The Great Southern Adventure.

[peter.trub]

#1945

After much talking about “we got to do this one day”and minimal planning we had a Ferry crossing booked for two and a rough plan of where we wanted to go. Our numbers had dwindled from 5 down to 2. One just dissapeared one had work commitments and the other one lost his licence for a month three weeks before ferry day.We set off from Inglewood with overcast sky's and strict instruction's from her what rides a Suzuki and had to stay home to take turns at getting tickets (or sharing the lead or something like that). We arrived at the ferry terminal spot on 1am for our crossing. A first for both of us with bikes so a lot of "how shall we tie em down" discussion had taken place". The bikes (R1100RS and a GS1200) secure we headed straight for the canteen as I have been on this part of a ferry crossing before. First thing I learnt, find a seat, preferably near food and toilets, stick all your gear on it and guard it with your life. Once all the people who want to stand outside and pretend they are on the loveboat while the ferry leaves port get cold they come looking for that which you already have, suckers!!Arrived on time in Picton and following a refuel we headed South towards Blehniem then across to Nelson. Kevin had repeatedly told me to book accommodation but being a spontaneous bugger and subject to change I told him we would just wing it. No sweat mate I told him we will find somewhere!!! Yeah right. After a bit of Searching we Found a room in the Whakatu Pub. Nice room but a lot of road noise and a party going on at the pub over the road. Someone snored as well but I never heard me. Did a bit of a night time ride around Nelson. Tuesday night and all the little Street cafes were bustling, good to see a town with life. Following a feed of Thai (best Red Curry I have had outside of Thailand) then off to try and sleep.Awoke to a torch being shone in my eyes (some kids toys shouldn't be taken on holiday). It was up and away Batman. Roads were a bit wet so it was gently dos it over the Spooner Range and down through Murchison. Stopped for coffee in Murchison, most unusual system. The lady takes your order gets you to wait while she makes the coffee then serves the next person. Glad we got there before the bus!!From there it was off to Marua falls for a quick look then up and over the Lewis pass and down to Hanmer Springs for lunch. After lunch it was wet weather gear on and down the inland road to Kaikoura. In a brief moment of madness we proved that Red really is the fastest colour, that out of the way we settled back down to sensible riding.Spent a night in a Backpackers in Kaikoura, quiet room, good beds but bloody small room. Sadly we found at this time that the fast red bike had a leak from the diff seal. A quick call to Canterbury Rides, yes we have the seal in stock, get it here first thing in the morning and we can fix it for you. Excellent service, 1 hrs labour and a seal we were back in action for a mere $157. Big ups to those guys and they even let us wash the bikes there.Our origanal plan had been to ride down the Kaikoura coast then back over the Lewis pass, down the inland roads and over the Aurthur's pass. We dropped this and rode straight from Kaikoura to Christchurch for the repairs. Out of bed (that damn torch) and on the bikes bright and early. Rode South along the Coast as the sun rose out of the sea, rounded a corner to be greeted by the magic sight of a pod of dolphin leaping, splashing and doing dolphin things. I stopped and was getting the camera out to take a shot when a GS shot past me in a blur tooting and waving frantically that I should follow him. We are not taking dolphin photos today obviously I said to no one in particular. Later saw a coffee type breakfast shop and indicated we should stop but no we went having breakfast either. After a 100 or so Ks I finally managed to get HM to stop for breakfast. Found to my amusement that the stock truck we overtook just out of Kaikoura obviously didn't like bikes and had made the effort towind his window down and shake his hairy fist as we passed. Fortunately being totally focused on the road I had missed this and so went untraumatised, my co rider unfortunately was not so lucky and as no immediate counseling was available had resorted to a two fingered reply to the trucky, stop for a photo or coffee just round the corner? I didnt think so mate!!Big red was quickly fixed so we did a ride through the tunnel to Lyttelton then back over the Port hills then into the square (just so we could say we did) then it was up towards Aurthur's pass and down the Inland road to Geraldine. There is a place name along this road,"windwhistle" see if you can guess why they called it that. Rakia Gorge was not what we expected, more a bridge across a river than a gorge, must be a South Island thing. Very beautiful none the less. Found good Accommodation at the Crown Hotel in Geraldine. Nice rooms, good beds, quiet and a secure lock up for the bikes. A real nice town! Next day it was up and at em again, with a big day ahead of us. We went up through the central Otago past the lakes and canals. Stopped for a compulsory photo shoot of the Chuch of the good Shepard at TeKapo, no stock trucks fortunately. From there it was down to Omarama (good coffee and food) then over the Lindis Pass and down to Clyde. well worth a stop at the old town of Clyde, good stabling available at the hotel next to sausage alley (or so the signs say). from there it was more awesome roads and scenery through Alexandra and Roxburgh and on down to Milton.An extremely interesting night in a pub in central Otago watching the Blues thrash the Highlanders. We escaped alive by keeping very quiet and not cheering until four ks down the road next day, sort of like the stock truck thing.Awoke to a foggy morning so we set off North? Who says GS riders have a good sense of direction? After I waited for him to realise I wasn't following and come back to see why I pointed south and off we went again. We stopped for fuel in Balclutha and got talking to a rider who had just come through the Catlains, watch out for potholes and there are a heap of shiny spots he warned us. Man those Southerners don't know how lucky they are. I found the pothole he meant I think, Put a handfull of gravel in it and it was gone, still looking for those shiny bits!!! We went down to Nugget Point for a look at the light house and seals. A word from the wise, if you want to see the seals take binoculars. from there it was a mix of sealed and metal roads down to slope point. The Southern most point of the South Island. A bit of a budget lighthouse but awesome coastline. Had to be all North from there we figured.More metal roads (not bad roads, had no troubles with the RS so long as the speeds were kept down) then back on the seal and off to Bluff. Stopped for a photo of the sign that points everywhere and found it is 51ks further From Cape Reinga to Bluff than the other way round, I have the photos to prove it. Decided we would Suns out gone for a ride will be back later

[Jim Young]

#7208

Great report, look forward to more.  🙂

[Dave Ross]

#7209

Thanks for the report. Very well written, love your sense of humor. Too bad you didn't have enough time to take pictures :-).

[peter.trub]

#7210

OK the suns gone down and its getting cold so “The adventure continues” (Took photos of everything except dolphins but not sure how to include them) After leaving Bluff we headed North thru Invercargil stopping long enough to get some gas and wave to Tim, then it was North to Winton where we planned to stay the night. Unfortunately there was a wedding on in Winton and the town was closed. In the spirit of true adventurers we couldn't go back (its a male thing) so we headed of towards Lumsden. Suddenly there it was.. The Benmore Hotel. Made of concrete and painted bright blue. This will do we said. Did we want the 10, 20 or 30 dollar room? Um we will take the twenty we said after a to brief inspection. Plenty of room if you store you gear in the hall. Best shower in Southland we were proudly told, but the light switch is in this room over here ok? As a bonus we were allowed to use the ladies toilet once the bar had closed which made it all worthwhile. Fortunately for me (yeah right) there was no light over my bed, when Kev turned on the one over his the funny face and noise spoke louder than words. I just hope the crunchy thing on my pillow was dead before I found it with my ear. The big softy decided to sleep in his sleeping bag, having already made contact with the sheets I put my faith in modern medicines ability to cure me later.  😛After Breakfast it was on the road again heading for Queenstown. The roads don't get fun until you get back into the hills. From the Kingston Flier on it becomes scenic again. Along the Devils staircase then into Queenstown. Nice town to see, nice town to visit, nice town to leave. Next on the menu was Skippers Road to Skippers Canyon. Not really RS territory but the GS rider looked pretty smug. We got in as far as the old pub and stopped for a rest. There had been a trail bike ride on up past the bridge so I stopped one and asked the silly question "did the road get better from here in"? No mate, she's no good for that bike and those tyres was the reply. After a rest I battled the Big Red Beast back up the hill to a sensible road then it was off to Arrowtown for lunch. Seafood Chowder at the Cafe was first rate, a quick walk through the Chinese Settlement then back on the bikes again.Crown Range Road was next on our list. I must admit to a bit of apprehension as last time I went over this road it was metal all the way. Its sealed for its entire length now and is listed as the highest sealed road in New Zealand. Still has the cattle stops but they are all placed to stop South bound cattle. The Cardrona Pub has not gone anywhere, a curse on trick photography. Somehow we missed the Bra fence which I am sure would have been a trip highlight 😀A refuel at Wanaka then it was onwards North. The ride from Wanaka towards Haast is a must do, add it to your list. We were starting to get a bit concerned when we came upon Makarora. A sleepy little hollow at the head of Lake Wanaka with views worth killing for. Food price was a bit steep but the quality was good. Mr Grumpy claimed the double bed as he felt he needed a good nights sleep because of an alleged snoring issue. Woke in the morning to the tranquil sounds of the Native New Zealand Mobil Fuel Tanker making a delivery, oh yeah a few birds were making noises as well. No torch so that was a bonus!!Back on the bikes and through the Haast Pass. Last time I went through here it was metal from the Wanaka to the bridge, all sealed now so heaps more fun on a bike. We stopped for breakfast at Haast Village then "the west coast :-D"Smooth Roads, good seal, you Southerners don't know how lucky you are. Ride from New Plymouth to TeKuiti then comment on your roads. They are awesome. We stopped at the Fox Glacier and did the tourist thing, yep thats right climbed over the rope barrier and right up until we could touch it 👿 Rules what rules? from there it was up to Franz Joesph Glacier. We felt we didn't need to walk up to that one, looks just fine from way back here. A nice lunch at Franz Joesph township spoilt only by noisy helicopters, tour buses, dust storms, tourist by the hundred, camper vans and a solitary Stock truck, we hid just in case. Safety first you know.After lunch it was off to ARRRGHH that vans on my side!!! Missed, ok Kev you can lead for a while. Shortly after it was his turn to get a fright with a bunch of crazys on jap bikes in an overtaking frenzy coming towards us. Its a South Island thing we decided, you just got to life with it. yeah right.Spent the night in a true West Coast Pub in Greymouth. great beds, quiet rooms, good showers and a good brekky, A shed to put the bikes in. as close to heaven as you can get on the West. Next morning was off to Punakaiki for a look at the pancake rocks. bit of a dissapointment as the tide was out and the sea was like glass. plenty of dolphin playing in the swells, no stock trucks so we got some photos at last!! From there it was off to Westport and then through the Buller Gorge. We stopped and walked across the big swingbridge, hard to believe the flood waters got high enough to sweep it away. I guess the South Island is like Texas, everything is big!! Then on to Murchison for lunch. We got the right Cafe this time, its the one at the North end built in the old Pub.The only road we covered twice was from the Upper Buller Gorge bridge to Kohatu, it was however in opposite directions. We turned off at Kohatu and rode through to Motueka then over the Takaka Hills.First lesson in Bike grasshopper.. Focus!!! Day dreaming my way down the far side of the Takaka Hills I ran up behind Kev a bit close on a corner and got it all horribly wrong. The corner turned out to be an endless left hander with an off camber entry which I had entered in totally the wrong line at the wrong speed. As I drifted further out towards the centre line with things making scrapie noises on the road and the piece in contact with the seat tightening I thought to my self "I could be in trouble here". As the front wheel hit the little white cats eye in the centre of the road I thought "I really could be in trouble here". As the tyre God known as Pirelli gripped again and I hauled her up onto the wrong side of the road I thought "If someone is coming up this hill I could be in trouble here". But then the corner ended and the GS rider in front off me pointed towards the same side of the road he was on, thanks for the help Kev. 😐We found the Guy we wanted to visit in Takaka (he was the local cop and on duty that day). After a short visit where he introduced us to the other policeman in the area it was off to Nelson. Its really quite nice knowing exactly where the cops are and where there area ends, if you get my drift.Fortunately the Whakatu in Nelson was full so we looked elsewhere. We came across a nice Pub in Haven road called (oddly enough) Haven Road Pub. Its just been taken over by a young couple who are trying to get it up and running again and couldn't do enough for us. Next day I rode 2 inches and remembered the disc lock, as I stood beside the fallen beast the kindest words I heard were, well the damage is done, may as well get me camera. Gee thanks Kev. A few scratches on the panniers and rocker covers, a huge dent to the pride and we were off. back to Picton. Went via Queen Charlotte Sounds Road this time, hell of a lot shorter but takes just as long. Yes its tight in places!! On the ferry and a sad farewell, we will return. An uneventful crossing and a smooth ride back to Inglewood. 4000ks in 8 days. Back to Auckland next day for Kev. A hell of a ride 😀PS Just got a bill in the mail, why wasn't I informed of the speed camera on Ngaraunga Gorge and that it was capable of getting bikes? Bugger 😥

[Dave Ross]

#7211

  Thank you for taking the time to post this, a very enjoyable read. The easiest way to include photos is if you upload them to photobucket.com, it's free. Then all you need to do is click on the image location and paste it into your post here. You can upload several images at once, of course it helps to have broadband. If you don't have broadband make sure they are less than 100kb in size or it will take too long to do.Cheers,Alex

[Anonymous]

#7212

Good report Colin whens our next trip Ive got new batteries for the touch, and ear plugs, so I'm ready I hope you got your shots after sleeping in those sheets at Benmore pub. 😀

[Jim Young]

#7213

A terrific report, thanks for sharing it with us.RegardsJim

[2bjr]

#7214

A terrific report, thanks for sharing it with us.RegardsJim

Nice one. 😉

[clive.chapman]

#7215

😀  Great write up. I can certainly relate to some of those experiences!karl

[Author]

Posts