Trip to New Zealand 2006
By Geordie Ray at 22/04/2007 10:05:31 PM
A Motorcycle Trip In New Zealand 2006
Tuesday 8 August
Debbie and I had dropped our luggage off at a friend’s sister’s house in Auckland, so we crossed Auckland Harbour Bridge in the hire car we had been using for the previous two weeks. We were on our way to pick up the motorcycle we had hired for our last week in New Zealand. We took the Takepuna turn off just over the bridge and arrived at Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Hire on Barry’s Point Road, (www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz), we could have hired a Harley-Davidson Road King but we just couldn’t afford to pay more, this holiday was costing a fortune. I had arranged the hire over the internet and Debbie sorted the payment before we left home, so all we had to do was sign the paperwork and choose our helmets and jackets. Once that was all done we set off with me riding the bike, a Honda 1100 Shadow, with screen and hard luggage, and Debbie driving the hire car, as we had to drop the car at the Auckland Airport rental depot. We had to go back over Auckland Harbour Bridge, heading south this time, and take the airport exit. We finally found the depot after getting lost for a while and emptied the car of all the stuff we would need for the next week. I loaded the bike up while Debbie did all the paperwork for the car, it worked out that we had done 4170 kilometres (2591 miles) in the two weeks we had it, and then we were off, back to State Highway 1 where we turned north again for the third crossing of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The views were great crossing the bridge; we had a fantastic view of downtown Auckland.
I had arranged with a friend of a friend to stay at his house near Whangerei in the Northland region of the North Island of New Zealand. This guy, Don Plane, runs Southern Cross Motorcycles in Kilburn (www.southerncrossmotorcycles.co.uk) and is worth checking out for any servicing etc. I had to get to the Planet Honda shop before it closed to pick up the key to his house so after crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge for the third time we headed north towards Whangerei. Just north of Auckland, State Highway 1 (SH1) becomes part of the Twin Coast Discovery Highway, (this is the tourist route around Northland), the road was pretty good to ride until we got into the hills, and then it became much better. Twisty bends, hairpins, up and down the hills, brilliant. We arrived in Whangerei at 5.30pm and headed straight to the shop. It had just closed but luckily someone was still there so we managed to get the keys off him. We decided to stay in a motel as it was getting dark and the house was about a half an hour ride away still. With not knowing the roads or what the house looked like I didn’t want to risk getting lost out in the sticks. We booked into a motel on the outskirts of town and were directed to the Northcote Club, for a meal. It was just around the corner so we walked there. It turned out to be a workingmen’s club, we signed in, had a couple of beers and had a great steak meal before heading back to the motel, where we worked out the route to the house for tomorrow. 174 miles on the bike today.
Wednesday 9 August
We were up early but relaxed for a while as we didn’t have too far to go to get to the house. When we left the motel we headed back through Whangerei to the centre of town and then took the Whangerei Heads road out of town. The road followed all the small bays right out to the ocean. We missed the turn off we needed, glad we didn’t try this last night, and ended up at the end of the road. Any further and we would have ended up in the sea. One car looked as though it had tried to do exactly that, it was perched on some bollards at the end of the road, wheels completely off the ground. We turned around and headed back the way we had come. We finally found the turn off we needed and made our way to Don’s house in a small place called Reotahi Bay. It was in a fantastic setting, set on a hill looking out over the bay. We unlocked the door and had a look round the place, really nice house it was too. We unloaded the bike and put our stuff in the house.
Outside Don's House, Whangerei Heads
We decided to go and find a place called Tutukaka, as I would be diving with a company called Dive! Tutukaka as soon as I could arrange a time. We set off back to Whangerei, timing how long it took us. Once back in Whangerei we took the coast road toward Tutukaka, again timing how long it took us. What a great road, the views out to sea were fantastic. Once in Tutukaka we found the dive shop and parked up. We had taken just over an hour to get there. I booked my dives for the next day, unfortunately this meant that we couldn’t stay at Don’s house as it would mean getting up about 5.30am to get to the dive shop in time to get the boat out to the Poor Knight Islands dive sites. We were directed to the Tutukaka Holiday Park and got a chalet for two people. A really nice place and just five minutes walk away from the dive shop. We headed back to Don’s house and loaded the bike up again before setting off back to Tutukaka to settle in to the chalet for the next two nights. 74 miles today.
Tutukaka Holiday Park
Thursday 10 August
No riding the bike today as I was off diving.
Friday 11 August
After packing the bike and returning the keys for the chalet back to reception, we called into the garage and filled up with petrol before setting off back to Whangarei, to return the keys to Don’s house back to the Planet Honda shop. Once that was done we cut through town again and set off on SH14 towards the west coast and Dargaville. At the i-Site information office we booked our accommodation in a town called Paihai for the next two nights. We would be staying at Captain Bob’s Beachcomber Backpackers hostel. We had been staying at the backpackers hostels during our time in the South island and they were great places to stay. We rejoined the west coast section of the Twin Coast Discovery Highway on SH12 and headed north. Once again the road was a series of sweeping bends and hairpins. We stopped off in the Waipoua Forest to see Tane Mahuta. This tree is called the God of the Forest in Maori culture. We took the five minute walk to see the tree; it is a Kauri tree and was huge, second only to the Redwood trees in California. After taking a few photos we walked back to the bike. We carried on up SH12 to Hokianga Harbour and the stunning views across the harbour above the small townships of Omapere and Opononi. Once through these townships the Twin Coast Discovery Highway carries on up north to Kaitaia, but we kept to SH12 through Taheke. It was between Taheke and Kaikohe that the Honda went onto reserve. 130 miles to a full tank, I thought I would get a few more miles than that. We were in the middle of nowhere. The road was great but my mind wasn’t really on the road, I was more interested in finding a petrol station. We carried on, passing a few pubs, (where were the houses?) but no petrol stations. We eventually reached Kaikohe after doing the longest 17 miles I have ever done. There couldn’t have been a lot left in the tank. After filling up we grabbed something to eat at a restaurant. Debbie kept reminding me about how much fun it is to run out of petrol. Just because I have done it once before…….ok twice before! It is real Maori country round here, everyone seemed to be of Maori descent, apart from the policeman we saw. Just out of town we turned south on SH1 for a couple of miles before turning north on SH11 towards Paihai. Yet another great road to ride. We arrived in Paihai and found the backpackers hostel where we were staying. A beautiful setting, just across the road from the beach. After signing in we unloaded the bike and put the stuff in our room. We were very disappointed with the room we had been given, no view to speak of and very cramped. It turned out that there was a jazz festival on this weekend and the town was full. We went for a walk along to the Waitanga Treaty Grounds to see the site where the treaty was signed between the British and the Maori which led to the birth of New Zealand in 1840. What a beautiful place it is. We wandered around the grounds for a while seeing all the Maori artefacts including a huge Maori war canoe which was built to celebrate the centennial of the treaty being signed in 1940. We walked back to the hostel along the beach and then booked ourselves onto a trip to Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach tomorrow.
Saturday 12 August
No riding the bike today as we went to Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach. Fantastic trip.
Sunday 13 August
After packing the bike we went and had breakfast. We were heading south today to drop the bike off as this was our last day in New Zealand, we were off to the Cook Islands tomorrow. We set off out of Paihai on SH11 and joined SH1. This road would take us all the way back to Auckland. After travelling 95 miles since filling up on Friday we stopped for petrol again, I wasn’t risking running out again. We also had to return the bike with a full tank so I wanted to keep some petrol in the tank. As we went through one town we saw about 15 Harleys parked up outside a café. One of the club members gave me a wave as we rode past him so at least they acknowledge other bike riders over here. We got caught in a little rain as we entered Orewa so we stopped for a meal. Filling the bike up again, the rain had blown away but another shower came rolling in as we approached Auckland. We arrived at the shop slightly earlier than planned because of the rain. We unpacked the bike, sorted out the paperwork and Marcus, the guy in charge of the shop, gave us a lift back into Auckland to pick up our luggage. 150 miles on the bike. A total of 545 miles on the bike.
The roads in New Zealand are superb, once out of towns they are just about empty, you can go for miles and miles without seeing anyone. Best roads we travelled on (including in the car) in order…….
State Highway 29 from Tauranga to Waikato. (North Island)
Pacific Coast Highway around the Coromandel Peninsula. (North Island)
Desert Road across Tongariro National Park. (North Island)
Queen Charlottes Drive between Picton and Havelock. (South Island)
SH1 (Kaikoura Coast Road) from Blenheim to Kaikoura. (South Island)
SH83 over the Lindis Pass. (South Island)
SH6 past Lakes Hawa and Wanaka ,over the Haast Pass and up to Franz Josef. (South Island)
SH6 from Westport, up the Buller Gorge. (South Island)
Tutukaka Coast Road (North Island)
SH12 Twin Coast Discovery Highway. (North Island)
If you get the chance to go to NZ you have to go. We enjoyed every minute of our trip. I now want to do the whole thing again, but on a bike. From New Zealand we flew to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and hired a scooter for the week we were there.
Hired scooter on Rarotonga
Geordie Ray
West London Harley Riders
