Well, I thought I had better put up a report on our South Island trip before it becomes a distant memory.
Easter has long been a happy time at work because we normally all disappear for ten days or so and this year was no different.
Even better when there’s something exciting to do, and in this case, there was plenty of advance notice for Rock 2 Wgton.
Alice Cooper has been an idol of mine since I was a tiny wee lad, I love the guy and his work and jumped at the chance to see him live!!!
Since we’d be in Wellington anyway, why not carry on and get a South Island trip in while we were at it?
At that stage Sarah was still on the old Honda, which while being a great old classic, has dubious ‘staying power’ when it came to doing thousands of km’s over a five day period. It may have done it, but it may have come to serious grief as well.
Anyway, this problem was solved when Sarah invested in a lovely 02 Daytona 955i a week before the trip. This now adds to the impressive Triumph arsenal now accumulating quietly in the Manawatu, and also displays immaculate taste.
So the day came when we at last came to cruise down to Wellie, park up at Mum’s and get to enjoy the capital on bikes.
It was my first time at the caketin, and it really bought back memories of big stadium shows from my distant youth.
Lordi were interesting, and a bit of a southerly swirling around the venue made the mixing quite a challenge but this was sorted out as the set went on.
I was extremely pleased to see that beer sales were pretty much unfettered by any puritanical elements at the venue so it was a bit of a Tui fest for me and a vodka comp for Sarah. It was great to warm up for Alice and when the man finally appeared for a no holds barred set full of classics we were in fine form and loved every minute
KISS did a workmanlike set and then the night was over.
The next day was a bit slow but we got down to the stadium in time for a great warm and friendly show from Poison, followed by an extremely competent Whitesnake, and then Ozzy blasted his way through to finale. All up, a great two nights of some of the best
First thing Monday morning we were up in time to get the 8.25 boat down to Picton and finally got to unleash the Daytona’s on South Island soil.
I’ve been up and down the South Island quite regulary over the years, having spent my early days in Dunedin and then spending plenty of time on the road and in the air over the last 30 or so years.
First stop Seddon for a cuppa before heading down to Kaikoura. The late nights of the weekend were starting to catch up with me and so I had a wee ‘lie down’ on the beach in the sun at Kaikoura and woke up feeling much better. Then it was onto the inland SH 70 to Waiau. This was my first time on this great road and plenty of time was spent taking pics and just generally enjoying the totally different country that is the South.
We gradually made our way down to Christchurch for the night stopping when Sarah’s bike clocked up 16000 kms/10000 miles. Quick pic to prove it and then on our way again. Interesting to note that despite being a brand new 05 model in 07, my Daytona hit 25000 kms later on in the ride. All this in nine months!
We spent a lovely night at my cousins motel in CH and then lunched with my 18 year old lad the next day.
He had to drive to Dunedin for Uni and Sarah and I had to get on the road, so it was off to the west for us departing around 4.00 pm. We headed out through West Melton and Darfield to pick up SH’s 72 and 79 to Fairlie where we stopped for dinner. Dark by now and after a pleasant sit down we decided to keep going to Tekapo seeing as it was such a nice night. The roads were starting to get a bit more interesting by now too, which was an added incentive.
Had a great ride through to Tekapo, wrapped in the darkness, the cool air, and the mainly deserted roads with the silhouettes of the towering hill country looming all around us.
Arrived at the Tekapo camping ground to find great big barriers down to stop any naughty cages from sneaking in. No problems for bikes though, just drive around em. We set up the tent and had a great sleep on the shores of the lake. Heaven.
The next day was one of those perfect still no cloud mornings and the lake was stunning!
Breakfast in Twizel then Wanaka for lunch was the goal, and we pulled into the town itself in time for just that.
Then the fun began.
SH 6 through to Haast just has to be one of THE best biking roads around, and we were extremely fortunate to have a clear ‘in zone’ run through the Makarora valley, through the Haast Pass and down into Haast itself for coffee.
Decided to go through to Fox glacier and found the camping ground.
Here we encounterd a most obnoxious bloke in the next tent who’s Mummy obviously wouldn’t let him have a motorbike as a child. Sarah told him to fuck off in the end, and he did
We survived the night without having the bikes kicked over or anything else unpleasant happen, so it was off for a quick walk up to the Fox and then time to ride through to Franz Josef.
This is a brilliant stretch of road, hilly twisties marred only by road gangs seemingly chucking truckloads of gravel all over the corners and forgetting to advertise the fact!
Anyway, we survived this and by now it had started to rain, being the West Coast and all. We managed to outrun the worst of it but there was no escaping the wet at Greymouth and onwards to Murchison for the night. Fantastic road!
Unfortunately, due to differing ideas on where to camp for the night the Buller Gorge was done in the dark. And wet. It was still a great night ride though, and the friendly (road gang) locals at Murchison made us most welcome indeed.
The next day we pressed onward to Motueka. It was a mainly shower free ride, but quite busy, with lots of campervans and trucks. I got stuck behind one on the tight stuff for quite awhile, the only consolation being that it had a polished steel rear, so I at least had something nice to look at (my bike of course).
It was on this road that I had my first and only ‘moment’ with a poorly judged overtaking manoeuvre, but all ended well.
Arriving at Mot was a really nostalgic moment for me, having spent all of 1990 down in this charming part of the country. Had an amazing year down there, and it was good to be back and relive some memories.
The Takaka Hill was on the list of ‘must do’s’ by bike. I’d been over a few times in cars before and have flown over it dozens of times, but nothing quite beats the bike really does it.
So after a stop in Kaiteriteri we had a spirited run over the hill. In the rain! It was bloody fantastic and makes most hill runs look like church fairs. I really wished it had been dry for the day as that would have made it just that much sweeter.
Spent a very cruisy (how else) couple of hours in Takaka before heading back to Kaiteriteri for the night.
Disaster struck when within 5 mins of the camping ground Sarah dropped her bike on one of the many tight bends up behind the town. Bugger. No real damage done in particular though, and we sorted out the broken off front brake lever in Nelson the next day.
The run through from Kaiteriteri was done almost exclusively in heavy rain, but still a lot of fun, especially across the Pelorous Bridge and into Havelock.
From there, it was a short run up to Picton and onto the boat. Intense rain all the way from Wellie to Levin, where it cut back to showers.
A great trip, and can’t wait to get back down!
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Originally Posted by yod
Hey, glad to see the RF didn't light up the night sky! Marvelous 
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