2007 Southern Cross Report

[DougieNZ]

Rally Preparation

Both bikes (Adrian’s 04 ST1300 and Alyson’s 04 Bandit 1200) had to be fully serviced and I replaced a front tyre on mine that was only 2/3 worn. The main reason for doing this was that I knew there would not be time for any tyre changes or major mechanical repairs. I decided in our distance planning to allow 1 hour for unforeseen problems to be fixed. I was using the theory that the problems would have to be a major one if it took more than 1hr to fix. I also bought us both orange fluorescent vests to wear on the rally and an emergency puncture repair kit. I did not book any accommodation, as I was unsure how far we would get each day, and didn’t want any pressure on us to travel when tired.

We Travelled Wellington – Opunake to be ready for the first checkpoint. We stayed at the Club Hotel Opunake with John (Whangarei), John (Napier), Graham (Putaruru) and Steve (A fellow Ulysses member and first time attendee from Wellington). I had met Steve the week before the rally on a Ulysses Castlepoint ride, and we were all to end up riding a lot of the rally together.

Day 1 Opunake – Egmont – Kawakawa

We left Opunake nice and early in order to arrive at the Cape at 11am. Travelled through Pungarehu and was cruising along when I noticed a couple of bikes coming the other way! All 4 bikes stopped at the side of the road and consulted the map. It appears we had missed the turn off! A quick U Turn and a few k’s down the road and we were safely at the first checkpoint. What a start! Over 100 bikes were lined up for the start. We walked up to the light house and took some photos. I was able to catch up with a few fellow ST owners and discuss optional extras and where they were mounted.
The checkpoint opened early at about 11.15. A fair enough decision - given it was the first day, and the amount of bikes and riders that needed to be processed. We signed the book and were off on the big adventure. Pete on a similar ST to mine who I had been chatting with set off at a cracking pace and we decided to tag along. The Mangotaki Gorge was an excellent road for motorcycles and we enjoyed riding in a group of about 7 bikes. I received some sage advice from many previous entrants – ride at your own speed. We were passed by many riders and passed quite a few during the rally. The gratifying thing was that I never saw anyone riding at what I would consider to be a dangerous speed. All those riding in the higher speed bracket were clearly capable of doing so. Before we knew it, we had arrived that the first fuel stop at Otorohanga, and caught up with Steve on his Hayabusa, who rode with us at the rest of the day. We had pre determined to turn left here and bypass Hamilton using SH39 ending up at Ngaruawahia. Then it was straight up SH1 to Auckland. We arrived at the top of the Bombay’s at 3:30pm, and were through Orewa at 4:30. I hadn’t ridden through Auckland for some time, and it’s amazing how the motorway traffic just comes to a stop all of a sudden, then carried on. I considered 1 hour to be a pretty good effort though. We then travelled north to Wellsford for tea and arrived in Whangarei at about 8pm. I reckon it had been about 10 years since I had ridden a long distance at night, and it took me a while to “dial in” to night riding conditions. I was to feel more and more comfortable doing so as the rally progressed. We were all feeling pretty OK, so decided to continue to Kawakawa for the night. The bikes were excellently looked after at the Kawakawa Pub. The landlord let us put them under the pub, closed a roller door behind them, and locked the compound with his dogs running around inside it. We hooked up with another couple of rally attendees and shot the breeze about the day’s events. Martin and Andrew also gave us an excellent tip for the route the next day.

Distance Travelled 666km – 8 Hours (Including Stops)

Day 2 Kawakawa – Cape Reinga – Te Puke

We lefty Kawakawa at 9am on the way north. There was a bit of fog between Kawakawa and Kaitaia. The trip through the Mangamuka Gorge was an absolute delight. I would rate this as one of the best motorcycling roads I have travelled on. It has the twisties along with inbuilt undulations, making it a challenging road if one pushed it a little through here. Needless to say, we caught up with Steve in Kaitaia! Fuel and then onwards to the Cape and the inevitable 20 odd k’s of gravel. Gravel roads I find are generally in one of 2 states: Bare and corrugated, or newly graded and deep. This one had it all. Mainly, though, it was in the former state. About ½ way through, we saw a lot of bikes heading the other way. Obviously they had opened the checkpoint early! We arrived about 11:30 and pulled in to the car park. I was just getting my helmet off and I hear a sickening crunch of plastic on tarmac. Aly had done well to make it all to the way to the car park without incident, but she came to a stop and her knee gave in. Luckily some fellow bikers were on hand to help lift the bike. Gladly she was OK. We were very lucky to get away with a broken RH indicator assembly and a few minor scratches on the fairing. Needless to say, this was the last time Aly indicated right for the trip! I have often reflected that a stone through the crankcase could have ended our trip right there, so I consider that we were very fortunate. So off back south it was. Alyson and Steve stopped for gas in Kaitaia. I have a 29 litre tank, so didn’t bother. Amazingly, after 5 hours riding, we went back through Kawakawa and actually started out journey south! As we were approaching a planned stop at Wellsford, I noticed my electronic fuel guage move to one bar. The ST has a wonderful feature, in that when the fuel gauge moves to 1 bar it flashes and gives you a digital range to run. A quick calculation said that 1 would be 6 km short of our next planned stop at Wellsford. No problem - I’ll back off a smidgen, and I’m sure Mr. Honda has allowed enough leeway to get me there. WRONG! The bike spluttered to a halt about 4km out! Yes, I had successfully run one of the largest fuel tanks on a production motorcycle out of fuel! Aly went back about 1km to the nearest gas station and got some fuel to me and we continued after a 20 minute stop.
If I were to imagine the worst time possible to be going over the harbour bridge heading to Auckland, then I would say 5:40pm was it. The Traffic was pretty much stop-start from Takapuna to Manukau and added another 30 minutes to our northbound time from Orewa to Bombays. We lost Steve somewhere up ahead, and ended up going via SH2 then SH27 to Matamata then SH24 and SH29 over the Kaimais to Tauranga for fuel. Excellent roads in the darkness, just and Martin and Andrew promised! We pulled in to the only motel in Te Puke about 8pm. Luckily we secured the last room they had and ended up staying the night there with Kerry, a Gold Wing rider also on the rally.

Distance Travelled: 895km - 11 hours

[DougieNZ]

Day 3 Te Puke – East Cape – Wellington

This was a BIG day. We left Te Puke by 7.00am and had an uneventful ride to Whatatane and Opotiki for fuel. We then started on our journey around the Cape The weather was again picture perfect – and we took plenty of them on our way to Te Araroa. This really is stunning country – and the roads are made for motorcycles (that’s if you like the twisties). We arrived at Te Araroa just before 11. We came round the corner and saw about 70 bikes trying to get in to 1 fuel pump! Apparently, the owner had agreed to open up for us on ANZAC day at 9.00am, but didn’t open until much later than this. We rode past all the bikes and started heading for the Cape and the gravel road. A little voice inside said there was something wrong with this picture. Why was no one following? I went back and asked and they said that the checkpoint had been moved to Te Araroa itself due to the fuel issues. We decided to go to the Cape anyway, so Aly jumped on the back of the ST and we headed on out – after all my fuel tank was bigger than hers. I am told that there are 700 odd steps to the lighthouse, and that someone had stripped down to shorts and run it in 15 minutes. We settled for a couple of photos and returned to Te Araroa to find that the checkpoint had opened early again, and most bikes were already on their way south. We signed the book and headed away. Te Puia Springs was our next fuel stop and we continued south. I have to say I hit the wall at Morere Springs just north of Wairoa and needed to get off the bike for 15 minutes for a rest. It’s amazing how much better I felt after that. I saw some of the best riding on the trip in the next section. I was following a bloke with a Highlanders flag on the back of his bike and the number plate SRJYM. What a good rider he was – hardly surprising from a fellow Highlanders supporter. He didn’t touch the brakes all the way from Wairoa to Napier and rode at a very good pace. Before I knew it we were having a nice dinner at Napier where we stopped for an hour. After a small diversion to Flaxmere for Fuel it was home via SH50 and then the Wairarpa / Rimutakas. We stopped for fuel and pulled in to our garage at J’Ville at 10.00pm. I would have to say that we were both exhausted. This was certainly the longest distance by far that either of us had ever ridden on a motorcycle in a day. It really bought home the endurance part of this event. Hard to believe that I will be doing 600km on top of that in October!

Distance Travelled: 1059km – 15 hours

Day 4 Wellington – Picton – Oamaru

Naturally we were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow. Next thing I knew it was time to get up and head down to the ferry for a 7:25am final check in. When we got there we were directed straight onto the ferry to park up and tie the bikes down. There must have been about 50 bikes on the sailing, and it was a very impressive sight seeing all those bikes stacked up and tied down before we left Wellington. It was nice to catch up with Steve again on board and swap stories of the last couple of day’s adventure. The sailing was a smooth one, and the ferry staff kindly let most of us off in a timely manner. A quick detour to drop our tie downs at Blenheim and it was off south. Rain started threatening just south of Kaikoura, and gladly didn’t arrive. We really enjoyed travelling through the Hundalee’s in a group of 13 bikes and it was here that we had the first “real” contact with the “authorities”. We were travelling through the passing lanes just south of the Hundalee’s, when I pulled out with another guy to pass some slower bikes. The guy in front of me pulled back in suddenly. I wondered: “why did he pull back left like that”? A quick glance up the road was enough to confirm the reason. A fully marked HP Car was approaching, no doubt with all enforcement machinery activated! I had a quick look at my speedo (as you do) and confirmed that I may have some explaining to do. I waited for the dreaded “party lights” to activate, but all I saw was the police officer shaking his head as he went through and continuing on his way. Phew! Gladly we caught up with Steve again at Cheviot for a cuppa and a short break. For the first time on the trip it was now time for some wet weather gear. Rain had threatened all day, and had finally arrived. It was to continue with us on and off until just north of Oamaru. I know this sounds funny, but this was the real wet rain too. You know, the stuff that is smaller droplets, but very dense. One technique that Steve quickly taught us was leaving the RH indictor on after passing a truck that was putting out heaps of spray to signal that the coast was clear to pass. Excellent work. I know you won’t find it in the Road Code, but it certainly worked very well for us. We decided to stay in Oamaru the night and arrived at about 8pm to a previously booked King size bed and spa bath. Pure luxury!

Distance Travelled: 586km – 7 hours

Day 5 Oamaru – Bluff

The day dawned with similar conditions to the previous. So it was wet weather gear on and a 7:30am start. We struck rush hour in Dunedin at 8:45am, and passed through in the blink of an eye. Certainly different to Auckland! We stopped at Balclutha for some brekky and who was across the road beckoning us in but Stave, who had stayed in Palmerston for the night. I was delighted we had caught up with him, and it would be great to finish the rally with him after having ridden and experienced so much of the rally together. We turned off at Clinton and took the bypass road to Mataura. I must admit excitement was starting to mount now. The rain had stopped, and with the increasing adrenaline rush we saw a little more twist of the right hand than what might be considered normal. Steve sorted out a couple of more great roads that saw us basically bypass Invercargill. He had obviously had time to do some homework last night! Before we knew it, we were on the approach to Bluff, our final destination. I would describe our feelings on arrival as a mixture of elation, relief and thankfulness. We pulled alongside and gave each other the big thumbs up for the achievement. On turning the corner in to Sterling Point, it really was a sight to behold. There were bikes everywhere – up both sides of the street and in the middle of the roundabout at the end. Many tourist vans were coming around the corner with wide eyes, making a hasty U turn and disappearing in a cloud of dust! We all decided to stay until 1pm to welcome all the riders in and congratulate them on what was quite an achievement. Then it was off to the New Eagle pub for a couple of relaxing beers, a nice meal and a sharing of the various experiences. We were even given some oysters later in the night (yum!)! We stayed at a local B&B that night and sneaked off for a couple of hours in the late afternoon to finally get the motorbike gear off, returning at 7 in time for the Highlanders v Hurricanes match (you can’t win them all). After some great music and dancing, the final act was a rally participant riding a motorcycle up the main street of Bluff naked! Now that’s a sight you don’t see often!

Distance travelled 360km – 4hrs 20mins

Total Rally Distance: 3566km – 45hrs 20mins (Including Stops)

Rally Fuel per bike (approx) 220 Litres

Total km Wellington – Wellington = 4898km

To Summarise

This rally is all about the people. The riders, pillions and organisers who attended are excellent people - easy going, down to earth and great to talk to. One thing you must do, in my humble opinion, is make sure your bike is well up to scratch before you depart. Brand new rubber is a must when you will be travelling 5000km or more! I would also recommend pre-booked accommodation, as you arrive quite late at some locations – although we managed mostly without it and not pre booking does give you some flexibility. Overall I learnt a lot. I learnt about endurance riding, riding in groups, and about the handling of my bike in various conditions - which I had only had for 7 months prior to departure.

Of course a big thank you must also go to Lee and all the other “Rustys”. I thought that this was an excellent, well organised rally. A lot of work always goes in to organising a rally like this one, and the results showed that this was a job well done. I am now looking forward to this year’s Grand Challenge!

[shafty]

Great report Dougie, and cool to see the event from other peoples angles - there is so much that happens that you can't expect to hear about it all within the group you're riding with that day.

Do you know what km's you got out of that tank you ran dry?

Good stuff

[paturoa]

Excellent report - any photos?

[Jantar]

I was looking for you on the ride, and now realise that I saw you many times. A great report.

[DougieNZ]

Some photos added.

Shafty the tank lasted exactly 453km! When it runs out, it is empty too, there is no leaning the bike over for that last drop of fuel. The pick up is definitely on the bottom of the tank!

Cheers..

[sAsLEX]

Class sunrise pic new desktop....

[Highlander]

As I started reading this I wondered if it was you guys I picked up at Morere. Him on a Honda ST, her on a Bandit 1200, it looked like you had just taken a break. I wondered if you might want to sneak past me but you seamed happy there so I settled in and enjoyed the ride.

If I had to choose just one stretch of road to do again that Te Araroa - Napier piece would be it. FANTASTIC.


Reading these makes me want to do it again. Wonder if I can get next week off...

[shafty]

You are right Jym, what a gem of a road. That was a fast section for me, - as I recall, I was behind Dougie and The Bandit for one episode, including the tight right hander where we met a Volvo FH12 Stocktruck which had to come over our side to creep around the corner - safe, but got the heart pumping!

[Highlander]

Twas a good ride.

Will you be a repeat offender in 2009?

[shafty]

I'd love to. Having said that, one reason I did this one was I may be living/travelling overseas then.

[DougieNZ]

Yes, that was us Jym -meant to catch up with you after the rally, but never saw the plate again! No way was I going to pass you pal. You were going far too well for that.

Yeah Shafty, I remember that truck. Bloody things should be banned on that road. Motorcycles only I say!

It was a fantastic ride. Looks like the Rusty Nuts may have another planned in March next year!