end bay -- there's a pipe above that will drip on your bike during the crossing.
On the road
Day one: We crossed on the 1pm sailing, giving us the best part of the afternoon for a run to Nelson around Queen Charlotte Sound. The last time we did this was on our 250s almost exactly a year earlier. This is a sufficiently twist and campervan ridden road to negate the size of a bike (well, until Havelock. Then HORSEPOWER rules baby!)
Day two: We set out from Nelson for Golden Bay. Our first time over the Takaka Hill on bikes. This is an endless version of the Rimutakas -- you go up for ever (on our ride into pea-soup cloud at the top) and then down forever. A good road surface and not too many technical corners. The weather was perfect for riding and we sauntered leisurely to Collingwood where it was time to feed the bikes and ourselves. I recommend highly the fish & egg burger at the Collingwood cafe. Mrs H recommends their cold meat and salad. A local shopkeeper described this borough as "the butt-fuck middle of nowhere". A bit harsh. We then rode to the end of the tarseal at the bottom of Farewell Spit before retracing our steps to Nelson. Golden Bay has magnificent scenery and great riding roads.
Day three: Our "Plan A" was to skirt the SI in an anti-clockwise direction, so we left Nelson with an objective of heading to Westport. However by Murchison an iffy weather forecast was confirmed by locals who recommended that we avoid the Coast. We did, and headed for Akaroa via Springs Junction/Lewis Pass. WARNING!! Don't order a flat white at the Murchison tea rooms under any circumstances!! Somebody should be shot for crimes against brown liquid... The coffee at Hanmer Springs was much better. And the Weka Pass (between Culverden and Waipara) is a truly awesome motorcycling road (I hope there were no hidden speed cameras through here). We arrived in Christchurch at rush-hour on that day two weeks ago when it was 31 degrees there! Full leathers and about three layers underneath from earlier in the day when it was much cooler. The fan on the ZRX ran almost continuously during the crawl through town. Phew!! The ride to Akaroa was stunning. Late afternoon lighting, arriving at the summit just as the last of the sun was going off the hills behind the Akaroa township (a few photos were taken of this). Both brakes got a good working over on the descent to Barrys Bay. Akaroa has always been a favourite stop for us, and we weren't disappointed. Great food and good accommodation.
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Originally Posted by What?
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