My South Island Journey

**NighthawkNZ:Me** · 9th June 2007, 15:30

Well i waved when you passed my flat in dunedin and yah didn't wave back...

**Kinje** · 9th June 2007, 15:46

The morning finally arrived. Met up at the petrol station, went and dropped our gear off with the girls in their car, then hit the road. Pretty easy trip down SH1 with a quick stop in Oamaru then a coffee stop in Moeraki.
About this time the rain started. We shot through to Palmerston for some fuel and a hot McGregors Mutton Pie.
By now I was bursting to get back on the road despite the rain and get up to the site. Eventually we were back on the road up to the Pigroot and rode past my old house on the way out of Palmerston. Was a bit surprised at the number of bikes coming back down, and felt a bit sorry for them as they were to miss a good night.
Despite the rain I had a good ride up and enjoyed the Pigroot road.
We turned up at the rally site looking like a bunch of drowned rats and was welcomed to the Brass Monkey

There was a big smile at that point as this was my first BM.
We found a spot to pitch our tents and started a drum fire to try and warm up and dry out. It worked quite well, apart from the odd burnt glove, jacket and boot. When the rain stopped just on dark and we'd had a few celebratory scotchs we all warmed up nicely.
As the evening progressed more drinks were consumed, people met and an apparant tradition adhered to- piercing ears with badges. With scotch as an antiseptic and badge as needle and jewelery away we went. Perhaps it was the drink or the cold but it didn't really hurt at the time, but a badge hanging from your ear is surprisingly heavy.
Eventually we had all had enough and called it a night thinking it won't get too cold overnight as there was still cloud cover overhead to keep the frost away.

**Kinje** · 9th June 2007, 16:09

Well overnight the clouds cleared and the frost came. Woke up the next morning and could hear people walking round on what sounded like gravel but there wasn't any of that near our campsite, oh, right, its frozen grass. Went to open my tent, look, the fly is frozen and crunchy- awesome!
Battled my way out of my tent and got my boots on to see the campsite covered in frost and some fresh snow on the hills in the distance. With the fires burning, cooked brekky in my belly, and the sun coming up, it didn't take long to warm up again.
Everything thawed and we (_intense_ and I rode the rest of the journey together) packed up and hit the road for Dunedin being cautious of ice in shady places. Thankfully we didn't strike any and the roads were clear for the whole day.
Organised chaos was the best description of Ranfurly petrol station as bikes of all shapes and sizes tried to fill up on their way to wherever they were going.
After gassing up, off we went through the Middlemarch Outram road to Dunedin. That was some stunning riding with beautiful sweeping bends that you could see through well and pick lines several corners in advance

As well as the road quality, the landscape up there takes your breath away with the vast open expanses and the hundreds and hundreds of rock stacks.
Some more time in Dunedin, and kinda wishing I still lived there, before getting back on the bikes bound for Wanaka.
So back down to Milton and up Manuka Gorge we went. It got dark around Roxburgh and by Alexandra I was sure my hands were going to drop off. A pie and some inner liners in my gloves soon fixed that and away we went again up to Cromwell and Wanaka where we stopped and spent the night.

**Kinje** · 9th June 2007, 16:23

The morning dawned bright and sunny in Wanaka. The original plan was to go over Haast Pass and up past the glaciers. I was really keen on this as I've never travelled this road, but intense wasn't quite so keen. I went and checked out some weather reports on the net while he visited a friend and I pretty quickly changed my ideas too.
The options were go up the West Coast and get washed away, or go up the East Coast and get blown away. We chose wind- over the Lindis Pass, McKenzie Country to Timaru it was.
Had a great trip through the Lindis. Road was dry and clear mostly so you could enjoy the corners. We had a couple of nana riding periods where there was still heavy frost around under the shade of the hills but mostly pretty good riding. And it was oh so satisfying to bounce up through the lines of traffic caught behind campervans

Refuel in Twizel and stretch the legs before the final burst through the McKenzie. It is quite hard to stay focused on the roads when you've got mountains like those as the backdrop, but somehow I managed. We cruised up alongside the canals which was a welcome break from the main road.
Another turn off the main road near Cave allowed for another wee play in some twisties, but with patches of loose gravel on some corners you had to watch yourself.
Back to see the folks for another night, and a chance to have a decent shower and sleep in a bed was very welcome.

**Kinje** · 10th June 2007, 21:17

With a long day riding ahead we tried to get away reasonably early. Conditions were good leaving Timaru so had a nice wee push through to Geraldine for some coffee and breakfast.
Continued up the inland scenic route through the Rakaia Gorge where we got some great views and interesting roads after the long straights from Geraldine. By this time the winds were up, but not too bad as to cause any problems.
A quick fill up in Springfield, then a small delay while the power went out, and we waited for it to come back so we could get more coffee before taking on Arthurs Pass.
While waiting we asked a cage driver if she had come from the Pass, and apparently it was pouring with rain and small patches of grit! With this info, coffee in our systems and fuel in our tanks we set off.

What a stunning road. Every piece threw up new challanges. The heavy rain must have moved on as we only had light drizzle, though the road was damp throughout. Wind was an issue at times, and only had a few small patches of grit. The road is magnificent with challanging bends throughout the entire length of it. And the scenery...I spent the entire time absolutely spellbound by the mountains, lakes, rivers and forests. The images will remain in my mind, and the photos I took don't even begin to capture the dramatic landscape.

At Arthurs Pass village we had a pie stop, and while munching on those an inquisitive kea came and landed on my bike. I quickly ran out of the cafe to chase it off the bike, and then it quite hapily stood around on the ground to let me take some pics

Eventually we made it out of the alpine wonderland into the lowland forests of the West Coast. That may as well be another world again with the lush forests extending from mountains to the sea. We rode through this and small pockets of bright green pasture to Greymouth.
The plan was to camp by the sea, so stocked up on food and marshmallows in Greymouth and headed a wee bit north looking for a campsite. The right spot was found, camp set and fire started on the beach. Some beautiful colours in the sunset, then settled in for dinner, toasted marshmallows, and later bed listening to the crashing waves of the sea just meters from the campsite.

**Kinje** · 10th June 2007, 21:19

A couple more pictures

**Kinje** · 10th June 2007, 21:39

Once again woke to the sound of raindrops on the tent, though they weren't nearly as heavy as they had been during the night. Packed up the bikes and off we went to Punakaiki to have a look at the pancake rocks. With a good swell rolling in they put on a good display, but I'm sure there are still much bigger swells that come crashing in with spectacular results!
We outran the rain on our way up to Westport for some lunch and fuel. This road was flanked with the lush forests, and I still felt like I was in a whole other country. The rain caught us back up in Westport, so we took off again up through the Buller Gorge.
Again I was blown away by the road, forest and landscape. A river knows the best way to carve through a gorge, and building a road alongside the river- genius! Road was still damp so mostly nana riding, but if you could strike that in the dry...mmm

Out the other side and the roads dried out so we blasted through from Murchison to St Arnaud and up the Waiau Valley to Blenheim. Unfortunately my navigation skills deserted me and I couldn't find the short cut from Renwick that cuts out Blenhiem to Picton, but we made it to Picton in time for a coffee before the ferry.
There we met a few other riders who too had been to the Brass Monkey and had since been touring around. One had been over the Lewis Pass on the day we had planned to and encountered seven hours of rain, so we were pretty pleased to have changed our plan.
Arriving in Wellington was like stepping into yet another world with the hustle and bustle of the city after the peace and quiet of small towns and alpine passes. I must say for a while I was a little over awed by it all!
Safely back to intenses place and passed out in the lounge.

**Kendog** · 10th June 2007, 21:44

I am getting more envious the more you write.

Excellent photos as well.

**Kinje** · 10th June 2007, 21:46

I must have been pretty tired, coz even when people were walking through the lounge in the morning I didn't even hear them and wake up. Eventually woke up, packed up and got on my way.
Down to town for some brekkie and coffee to see me through the last wee bit of the journey. The strong winds had me a little concerned about the takas, but when I got there it wasn't too bad and I enjoyed getting back up onto that road. Down the other side and up through the rapa to Masterton, even bumping into a fellow Rapa Rider as I was coming through town.
Made it home safely, then began the process of unpacking, cleaning and drying my gear...and planning where to go next...