I have completed the trip, 2200 ks in all, Auckland to wellington and back with many interesting bits in between.A few observations; Gentle Annie, did the ride Napier to Taihape, not a problem, On a road bike; take it slow and expect anything to be coming around the next hairpin bend, mostly logging or road works trucks on the road. The gravel is pretty tidy and there are heaps of road works. They are working on sealing the road with about 40 ks on the Erehwon stretch. Gentle Annie itself is sealed (Kurapongo) and the views are magnificent.Cape Palliser; rougher on the bike than Gentle Annie, the corrugations will shake your fillings out, but well worth the effort, do it in the early morning and there are no other users, watch for ice on the sealed surfaces at this time of the year.Rimatuka Hill; Written up in some of the guides as a must do, great road but had to stop at the top and let a long line of heavy traffic disappear from view before carrying on.Paekakariki to Ruapehu; left at 6 in the morning in the dark, heaps of stars, first part of the ride to Levin blighted by heavy opposing traffic lot of them with poorly adjusted headlights, sun rising as headed into the hills near Hunterville, sun strike and shadow combined to slow me down but made it to Waiouru in 2.5 hours, took an hour, 1 pepper steak pie and three cups of coffee to thaw out.On the whole the only real issues were a day of rain around wellington and the last 100ks back into Auckland in the pissing rain.Where to next? think it will be a long weekend and a circumnavigation of Northland. The R1150RT did not miss a beat and is very forgiving, not too bad in the gravel either.
