New Zealand here I come - in 2014

[balibeemer]

The wife and I decided on taking a break in March next year, to visit South Island in NZ.
I (naturally) wanted to rent a bike for touring but Madame feels that it will be too chilly for her thin tropical blood! So we compromised and are renting a Mercedes 280 SL for our transport needs.
And we will be visiting 2 graves in NZ. John Britten's in Christchurch and Bert Munro in Invercargill. Just to pay our respects to 2 great bikers!

[Motu]

March is the tail end of summer, and some of the best settled weather we have.  Your missus will be the only one in thermals, everyone else will be in shorts, T shirts and jandals. The Burt Munro Challenge finishes today http://www.burtmunrochallenge.com/  Competitors and spectators will be heading back home next week.


We have official names for our main islands now, previously we just called them that...spoken lower case.  So the South Island is now just that, and also Te Waipounamu.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/alternative-names-north-and-south-island-announced-5643004

Enjoy your stay, and count the airheads.

[balibeemer]

Hey Motu,
Any chance of meeting up?

[Motu]

I live in  Te Ika-a-Maui , that's our new name for the North Island. I'd love to get down the the South Island sometime, I've only been there once...but it's always beyond my budget.

[Motu]

Here's a language lesson from an American girl who found us a bit hard to understand.

http://youngadventuress.com/2014/01/new-zealand-slang.html

[nhmaf]

Someday I'd like to make a trip to New Zealand (both islands)... some people tell me there is the best trout fishing in the world there, too.

[balibeemer]

Great fishing, a deer season that lasts 12 months and RUGBY!!

[balibeemer]

Well we did it and had a fantastic time apart from the last couple of days when I did my back in! Great food, wine scenery, people , rugby etc. I had originally planned on renting a Beemer but the other half insisted on getting a cage, but compromise was reached - It had to be a German cage and we had to feel the wind in our hair so the is it!

[Ed Miller]

I'd probably do my back in, too, if I tried playing rugby.


My wife likes riding with me on the R65 but for any type of tour, she always wants to haul too much junk yard art home.  Sigh.

[balibeemer]

So true Ed!

[Motu]

How was the weather ?  The last part of autumn was great, then winter came with a bang.  The brown turned to green in a few days.

[balibeemer]

We were up in Tutukaka when the tropical cyclone hit but outran it down to Taupo. The rest of the time the weather was fantastic. There was only one real downside to the whole trip which was discovering a silver R65 parked in Wellington, in really terrible condition. I never met the owner but the plate number was 40QND.
Heres a pic.
Otherwise, a great trip to a great country. The missus and I plan on moving there in a couple of years time!

[Motu]

Not mine, but with temps at -2 tomorrow I'd really like his fairing.  Where do you think you'd like to settle?

[balibeemer]

Having lived in the hot damp tropics for the last 20 years, and having a wife that goes blue when the temperature drops below 10 celsius, it looks like it will have to be northland, possibly around the Bay of Islands. I really like Taupo tho'!

[Graeme]

Did you try the Bluff Oysters? They are the reason people live in Invercargill.

Yes, I know, there's fishing, food, great people, camping, outdoor activities etc.

But there's Bluff Oysters.