Near Lake Wanaka, South Island

We spent a relaxing week camping on the shore of Lake Wanaka. The weather was perfect with sunny, warm days and clear nights for watching the stars.

A few days later we rode back to Lake Takepo to enjoy the scenic views. Dave spent an afternoon enjoying the less traveled roads in the area and saw some beautiful sights from the hill tops, but unfortunately didn’t take the camera with him.

Sunrise

Our next stop was at Rakaia Gorge. The first night there was pretty chilly with rain starting just after mid-night and continued for the next three days. The manager of the campground was kind enough to let us stay in his friend’s caravan for one night to get out of the rain.

After the third night of rain, we decided that the weather was winning so we packed up and found a motel room in the town of Methven. It was only an 18 minute ride, but the rain and temperature just a few degrees above freezing made that more that enough for the day.
When the clouds finally did lift, they uncovered the mountains covered with a fresh coating of snow. A beautiful sight, though the snow came far enough down the mountains to let us know that summer really was coming to an end.

Mt Hutt near Methven

Canterbury plains

We were close to the center of the south island and still had some places we wanted to see, so we rode west through the extraordinary Arthur’s Pass to the town of Greymouth, where the rain came down again for several days. At this point, we gave up staying in the tent and spent the rest of our time in cabins.

Arthurs Pass

When the rain finally did let up, we headed north along the west coast. We were told of a scenic area north of the town of Westport that we should not miss. The small town of Karamea is on a road 100 kilometers north of Westport and followed the coast along the Tasman Sea for most of its length, except for a 20 km section that went inland giving a great twisty ride through the hills. This is was a fun ride, and although paved most of the way, we had to ride at a slow pace as there was a lot of mud on the road from the landslides caused by the previous three days rain. Several times we had to wait as road crews plowed the mud and downed trees off the road.

Beginning of the Heaphy Track

We stayed at a holiday park adjacent to a river estuary which, at low tide, we could explore on foot, though sections were a bit muddy. This area was a haven for bird life and we spent a couple of hours watching the wading birds feeding before the tide came back in.

No more tenting for us!

About 20 km further north along the coast we took a gravel road to its ending and the beginning of the Heaphy Track. This is a four to six day hike known as one of the Great New Zealand Walks. Since ours is a motorcycle trip, we just did a half day walk along the coastal part with a stop for lunch at Scotts Beach on the way back to the bike.

Scott's Beach on the west coast

The Lewis Pass was the route we chose to take back to the east coast and the weather was near-perfect. We stopped at Hanmer Springs for a few days. This is the main thermal resort on the South Island. The town is known for the Thermal Reserves which are pools with a mixture of fresh water and hot spring water of various temperatures. We had a relaxing soak in several of the pools and were reminded of our similar time in the Baldi Hot Springs at Fortuna, Costa Rica.

The short days ride to Christchurch signaled the end of this part of our trip. We arranged for crating and shipping of Deb’s bike and decided to sell Dave’s bike. We did some riding two-up in while in New Zealand and found the bike big enough for both of us, so we decided that it made sense to sell one here rather that paying to ship it home.

So, here we are back in North America visiting family and friends. Deb’s bike is somewhere on the Pacific Ocean expected to arrive in about one month. This summer we will decided where to ride to avoid the cold weather next winter and hopefully we can make it to another Horizon’s Unlimited Travelers meeting this year.

After David's mom left Christchurch to go back to Canada, we started our camping trip again. We found a very beautiful place, Lake Tekapo with a milky aqua color that reminded us of Lake Louise in Alberta.

Lake Tekapo, South Island

It is with a heavy heart that we write this update. While at Lake Tekapo, we checked our email and received a message to call home immediately. We knew it would be bad news! David called his sister and was told that their father had passed away from a heart attack. We sat outside the phone booth on the lake shore and cried. David made arrangements to fly back to Canada and we turned around and rode back to Christchurch.

Deb spent the next 10 days at a campground while David was gone. In the tv room, she watched the Indianapolis Colts win the Super Bowl one Monday afternoon. She met a couple from Switzerland, Ivo and Jaqueline, that had spent the last 23 months riding here from Switzerland and are on their way to America. When David returned, we spent time swapping stories and information about our favorite places and roads.

After leaving Christchurch again, we bypassed Lake Tekapo this time and rode to Mt. Cook. The scenery was unbelievably beautiful with some great day hikes. This is when the weather finally changed for the better. We had several sunny days in a row with clear, starry nights.

Road on the way to Mt Cook

Mt Cook glaciers

Last summer while in Indianapolis, we met a couple whose son is a doctor in a small town in the middle of the south island. On our way through Roxburgh, we stopped and met Eric. He gave us some salmon that he had recently caught and smoked the night before. It was delicious.

We rode to the southern part of the island, called the Catlins. It was a fascinating place where we saw penguins, sea lions, seals, dolphins, sea caves, waterfall and the remains of a petrified forest that is only accessible at low tide. The trees fell 160 million years ago and became petrified. The trunks and stumps still look like wood, it's only when you touch them that you realize it is rock.

Catlins coast, South Island

Deb at Cathedral Caves

Sea lion in the Catlins

Remains of petrified tree where you can even see the knot in the wood

Leaving the Catlins, we rode to the town of Invercargill made famous in the movie "The World's Fastest Indian", a story about a man named Burt Munro. He rebuilt a 1922 Indian motorcycle and took it to Bonneville Salt Flats in the US in the 1960s where he set land speed records. The original motorcycle is kept in a hardware store in town. There is also replica from the movie in the museum. While at the hardware store, we met a man that we had met before at a Horizons Unlimited travelers meeting in Nelson, British Columbia in 2005.

Burt Munro's motorcycle

From Invercargill, we started north again through the tourist center, Queenstown along a lake 50 miles long with mountains on both side. In a campground at the village of Glenorchy, we met a couple from Zionsville, Indiana - very close to where we used to live. When we told them where we lived, it turned out they were good friends of our neighbors, Jay and Ginny. There is a chance we've met this couple before but we weren't quite sure. We never cease to be amazed at what a small world it is.

Rode near Glenorchy

We are now staying at a campground on Lake Wanaka. We finally have summer camping weather. Deb no longer has to have an extra blanket in her sleeping bag or wear a woolen hat all night.

We're still in New Zealand, enjoying the riding. After a rainy and cold New Year's, the weather is gradually improving.

We spent New Year's eve and the following night in a warm hotel room and afterward were blessed with a couple of days of nice weather which we used to explore the east shore of the north island between Napier and Wellington.

Castlepoint Beach, North Island

Cape Paliser was beautiful - turquoise blue ocean, windswept hills that meet the ocean and mostly uninhabited. Since there is no natural harbor, the boats are launched by bulldozers backing the trailers across the sand and into the ocean. We decided to set our tent up on the beach in front of a small village. The camping was free and there were a few others doing the same. A fellow camper, a local Moari, befriended us and gave us a shellfish to try called 'paua' which we think is abalone. He cooked it for us with a sauce of milk, garlic and butter and it was delicious. In terms of the camping, we pretty much got what we paid for. At night the wind became very strong, and our tent made very loud snapping sounds from beating in the wind. We thought about removing the fly but didn't think the mesh inner tent would be much protection against the objects flying around such as bait buckets and 'chilly bins' (coolers). Our new friend Rob, had to move to a new location in the middle of night because he was almost blown away. Our little tent survived quite nicely.

Cape Paliser, North Island

Fur seal, Cape Paliser

After leaving Cape Paliser, we drove through the Rimutaka Gorge. Normally, it would have been a beautiful ride but this was the weekend after the holiday and traffic was very heavy in addition to horrendous wind gusts. At times we had to fight to keep our bikes out of the lane with the oncoming traffic. It turned out to be too much work to enjoy the scenery. As soon as we left the gorge, we found a campsite and visited the filming location for Rivendel from the Lord of the Rings. It didn't look like anything other than a clearing in the trees, but next time we see the movie we'll see if we recognize it.

We spent a few days camping in Wellington. It has a terrific museum and we spent almost an entire day there. Dave spent a day riding with Lance, whom he met through the Horizons Unlimited website. Lance gave him some great tips for rides to take on the south island as well as showing pictures of his motorcycle trip through South America.

It was time to head to the South Island. We had a nice calm day for the ferry crossing which reminded us of the ferry to Vancouver Island in Canada. It took three hours to make the crossing. We rode to Kaikoura the first day and then on to Christchurch the following day. Dave's mom flew in from Canada so we parked our bikes for two weeks and travelled in a rental car. We stored our bikes at Rob's house, a member of the Horizon's Unlimited Christchurch community.

While mum was here, we did a lap around the island, hitting most of the highlights. It was all so beautiful. In the evenings we would watch the Australian Open tennis matches on tv in the comfort of a motel room. Deb was thrilled to not have to camp for two whole weeks.

Mum on one of many swinging bridges

Yellow-eyed penguin, Dunedin

Beautiful Milford Sound in Fiordlands National Park

Morekai Boulders

Christchurch during the buskers festival

Even though the car trip was nice, there is no comparison to travelling by motorcycle. In the car we were isolated from the weather so wind, rain and cold weren't an issue but the glorious days weren't as glorious. We also found that we met alot more people travelling by motorcycle. In the car, we were just ordinary tourists.

Mum has made it safely back to Ontario and we are once again living in the tent.

We continued our tour of the North Island, traveling south of Auckland and to the east to the Coromandel Pennisula, a favorite place for New Zealanders to spend the holidays. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and rainy so we probably didn't appreciate it as much as we should have. One day, we hiked in the rain to a nice bay called Cathedral Cove.

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula

We spent few days in Rotorua where there are many areas of thermal activity. One site we visited was called Hell's Gate because of the many pools of bubbling mud or water and steam vents set among a rocky terrain.

Hell'sGate, Rotorua

We also rode around the surrounding area and saw pretty lakes and hilly sheep farms.

"Sittin' on the dock of the bay"

Campsite Visitor

On Christmas Day, we were riding through the town of Whakatane and noticed that a church service was about to begin so we pulled in. We met a couple, Alan and Adeline, who invited to spend Christmas with them. We went to dinner at their friends house and had a tour of the city and watched the sun set from a hill overlooking the city and the Pacific Ocean. It turned out to be a very nice Christmas.

Whakatane

The East Cape was our next destination. So far, it is the loveliest part of New Zealand which is saying alot. The road hugs the Pacific Coast with many spectacular views of the water on your left and the forest covered mountains on the right. We had several days of sunshine and some great hiking.

East Cape road

Cook's Cove, East Cape where Captain James Cook landed in 1769

The Kiwis have been so hospitable to us. Even in the campground, we were invited to the tent next door for dinner.

We are currently making our way south to Wellington to catch the ferry over to the South Island. The weather has been unseasonably cold, but everyone keeps promising us that it will get warmer soon.

We made it to New Zealand, arriving on Nov. 30. We left Chile with our motorcycles sitting in the warehouse and assurances that there was a 99% chance they would be on the next flight. Our motorcycles arrived the day after we did much to our relief.

First impressions of New Zealand - the air is sooo fresh and everything is so clean. The temperature is warm when the sun is out and cool when its cloudy, much like being at a high altitude. The sun is very intense, we've heard it's because of the hole in the ozone layer above.

We met a couple, Richard and Lisa, via the Horizons Unlimited motorcycle community. They rode their motorcycle from England to New Zealand (including a couple of flights of course). They live in Auckland and invited us to camp in their backyard so we did and enjoyed swapping stories about our trips.

Our first ride out of Auckland was to the west coast to see the a couple of sites recommended by Richard. It was raining but the coast was still beautiful. After that, we decided to travel north via the east coast and had marvelous weather. There are so many picturesque bays, coves and beaches that we are only traveling about 50-100 miles a day.

Tasman Coast

Pohutukawa (Christmas) tree

The hospitality of Kiwi's is outstanding. An example, one morning Dave's kickstand broke and needed to be welded. We stopped in the next town and asked a motorcyclist if he knew of a welding shop in the area. He said if we could wait until the next day, he could take care of it for us at his shop. He then invited us to ride with him and the Ulyses Motorcycle club that day. We did and they took us on a stunning ride along the coast. Another member of the club offered to let us camp in his backyard which we did.

Scenic North Island

The camping here is really great, the campgrounds have nice shared kitchen facilities, hot showers and a variety of accomodation from tent sites to simple cabins and cabins with bathrooms and kitchens included.

We were on our way to a campground at the south end of ninety mile beach when we saw smoke in the air. Dave said he saw someone running into a backyard so we stopped. A trailer was on fire in the backyard and the fire was spreading rapidly into the trees beyond the house. We joined in with a few other people, with plastic buckets dipping water from the children's pool and running to dump it on the fire. The wind was blowing in from the beach, fanning the flames and soon the fire was out of control. The local volunteer fire department arrived with two tiny firetrucks that were out of water in about two minutes. The firemen then had to use the water from the large water tank in the backyard of the house. Dave was up on the wall of the cistern with two other guys pulling a heavy pump up the 10 foot wall. They finally got the water flowing but it wasn't enough.

Deb heard "Mees, could you help me with my jackeet?" so she zipped up the fireman's jacket and off he went into the woods. Soon fire trucks from several of the surrounding communities arrived while the fire continued to spread. The pumper trucks kept shuttling back and forth from a nearby lake. Then the helicopters arrived with their monsoon buckets, We watched them collect water from the ocean and then dump it on the fire. The fireman kept moving as the fire moved but at one point, there was only one fireman standing next to Dave so he handed Dave the fire hose and told him to go into the woods while he, the fireman, manned the levers on the truck. Of course, Dave loved this.

Fire near the beach

After several hours, the owners of the house, Paul and Ruth, offered to let us spend the night there but we we're too keen on staying next to a smoldering forest so we declined. Then they said they have a big house in town about 10 miles away and we could stay there so we took them up on it. It was great to sleep in a bed for a change. Ruth even made a steak dinner for us.

Friends Ruth and Paul

The next morning we left our side cases behind at Paul and Ruth's returned to Ninety Mile beach at low tide and rode along the beach for 20 kilometers. Then we rode to the end of the cape at the north end of the island, Cape Reinga. This is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide.

Riding Ninety Mile Beach

Cape Reinga - where the Tasman and Pacific meet

We worked our way south back toward Auckland stopping to camp in the Waipoua Forest, home of giant kauri trees. It was amazing to see the huge trees at almost 2,000 years of age. Standing in front of one of them felt like being in the presence of something ancient and powerful.

Giant Kauri - Waipoua Forest