May 6, 2012...Auckland

Feeling a little blue today knowing that we are preparing to wrap up our adventure in New Zealand.  The drizzly weather is not helping us perk up either!  We do not have accommodation booked for Auckland as we really do not know if we want to bunk it by the Airport or closer to the city?  We were battered from winds and our bodies were tired from the 8 hour ride yesterday…and of course there may have been just a little too much celebrating??  

The first view of Auckland City was really impressive!  The skyscrapers were bright and sparkly from the morning showers, so much so that the city looked quite futuristic!  We followed the blue airplane symbols on the motorway hoping that we would run into a convenient place to stay.  But you know how it is around airports, very industrialized and a tad depressing…this was not going to do.  No Problem…we'll blow this popsicle stand and go check out another area!  At least we now know how to get to the airport! We decided to ride into the downtown area and see what we could find, but it was all a little overwhelming…Hmmm the parking could be an issue?  I was leading and had no idea where I was going…we no longer have Navi, and I was just following cars like a lost sheep.  Kev radioed me and said "lets find some internet, get some food and figure out where we are….Ahh good thinking 99??…I mean Maxwell!..ha ha ha!!  It was good to get off the bikes, chill for a bit, enjoy a light meal and get a handle on the area.  It was getting dark now, I'm glad that it was not raining on top of it!  We had made the decision to travel back towards the city and find a comfy suburb that was convenient for us to travel from.  We were winging it…using the force so to speak?  Before we knew it, It was pitch black, and just an absolutely spectacularly clear night.  You know things happen for a reason.  What I was about to see would be imprinted in my brain photo file forever!…We followed the stream of traffic that was meandering on the edge of the downtown area.  We snaked our way through and down to the water and then…there it was.  I wish that I could have pulled over and taken a picture…but there was no place to stop!  Moonface was again in his glorious super size form casting a super bright hew over the city of Auckland.  The water looked like a liquid metal lapping at the futuristic silver city…It was a most unbelievable sight…very futuristic- terminatorish,…I'll be back…ha ha ha  Do you get my drift??  Kev spied a Motel sign…we pulled off the main drag and decided that we would stay the night.  We had no idea really where we were…we would find out in the morning…What a night!

May 5, 2012...The Far North, Cape Reinga

Kev and I woke up kinda out of sorts today…our travels here in New Zealand are coming to an end!  We have traveled from the Deep South to the Far North, and it has literally been a life changing experience.  We have toyed with the idea of spending more time here, but, the increasing cooling weather nipping at us has me thinking otherwise.  We got it sorted and decided that we would head up to Cape Reinga, the northern most point in New Zealand today.  The wind gusts were fierce and toyed with us all day.  As we headed through corners, the wind would hit us from different angles and kept whipping us back and forth across the lane.  It definitely takes a beating on your body. I radioed Kev…"Do you want to do the 90 mile beach before Cape or after?"  Before was Kevin's response!  I was not real sure what was going on at this beach, but there was a lot of traffic heading down there, so, we had to check it out.  The road led us right onto the beach…so that's where we went.  We could have actually rode it up to the next town if we wanted to, so I found out later…The sand was quite soft almost silty in spots, and just wanted to take you down… not the greatest feeling in the world!  Riding down to moister, packed area along oceanfront as quickly and carefully as possible seemed to be the plan.  We rode around in circles for awhile and then decided to get back on track to the Cape.  I knew that the sand was soft where we entered the beach and was searching for a better line on exit. I found it, planned out my approach, and went for it…cool, no probs!  I pulled over at the top and waited for Kev…well I waited, and waited.  Crikey, I think that something may have happened?  I held my breathe as I found myself anxiously radioing him…there was no answer…then it came in… "I went down."  I nervously turned around to go find him…  Kev already had his bike back up, was shaken but not hurt.  He had cracked his windscreen in half but apart from that there did not seem to be any other sign of bike damage…just shaken nerves.  We pulled out the tape of all tapes…Duck Tape, or is it Duct Tape?  Either way this tape rocks!  We lined up the breaks and secured it…got a handle on the situation, pulled ourselves together, and rode on to the Cape.  We arrived at the top…Phew…Woo Hoo, and the view was beyond spectacular. There's always a plan… Windy conditions can make for beautiful crisp photo opportunites…and that it was!  Kiwi's had told us about the ability to see the mixing of the oceans and I definitely saw something going on out there.  The Tasman Sea and the South Pacific Ocean were mixing it up, and you could feel the awesomeness in the air around you…a pretty fantastic feeling!!  It was quite a feeling of accomplishment arriving at the Northern most point of New Zealand's North Island…we did it! 

The ride up took longer than expected so we only spent a half hour marveling at the world around us before saddling up.  The wind gusts had ramped up even more for our return and most of the riding was quite angular…every straight away felt like a corner…ha ha ha.  Well after a few hours of winds, dusk was settling in and the winds started to calm down…it was nice to loosen up my grip and shake off the tension.  The ride through the lush green countryside framed with cotton candy colored clouds, sapphire blue skies and brilliant autumn foliage was captivating.  Then it appeared…the super moon!  Such an amazing and surreal sight it sucked me in and lured me from concentration…wow…I was hooked!  Moonface was in his full golden glowing glory, illuminating the sky, countryside and ocean…I tell you, I don't have any words that can describe the magic of this moment…I was literally gob smacked!!  We decided to ride directly to a restaurant called "Only Seafood" for dinner and celebrate conquering the North.  Feeling very privileged, content and proud we basked in the beams of this spectacular super moon and saturated ourselves in the moment.  What a fantastic world…how lucky can we get?…think I'm going to cry!

May 4, 2012...Paihia, Bay of Islands

Double semi trucks barreling down the roads at tremendous speeds and gusty winds slapped us across the lane as we made our way towards Paihia…pronounced Pie-Here.  The locals call it Pay-Here!!..ha ha    We encountered a lot of road work today from packed dirt patches to loose pebbly stretches that kept us on our toes and totally focused all morning.  The road work is really not a problem when you consider that we are riding through beautiful rolling farm lands dotted with sheep, cows and horses…and the sheer fact that we're riding, right?  The skies were this magnificent dark blue color threatening rain, and were a beautiful contrast against the lush rolling countryside.  It looked colder than it actually was and ended up being a warm, comfortable and relaxing ride…don't you just love toasty rides? We turned off Highway 1 onto 11, only 13 k's to go to our destination and…wow it's only lunchtime…bonus!  The approach, and entrance, into the Bay of Islands could have not been more spectacular!  I know, I know I say that about every place…ha ha ha…but it is true! The road gently curved in and out, up and over hills covered in tropical rain forest foliage sporting huge tree ferns, and as I said the sky was fierce…it was amazing.  To top that off the first peek of the Bay of Islands took my breath away, it was another memorable pic to brain bank!  

It is totally fab when we actually arrive at our destination before 2pm!  It gives us a ton more day left to check out what is going on around town.  We found a great place on the water and watched a dredging barge dredge out the harbor slips, it kept us entertained for the next couple of hours, (that dude was talented).  We enjoyed oysters and a couple of cocktails as we chatted about the days ride.

May 3, 2012...Orewa Beach

Navi cannot be fixed :(  A small cut in the screen has let water in and she has "carked it"  We will have to do the rest of New Zealand the old fashioned way…how exciting!  We rode from Eastern Coromandel to Western Coromandel by way of the scenic route and it was pure riding pleasure.  We stopped for a lovely fresh smoked salmon lunch in Thames before taking on the traffic through the city of Auckland.  I have to admit I do feel a tad insecure without Navi!  Reading the map in my tank bag is not a clear as it use to be…ha ha ha!  Do they make bifocal visors???  Stopping at a BP to fill up and ask for directions I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we were only 10 minutes away from our Holiday Park

A hilarious thing just happened…I have been catching up with this blog for the past 5 hours and Kev said "I've gotta go to bed."  He ran out of the bedroom saying that he just bit into a bar of soap thinking that it was a mint on the bed…ha ha ha I couldn't sop laughing??? He unwrapped the small package and thought it must be white chocolate…ha ha ha…A mint on the bed in cabin at a Holiday Park…dreaming 

Another beautiful day in paradise.  I'm feeling totally content after a morning walk on the beach, vegemite toast and hot milo…I'm ready for another incredible day of riding, destination Paihia in the Bay of Islands ;)

May 1, 2012...Whitianga... Rabbits, Rabbits, Rabbits!

The Coromandel Peninsula is a destination we cannot miss, so today we will ride to Whitianga.  We will spend a couple of nights there so we can catch the low tide at Hot Water Beach and dig ourselves a hot tub!

Excellent riding, long sweeping curves Kev and I were in the groove much of the day.  On our way to Whitianga we decided to stop at Hot Water Beach to see what it was all about.  At 2 hours either side of low tide you are able to dig a hole in the sand and have hot water seep up.  Awesome…this we'll have to do!  The morning low tide has already been, tonights is at 8:45pm…We'll be back for the morning low at 9am!  I had booked a holiday condo for our Whitianga stay, and they had upgraded us to one with a garage which was really cool!  I always mention that we need parking for the bikes, and so, it has happened that several times we have been upgraded…Awesome!  

Woo Hoo… it looks like a fairly warm morning to ride to Hot Water Beach, less our riding gear. It happened to be quite chilly really, but my grips on full burn helped warm me up when they weren't burning my hands…ha ha ha! We rented a couple of shovels and grabbed some towels and 1/2 an hour later we were digging for hot water!  It was really a sight…already at least 30 or so people had dug their personal tubs in the sand and were stretched out in all positions soaking.  There were some spots that had literally had boiling water seeping up, it was incredible.  We found a sweet spot and dug a pit, it was really trick. As the waves crashed down the sides of our tub we would need to rebuild them to keep the hot water in.  As the time wore on this was happening more and more with the tide coming in.  People were constantly on the look out for a hotter tub…as people left their sand tubs another would grab it…it was almost like musical chairs, or tubs and pretty funny looking.  We hung out for just over an hour and were able to upgrade up to several warmer models in that time…Ahhh! 

Hahei and Cathedral Cove were only 11k's from Hot Water Beach so we headed over to that area of Mercury Bay after our soak.  The views of Cathedral Cove were amazing, can this country be any more stunning?  We headed back to the condo relaxed and enriched for a relaxing afternoon by the pool.  

April 29, 2012...Mt Maunganui

Now I was not too disappointed to be leaving Rotorua, the sulfur smell was just too much for me!  We decided to take Kiwi Kevin up on his offer of accommodation and headed off to Mt Maunganui.  Kiwi Kevin must of heard us riding up as he and his wife Di were standing out the front directing us into the driveway.  I was wondering what Di must have been thinking as I hopped off the bike.  We expressed our appreciation for their kindness.  What felt a little awkward, so became very comfortable! Kiwi Kevin and Di directed us to our room, gave us fresh towels, offered us the washing machine, and said "get comfy, clean up then let's show you around town!"…Can you believe it??? Kiwi Kevin opened his garage…dah dah…and along with his BMW 1200 GS Kevin has an early 50's Norton, and 70's Norton Commander…Just beautiful…Kev was drooling!  (Oh yeah and a retro Suzuki GN 250…Di's bike!) Ok let's go… First stop ACDC's drummers restaurant, Phils Place for a drink!  Wouldn't you know it , Phil pulled up in his Ferrari how lucky can we get.  He came over and we caught up on the latest groupie goss…ha ha ha…Nahh…but it was pretty amazing that he pulled up!….No I did not ask for his autograph!  We moved onto another bar for some absolutely fantastic Bluff oysters, more wine and waited for Kiwi Kevin and Di's friends Kirk and G to join us.  Kirk and G pulled up on a totally cool 1950's Sunbeam motorcycle…A great night! 

Kev and I decided to tramp the mount today…hike Mt Maunganui.  Wowzer, we were huffing and puffing, maybe I need to squeeze in a couple of runs here and there?  The views were just amazing from this sacred Maori place.  It was a good 90 minute workout…If you tramped this mount 3 days a week you would be in great shape! Kiwi Kevin cooked us another wonderful dinner tonight, and Di surprised us each with a Kokopu Pounamu.  This is a Maori locally sourced jade from Aotearoa New Zealand that has a strong spiritual connection with the world around them.  Thank you Kevin and Di for your most generous hospitality!

April 27, 2012...Rotorua

The weather forecast is rain in Rotorua today…so we have decided to suit up right off the bat.  We have been super lucky with the weather to date but I have a feeling that we will be swimming in it today…ha ha ha.  Our all in one fluro lime green rain suits worked really well for the amount of rain we were riding through.  It was coming down in buckets and did not stop for 2 hours.  It was a challenging and super fun experience that I will never forget.  By the time we arrived in Rotorua I was really soaked through so much so that when we pulled up to a Mackers for a coffee and directions there was a pool of water around the table that we were sitting at that the staff placed a caution cone there! The inside my helmet was wet, my boots had a puddle around my toes, my polys were soaked through but comfy…I may have well been sitting in a tub!  We were approached by a fellow BMW enthusiast/interested Kiwi.  Kiwi Kevin, our new friend, helped us with directions to our motel as Navi has seemed to have stopped working?  He offered his home to us if we needed a place to stay while traveling north…so cool and so kind! We chatted for a bit, but the longer we sat the colder we got so it was time to find the motel and dry off.   I have to tell you that Rotorua totally stinks.  I don't mean that in a harsh way…but the smell of sulfur is totally over powering.  I guess it smells more when it rains…lucky us!  Riding into the town I was beginning to get a headache…maybe I was holding my breath too much???…ha ha ha   

I have to laugh…our room looks like a chinese laundry, there is clothing all over the place!  We are here for 2 nights so it should all dry out.  The motel offered to garage our bikes which was nice, so we plan to stay off them for the time we are here and public trans it!  Staying right in town we had access to everything.  We caught a bus to Rainbow Springs to visit the "Kiwi Encounter".  I had not seen a kiwi yet, well the feathered kind…ha ha ha… and could not think of leaving the country without seeing one!  Actually the first "Kiwi Wandering" sign I saw was in Ohope Beach.  The conservation operated by the Kiwi National Trust at Rainbow Springs was fascinating.  We thoroughly enjoyed the guided process from egg collection in the wild, incubation, hatching, raising and release…and they are so cute!!  Yes even though the Kiwi is nocturnal we did get to see them in a dark enclosure doing their grub thing!  

April 25, 2012...Ohope Beach

Researching tomorrow nights lodging I was drawn to Ohope Beach in the Bay of Plenty.  We wanted to ride up to and around the cape…the long way round!  I emailed a Maori couple that had a small cottage detached from their house, kinda like a homestay B&B.  The cottage was available and they were excited for our arrival.  Miria and Taroi invited us to Maori ANZAC celebration if we arrived in time.  

Today is ANZAC day, Australia New Zealand Army Corps.  A day to honor New Zealand and Australian servicemen and women.  Similar to the U.S. Memorial Day.  Kev and I bought our Poppies (symbol of remembrance) in Wellington the Friday before.  The remembrance is a heart warming weeklong recognition to the Battle of Gallipoli.  I pinned my poppie on the outside of my jacket but soon lost it in the wind.  We rode out of Gisborne at 8am this morning…today's ride is will be long and we need to allow enough time to make it to Ohope Beach in the Bay of Plenty before 4pm.  

Many feathered friends graced our air space today, or maybe I should say us theirs!!  Some a little too close for comfort!  For some reason my helmet attracts birds!! Poof…birds appear in front of me, they do their freaky "Oh Shoot" thing and disappear just as fast as they appeared.  I had 2 smaller yellow canary type birds come straight at my visor today and I had to duck…not he feathered type duck, the movement type…ha ha ha…(Brent that was for you!) I call these birds Kamakaze Birds, and they were on the war path today along with 5 or so hawks and 1 peacock.  Too much fun!

The long way round was truly spectacular especially so when we rode into first view of Whakaari, White Island the active volcano 50km offshore from Whakatane.  We had to pull over and just take a few minutes, raise our visors and soak it up!  Steam clouds could be seen rising from the island… This place is just unbelievable!  Oh no another language lesson; "Wh" is pronounced as a "F"…always learning :)

If you pulled over at all the sweet spots you would never ride more than a couple of k's at a time!!  You want to ride into the fields, when you see access, cross a river, and take off down one of those many mystery dirt roads!  I'm saying that It takes a lot of discipline to stay on track.  There was this one particular spot…"Sweet As"…ha ha ha.  My knees buckled, well they are already buckled from being on the bike for 5 1/2 hours so far…ha ha ha.  I pulled off and Kev followed!  It was a great place and Kev wanted to take the bikes right down onto the shore for the ultimate photo opp!  Cool Kev, go for it…looks good! The shore was covered with smooth palm sized stones and looked solid…Ahh NO.  The bike sank into the stony ridge like it was mud…Wholly Smokes Batman! Needless to say we spent the next 45 minutes trying to get the bike back onto solid ground!!  So moral to this is, if it looks solid, it probably isn't…test everything!…But as always it makes a good story, and a great laugh after you survive it!!!

We rounded the corner into Ohope Beach and the vanilla feather duster plants were pink!  They looked like fairy floss/cotton candy plants… I do not know if this was natural, or if the dusters were sprayed pink!

Miria and Taroi greeted us to Moanarua Beach Cottage with beautiful warm smiles… we clocked just under 7 hours of riding time today!  We unloaded, showered and changed into "normal clothing"…ahh!  Although tired, we are excited to attend a special Maori ANZAC memorial/tribute at the Mataatua Wharenui.  

Kev and I felt very welcomed as Miria introduced us to everyone she possibly could.  "This is Kevin and Cat and they just arrived on their motorcycles from Gisborne today, they went the long way and when they rode up they had cameras on their heads"…."Oh, Oh" people would say… funny!  I must say that we look kinda like telatubbies or aliens with the square go pros mounted on our helmets!

The event that evening at the Mataatua Wharenui in Whakatane I have to say, bordered on a spiritual experience.  This Mataatua Wharenui is truly extraordinary.  Supurbly carved and decorated this house has returned to its people after 136 years of traveling the globe!  We were directed to sit in the front row, directly facing the concert activities… it was so emotional, dramatic and powerful, even though most of the conversation was in Maori!  Feeling very honored and privileged to be invited we could not believe it when Mr Te Kei Merito recognized us and thanked for attending the Concert Program.  It did not end there…after the event was over we were invited to enjoy a light meal, drinks and great conversation…an truly amazing evening!

That night the sky opened up…it poured and poured and we awoke to an amazingly warm and sunny morning.  Miria and I headed across the street for a morning boogie board and swim…crazy amazing, I could really get use to this!  Kev and I have decided to stay another night with Miria and Taroi and soak it all in!  We made the morning news on Maori radio…ha ha ha…go figure!  At Ohope Beach you can experience a sunrise and sunset on the ocean without leaving the coast…yeah, crazy amazing!

April 24, 2012...Gisborne

"Watch for goats", "Watch for wandering stock", "Hazard Logging Trucks", "Hazard Slips" were some of todays signage on our way to Gisborne.  Now I'm not sure if New Zealand has porcupine but I did slow down and swerve around something that had 4 legs and looked spiny crossing the road!  After about 2 hours of riding we pulled off the road at a picnic area and decided to chill for a bit have a beer and play a game of canasta.  A German fellow was preparing his lunch, he was fascinating to watch!  He pulled out a little burner to warm his bread on, broke out the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and started to prepare a fresh salad!  We chatted for a bit then decided it was time to hit the road again after I was once again slaughtered in Canasta…that game sucks!…ha ha ha  So many vanilla feather duster plants during this stretch.  I don't know the correct name of these plants but they are beautiful! 

Arriving at our motel earlier than expected we checked in and unloaded.  The bikes stripped of their somewhat cumbersome load, and us of our riding gear, we felt vulnerable almost naked as we decided to tour around Gisborne town.  We had been told that with tomorrow being a public holiday that many townships would be totally closed down and that petrol may not be available.  We filled up the tanks and extra gas containers…now we are all prepared for tomorrow!

April 23, 2012...Art Deco Capital of the World ~ Napier

Can you explain to me why you look a certain direction at a particular moment in time??? I looked down at my gauges and saw my milage at 011111 at precisely 1:11….Great Scott!! When we rode through Foxton yesterday my tunes were playing "Fox on the run"..di do di do…shoot I'm dating myself now!  I have to share this with you…Glancing across one of the many cow packed paddocks I caught a cow picking up a plastic bottle in her mouth then spitting it out what are the odds of that?.  As  weird as that sounds,  this is practically the only rubbish that I have seen in this beautiful country no wonder she spit it out! 

It was overcast this morning as we headed over to the Thermal Pools.  It happened to be their cleaning day so the pools were half price.  Kev and I were the only ones there and we had the whole place to ourselves, well minus the Kiwi pool guy.  The pool guy was pressure washing the lower cool pool in his speedos and we enjoyed the upper hot pools, me I enjoyed the speedos…just joking!  Apart from the noise of the pressure washer it was purely tranquil.  The waters were so blue and clear, almost like a "blue loo" color, minus the loo!!  This was the color of the water not the pools themselves.  A  smooth frosted/iced cake like calcium build up covered the overflows from the natural thermal springs into the pools spillways where the waters flowed into the pools. We soaked for a couple of hours, Kev always with a book in his hand!  A funny thing happened though…there was a bridge over the actual thermal spring that fed the pools, and I had been looking at it wondering how we could get up there.  Then all of a sudden out of the thermal vapor a group of people appeared!!  Apparently there is a nature walk that takes you via the pools…ha ha ha…wow talk about feeling like a zoo animal being viewed!  What do you do??…Flips of course!

A very relaxing and interesting morning!

Hungry we decided to ride towards the lake via Huka Falls which looked like a Blue Heaven Milkshake.  We found a shady spot pulled out our rye crackers, cheese, fruit and wine and enjoyed a light lunch.  We fed the noisy gulls and one Mallard grapes…it is a pretty funny sight to see about 10 gulls and 1 old duck with grapes in their beaks/bill…we laughed!

The ride into the Hawke's Bay town, Napier…the "Art Deco Capital of the World" was brilliantly comfortable.  We are over on the west coast now, and I am starting to get pleasantly dazed and confused as we continue our journeys on the North Island!!  Much of Napier was destroyed by an earthquake and fire in 1931, (like San Francisco!) and was rebuilt with the optimism of the roaring 20's and idealism of the 30's…personally my fav era. We stayed in this old hotel called the Masonic Hotel that had old french doors from your room that lead out onto the roof.  It was pretty dated but the history and architecture was really cool.  The Masonic was directly across the road from a black pebbled beach…we plan to get up tomorrow to see the sun rise?

With no alarms set I woke up in total darkness wondering where I was…don't you hate that?  Luckily I did not run into the wall, which I usually do!…ha ha ha.  All I could remember is that we are somewhere in New Zealand and that I wanted to see the sun rise here.  They make those "black out" curtains so dark and this room was totally funky, light switches were not where they should be…you know the feeling!

I pulled back the curtains to see a clear crimson sky…Wow!  It was about 6:15 am, I think that we have to hurry out if we want to catch the show!  We pulled on some clothing, grabbed the camera and hurried out of the hotel, walked across the street onto the dewy black pebbled beach and found a pice of drift wood to plant ourselves on.  We waited, and waited…shivered, and waited…and when our toes were numb from the morning chill.  Ra finally appeared it was around 7am!  She did not disappoint…What a fantastic start to a day!

April 22, 2012...Taupo

 Sometimes you feel so in sync, and that your wheels could be clouds, and your head totally clears…the riding is that good!  In fact along the stretch today from New Plymouth to Taupo we ran out of petrol!!  Well Kev did!  I hear, "I'm outa gas, don't know how I missed it?" It was not the greatest place to run out and stop but we managed to find a clearing that Kev coasted in to.  We did have several gallons on us so he poured some in his tank and also some in mine.  My my tank was on reserve, although I had a good 25 miles to go before being completely empty.  A fellow concerned biker pulled over to help…always a comforting feeling!  It could not have been more than a couple of k's and once again Kev says that he is empty.  This time we could not both get off the road safely, so I rode to a clearing and he pulled as far left as possible.  O.K. it is not that amusing anymore, we need gas!  Kev programed Navi to see where the nearest station was, and there was one about 10k up the road…but would he make it?  Of course we made it, but I can't say that he did not break a sweat? 

We passed a lunch spot along the way that had a ton of bikers parked out the front…usually a good sign for great food and stories!  I guess this place was known for its white bait meals, so of course we had to have bait for lunch!  White bait comes in a fritter or an omelet…we had it fritter style, I really just could not imagine egg and bait and figured that a fritter is more fried… I'm thinking that I could probably handle fried bait?  Our lunch arrived and it was very interesting…You know those tiny silver little fish that you see in the shallow waters at the beach…well I think that's what we were eating, heads, eyes, fins and lips, the whole caboodle!  There were at least 100 of these tiny fish baked into this battery fritter!  It was not too fishy, although it was interesting, and you could not help play with your food…ha ha ha!!!  After lunch lunch we did not get off our bikes until we reached Taupo.  

I had booked a shared house for our next stay.  We pulled into this newly developed residential neighborhood and found Falls Chateau!  Another great internet booking!  We were met by the property manager and this is totally funny… he asked if we were down for the wedding at John Travolta's house?  He also asked if we were celebrities, and kept looking at us from the corner of his eyes like he did not believe us that we were not!  He said that he does not get interesting people booking with him, and figured that we had to be traveling down for the wedding?…RightyO then…makes a great blogging story hey?

We did not make it in time for the thermal pools, but you can bet your socks that we'll be there in the morning!

April 21, 2012...New Plymouth

Wings on the menu today.  That is we are going to wing it today…with no accommodations booked we head up the west coast of the North Island to New Plymouth.  After riding over to say good bye to Shelly, Des and the boys…the ride out of the Wellington area was especially spectacular, complete with dark ominous clouds overhead.  Maybe today we will need to pull out the fluro rain gear? 

The distance between the towns is much closer than the South Island.  It seems as soon as you get to comfortable cruising speeds you are entering another town and slowing it down!!  We still have a hard time pronouncing most of the names of the towns!!  My cous Shelly said that the best way to handle it is to break up the words after each vowel for pronunciation…So the town of Whakarewarewa… (yeah I know kind of mind boggling) would be broken up like this…Wha/ka/re/wa/re/wa.  Give her a burl!…ha ha ha, good times!!  I was even pronouncing Maori incorrectly, it sounds like More Re!  Well there you have it a hidden language lesson…ha ha ha  

One thing that Kev and I have noticed is the amount of vintage cars that are on the roads and in tip top shape to boot!  You can tell that they are everyday drivers, and not just out for a Sunday spin so to speak.  It almost seems that you have actually travelled back in time, it is pretty cool.  Memories of my Gran come to me , especially when I pass the beautiful hydrangeas that grow here…

Countryside looks very manicured…of course it is when you have thousands of teeth trimming everything everyday!  There is still that same amount of farm life…lots and lots!!  Cows, horses, donkeys, lama's, goats, deer, oh yeah…and the occasional sheep!  I'm kidding you…Baaalieve me they are not occasional…sheep are everywhere! ha ha baa! 

We pulled into New Plymouth and found the cutest motel right near the coast.  The price was right so we unloaded.  We had made it just in time to grab the camera and walk town to the beach and watch the sun set.  A couple of days ago we were watching the sun rise on the opposite coast!  As we move further up the North Island the plan is to experience a rise and set in the same day from opposite coastlines!… I can't wait!!

April 20, 2012...Wellington

The announcement was made from the Ferry to go to your vehicles…we hurried on down, unstrapped the bikes and geared up.  It was quite exciting waiting for the ferry gate to lower!  We decided to just follow the pack pretty much into the thick of it…rush hour traffic!  It was a definite shock merging into so many vehicles after being around so little the last 3 weeks. I communicated to Kev that I would pull off at the first exit so that we could program the Motel into Navi.  Wellington looks like a small Frisco or Sausalitto at a glance, but for tonight we are going to check in, unload and relax! 

My cousin Shelly lives in Wellington and I had not seen her in 25 years!!  I had connected with her off and on while traveling the South Island and was excited at the prospect of catching up with her. Shelly had invited us to a home cooked meal…YES!!  We were only a couple of k's from her funny enough so we decided to "hoof it" instead of riding…as I had styled my dreadlock, and Kev his flo and we didn't want to mess it up!!!…ha ha ha  We had a great evening catching up, but we will need to ride the bikes over to show the boys…Andrew, Sam and Josh before we leave. 

We rode the train from Johnsonville into Wellington.  There is so much tropicalness….if that is a word?? Maybe flora is a better word??  Tropical flora, like huge tree ferns, vines and shrubbery, anyway, it is a very lush city.  The sun is shining, the air is crystal and Kev and I enjoyed the day walking the city streets of Wellington, just taking in the vibe. Today the city is buzzing and we are enjoying lunch harbor side in an old St. John Ambulance building people watching and taking it all in…a blessed day!!! 

April 18, 2012...Leaving the South Island

My hair is slowly becoming one dreadlock, not the greatest look in the world…now don't get me wrong, I really like the look of dreadlocks … but imagine one big one…maybe I can separate it into three??

Riding from Westport to Nelson was lovely and curvy and a short trip, really.  Along the way we stopped at a small cafe for lunch.  We were able to get onto the internet and check out what accommodation were available in Nelson for tonight, we booked a room and hopped back on the bikes. As we rode into Nelson I couldn't help think that this area reminded me of an oceanside Los Gatos… I think that Nelson is my most fav town on the South Island now, with Queenstown close behind!!  As Navi was trying to figure out what road we needed to turn on a call came in from the booking company we had booked our room though.  There had been a flood in the building and they had booked us into a nearby hotel for the same price!  Wow we thought that was really nice of them!!  The Hotel was not far away, and as we turned in I had a huge smile…SCORE!  This is the first Hotel we will have stayed at since arriving in New Zealand! We checked in and checked out the room, as we entered Kev and I "slapped some skin", "high fived"…a little more comfort what a treat!  I enjoyed a spa bubble bath along with a glass of wine…feeling spoilt, relaxed and clean! 

We set the alarm for tomorrow,  we had to be up in time to check-in to the Interisland Ferry Terminal by noon.  We also needed to pick up some tie-downs for the bikes, so that they could be secured on the ferry.  The ride to Picton was only 1 1/2 hours, but we wanted to take the super duper windy scenic route… we had enough time!  Super Dooper windy was an understatement!!  I have not rode more hairpin turns in a row, in my life…and Kev is shaking his head also…ha ha ha. Just beautiful! 

I'm quite excited, I have not been on a ferry in a long long time, and this will be the first time that I have riden onto one…Woo Hoo!  Up and over, clank clank, with no problem we were directed to the motorcycle parking bay.  This is pretty cool!  We secured the bikes, gathered our stuff and headed up to the lounge.  We have left the South Island, and are now in Cook Strait…the seas are a little choppy and I'm trying not to think about it…barf!!! 

As I'm reflecting on the last 3 weeks of us zig zagging across the South Island, I'm feeling a little sick….I think that it is the rocking of the ferry….ooooh…focus, focus!..deep breath!! Yes indeed the South was very, very cool and there was so much to see.  I wish that we could travel around one more time!

April 17, 2012...Westport

We had a great brekie at a cute cafe before getting on the road this morning.  I had the Chiefs Special, way too much food, but awesome!  Baked beans, sausage, great bacon, 2 poached eggs, hash browns, a grilled tomato and 2 pieces of toast…wowzer!  Kev had the Smoked Salmon Benedict which was tastey, but rich.  We lucked out with the weather, no rain for Christchurch this morning…Score! It kinda puts a damper on things when you are trying to load up your bikes in the rain, as opposed to riding through the rain?

The riding today was pretty ordinary?!!…Are you kidding me…Do you think I'm lying???…Yeah, you caught me…It was spectacular, probably the best day yet!  If I had to describe to you how I felt, well…it was like a hot knife through butter!!  The air was warm, sweet and still, the curves were gentle and flowing and our communications worked perfectly for the first time!…"Sweet As", as they say! On the way towards Lewis Pass we pulled off at a small town to mess with the volume levels on the radios.  I have to veer off a tad and tell you about this totally curious 11 year old.  He was the best!  As soon as he saw us riding down the road he was right on us.  He rode over, threw down his scooter and started asking a ton of questions about the bikes.  Where are you going? How fast do the bikes go?  Why do you have so much stuff on your bikes? Why do you camp? Do you not have a lot of money? Do you have good riding skills?  Can you ride with one hand? Is that an iPhone on your bike? Who's bike is faster? Your bike is leaking petrol!…Wow, can you talk to each other? Why don't you wash your hands in the toilets??…(Kev?? sorry inside joke) Maybe we have planted a seed?  What a kick I really enjoyed this surprise encounter

Watch out for grass trimming tractors!  We came across 3 sets today and it can be a total surprise.  They busily trim the grass by the sides of the road and maneuver in, out and around those post things that run alongside the road…you do not expect this type of attention to the landscape especially when you are in the boonies… it totally keeps us on our toes!

The forests passes were amazing today, so many big black trunked trees sporting vivid green leaves.  With the sunlight streaming through the trees, it was totally spectacular…I have talked about the vividness of the colors before it just simply blows me away!  So here we are in Westport and we are almost done with the South Island of New Zealand :(  We did a little grocery shopping and I'm cooking chicken with  mushroom risotto in our room tonight and enjoying a nice New Zealand red… Nite!

April 14, 2012...Christchurch

Todays ride to Christchurch brought with it some challenging situations.  We encountered the most traffic to date.  I think it is because people are making their way back home from holidays some are in a rush, and some are not.  We had racers pass us approaching crests, on corners, and slower than snails over Arthur's Pass….an exciting day indeed!  We crossed many one lane bridges, in fact they are everywhere.  We stood on all crossings to be visible to the oncoming traffic, it was not fun at all??? We stopped for lunch at Wainihinihi…say that quickly  ten times???? Satisfied we were ready for Arthurs and Porters Pass.  Once again great riding through and over ranges, farm land and tropical forests…everything possible, well except a sandy desert so far!  As we were riding further and further without seeing a petrol station i was starting to get a little concerned.  We had installed extra gas cans on the bikes but were not carrying any extra fuel at the moment.  Extra weight that we thought we could avoid until we think we need it.  The trouble is when you don't think you need it, is when you really need it…Stupid, really, they should each have some gas in them even if they are not full.  My gas light lit up  I messaged Kev that I had about 50 miles…I knew that he had way less and was starting to fret a bit.  The weather was changing, and I'm not just making this situation more interesting…I swear we rode from a comfortable temperature right into a low chilly cloud on a windy pass.  I was hoping that Kev's bike would not run out of juice here, and especially on a hill.  He rode behind a slow car, not risking the extra gas to pass.  I was starting to fret a little by now, little did I know that his tank read empty 10 kilometers ago!  Twenty kilometers to the next town…would he make it… my fingers were crossed that there was a petrol station there?  Wouldn't you know it…Saved by Springfield….DOH!…he he he he he...(sorry couldn't help myself!!!…ha ha ha)  We filled up the extra gas cans!

On we rode into Christchurch feeling very lucky indeed.  Our replacement radio part had been shipped to the Motel that we were staying at….thanks Robbie you're a life saver!  Now I will be able to hear Kev.

It is quite sad to see the town in such disrepair.  Many buildings are condemned, businesses closed and streets blocked off.  Walking down some of the streets today it felt like you were in a war zone, rubble still on the ground and many buildings are cyclone fenced off, abandoned and boarded up.  The huge cranes tower over the city center working around the clock to clear the rubble.  We found a busy Thai restaurant, always a good sign and had dinner. 

Spot, our satellite gps tracker is playing up…he is not tracking very well and I find myself checking him every 1/2 hour or so.  I  usually end up turning him back on!  Hopefully we will get a replacement soon and have our treks tracked!

April 13, 2012...Fox Glacier

Heading north along the west coast towards the Glaciers today… we are up and out at the crack!  We zip our liners into our jackets, and today I'm wearing my horizontal striped (I know that vertical striping is better…ha ha ha) New Zealand polys.  Feeling warm and toasty, actually a tad over heated we ride off.  Riding through the crisp morning air I cooled off and felt less bound up.  The more layers you wear the more constricting the riding can be.  You do get use to it but for the first 10 miles or so it does take a bit to get into the groove!  Today will be a longer ride and we are excited about that.  We both downloaded some new tunes onto our playlists, and the day of rest did us the world of good.  Riding out of Queenstown was just as spectacular as riding in.  The trees are sporting their most colorful autumn colors, and every now and again you get to ride through a shower of colorful leaves….I love that part!  We rode up and out of the Waitiri Valley, and, no jokes, it totally looked like a scene out of the kids movie "The land before time", you know the one with Petri!.  I know that you are probably getting sick of me telling you how beautiful this countryside is… oh well..sorry mate… it is just that!!  I definitely feel privileged to be experiencing all of this!!  After riding up past Lake Wanaka, we took a break and stopped by the Blue Pools.  We parked the bikes and locked up the helmets and hiked off into the very lush ferny forrest.  The pools were just that…a very vivid turquoise blue and very inviting for a dip.  After layering up this morning and hiking for 30 minutes in riding gear maybe a quick dip would refreshing?….Ahh I don't think so, the water was more than freezing, if it was any colder it would have been frozen solid….so just a little refreshing splash would have to do!  Back on the bikes…Fox Glacier here we come.  As we got closer to the west coast the wind picked up.  Decent gusts were pushing the bikes along with Kev and I around a bit.  I think that the West coast gets its fair share of wind judging by the direction the trees and bushes are growing.  It is amazing at how tropical and ferny the area is, right up to the coast.  There is every shade of green imaginable, and then some.  The colors are so vivid it is spectacular!  You swear that you were wearing polarized glasses.  As we rode closer towards the glacier the most fantastic rainbow graced us…I could hardly take my eyes off it! We pulled into Fox Glacier around 6pm, yeah, a long day of riding.  It was drizzling the clouds were dark and puffy, the sun rays were trying to peek through as we rode down the grey dirt road towards the glacier.  It was kind of an eerie feeling, almost like the calm before the storm….or earthquake?? The view of the glacier today was from 200 meters, I was excited to see something that was so old and still alive. There were many milky white streams flowing down from the glacier as we hiked up the pathways towards it.  Our gear is quite damp by now, my striped ploys were working like a charm.  Kev was enjoying stomping right through the streams we had to cross in his gortex riding boots.  They really do keep water out!  The glacier was dirty, but I would be too if I was that old!  It was a unique sight.  Fox still had it…It was rugged, chiseled and had that deep blue glacier color inside….very cool….literally…ha ha ha!  Yeah I know corny!

April 11, 2012...Queenstown

Onto Queenstown today.  Once again it is hard for me to put into words the amazing scenery that we traveled through!  This country side is so dynamic, I already have a ton of photos to go through…the beauty and curse of digital photography..ha ha ha!   Queenstown is located on Lake Wakatiou, an "S" shaped lake.  As  we rode the gentle curves around the lake into the township I could not help think that this reminds me of a small Colorado,  postcard perfect!  It definitely had an alpine and outdoorsy feel about it.  There were bright para-sailers playing on the thermals, sailboats on the lake, mountain bikers choofing it up the hills and jet boats racing the Shotover river, very cool! We stopped by a grocery store to pick up some groceries for the next couple of days then Navi guided us onto our Holiday Park cabin.  This cabin was very cute, and the largest that we have had so far.  The temperature was dropping fast, so we headed to the shower block for hot showers before cooking our dinner in the community kitchen.  On the menu tonight was fresh local pork chops, with the crackle still attached, steamed carrots, new potatoes, fresh broccoli and green beans.  You sure work up an appetite, and a home cooked meal tastes wonderful!  The next morning we decided to check out the cute township of Queenstown, and ended up spending the whole day there.  It is a bustling, energetic and young township.  We did a little frugal shopping, we don't have much space for souvenirs and enjoyed the rhythm of the town.  I would definitely go back to Queenstown!

April 9, 2012 Milford Sound Bound

Up and out early today…Another glorious morning, today we are riding to Milford Sound.  It is truly hard to describe the beauty of this countryside.  I find myself in total awe, complete with jaw open…yes in my helmet, and sometimes even drooling….ha ha ha! Or maybe Im drooling because I have just bitten the side of my cheek again…DOH! 

Kev is working on editing the now many hours of video that we have captured on our trip.  We have decided that we need a small crew to take dictation, pictures and edit videos.  Pack up our gear, go grocery shopping, and provide the odd massage……dreaming!  This is a bloody lot of work mate!  You find yourself quite beat up after 6 hours of riding, then blogging, downloading video and pictures is not exactly the most pressing thoughts on your mind…..let alone finding internet!…OK got that off my chest…on we go…. 

We rode through some decent rain spells on our way to Milford Sound.  We pulled over and covered our tank bags, but felt as though we could make it through with out rain suiting ourselves up.  It became quite chilly over the passes registering down to freezing,  we took it slow just incase we hit ice.  Despite the weather we were making good time…we had to make it to the backpackers hostel before 2pm as we had a kayaking and hiking trip booked.  Muddy, chilly and hungry we pulled up at 1:30pm hoping that our cabin was ready…it was not!  We changed out of our damp riding gear and into hiking clothes had a quick bite to eat, tossed our belongings in a storage closet and hoped aboard the van excited to hike Milford Sound.  I  booked this trip through Roscco's, and had split up the activities over 2 days, just incase we were spent!  We changed into some rather sexy kayaking attire in a large tent by the water, squeezed into our 2 maned kayaks, and set a good pace across the sound to the hiking trail.  Kev was controlling the rudder, I was setting the pace….ahh they don't call them divorce boats for nothing!!!…ha ha ha!  Thank god we arrived at land sooner rather than later…No really…it was getting a tad choppy out there, and I was glad to be on solid ground for a bit.  The weather can change on a split second out here, you can just feel the excitement and challenge in the air all around you.  We hiked about 5k up the Milford Trail before returning. Adam, our guide poured us some hot Raro, it hit the spot!  Raro is a gatoraide or cordial type beverage, and heated it is quite interesting. There was one other younger couple with us and the pace was decent.  Truly an untouched and somewhat prehistoric feel to this beautiful land….just amazing.  The paddle back was smoother, the tide was out and the wind had calmed…we had survived the divorce boats, and we were truly buggered now!  We checked into our super small 10x10 metal cubed cabin, unload the bikes, and headed to dining room for a beer.  Wiped out,  cooking was not an option… it was veggie's, hummus, cheese and biscuits,  (crackers for the yanks) and wine for dinner.  Sacked out by 8pm!  That night the skies opened up it poured, and poured and poured.  It was absolutely awesome to be in a metal cabin…can you imagine the sound?

It was still raining when we woke, and coming down pretty hard.  Today we were scheduled to spend 4 hours kayaking Milford Sound, looks like it was going to be a wet one?!  Amazingly enough the sky cleared up, how lucky can we get? Kev had seemed to master the rudder, our strokes were in sync, we were looking good!  We paddled from Deep Water Cove into the fiord Milford Sound where we marveled at some amazing waterfalls, rock formations and cheeky wildlife.  It was truly a fantastic experience!  The sand flies were biting any area of exposed skin that they could find, so our hands and faces are pretty bitten up… damn they itch! Wind burned, sore and bitten we were truly satisfied, yeah we got our monies worth!

April 8, 2012...Easter in Te Anau

The ride to Te Anau, was incredible.  We did get sprinkled on, the first signs of rain that we have been in.  We really have been incredibly lucky with the weather so far…knock on wood!! We stayed in a small "A" framed cabin in a caravan park right on the lake.  I did a load of laundry…our clothing is getting a little smelly!! 

We had been told about the Fiordlands Glow Worms, and decide to book in on the 4:40 tour.  It was quite an amazing experience.  Entering the cave we soon saw these tiny fluro dots  that looked like a star system on the cave ceiling..they were glow worms.  The tour continued by boat that lead us through the underground river system.  It was pitch black, cold, damp and almost claustrophobic! To me, it felt as though I could have been in space looking out at a star system that glowing around us. The glow worms catch their food by making sticky beaded threads that hang from their body, it is really fascinating! 

That night we had a lovely seafood dinner in the town of Te Anau, Happy Easter!