Blogs from Northland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 6

South America, well, Chile and Argentina have been paving the roads so fast that we have put this 28 day, 5,000km plus, Tarmac Tour together for couples on Road Bikes. We have an eclectic mix of motorcycles and people for this adventure. From Auckland, we have Bob and Mary Grey, with Mary riding her Spyder and Bob on his BMW F650 GS. From Invercargill, we have Ross (D Duke) and Christine Bulling, they will be riding their bright red Ducati ST3. Raewyn (Bones) and I will be riding our Harley Davidson Ultra Classic CVO, with Gerardo leading the charge on his BMW1200 GS. We are also taking 3 x Suzuki DR 650's over in the container for three guys from Dunedin, they will only stay with us for a few days, then head off on their ... read more

Da stand ich nun an der Bushaltestelle an der Ecke Queens Street und Quay Street in Auckland City. Der Motor des Busses brummte schon und ich war im Begriff einzusteigen. Ein mulmiges Gefühl machte sich in meinem Bauch breit. Ein Teil von mir wollte wirklich in dieser Stadt bleiben um das anscheinend perfekt passende Auto zu kaufen. Ich war offenbar tatsächlich dieser Meinung ohne es je gesehen zu haben oder besonders viel Ahnung von Autos zu haben. Die anderen 50% von mir wollten aber auch schleunigst raus aus dieser unpersönlichen und brummenden Stadt. Marcus war mit zur Haltestelle gekommen um mich zu verabschieden. Wenige Minuten später saß ich im Bus und das Gefährt namh Fahrt auf. Nördlich, immer nördlich in Richtung Bay of Islands. Ich kann mich noch daran erinnern, dass die sanften grünen Hügel in ... read more

De eerste fietsdag komt eraan, voor men vertrek bij Mark rijd ik even naar de winkel voor wat inkopen. Ik zeg dag tegen Jess en Mona en laat bedankkoekjes achter voor Mark. Nu begint het echt en ik breng men loodzware fiets in beweging. r staat een kort ritje gepland om erin te komen. Er zijn al direct wat heuvels en tot hiertoe moet ik nog niet op de hoofdweg. Het verkeer is desondanks toch al druk op sommige plekken, zeker het laatste stuk. Onderweg krijg ik nog even een wielrenner naast me die me waarschuwt voor de roekeloze chauffeurs hier. Het eindpunt is Red Beach, ik stel men tent op in het Holiday Park en loop dan nog even naar de lokale winkels die zeer beperkt zijn. Na gedoucht en gegeten te hebben zit de ... read more

Motorcycles are finally Home... After a long voyage from Chile to new Zealand, via China (Hong Kong), we have finally got our motorcycles back, but not without our fair share of frustration and delays. The ship was due into port on a Thursday, and so I organised a run down to Hamilton see my sister, Robyn and brother in law, Rex, who was making up the steel work for my Parrilla (BBQ) project at home for me. This would also allow me time to catch up with Barry Sproule, at Road and Sport Harley Davidson and visit the National Field Days at Mystery Creek, then back to Auckland to clear the moto’s on Tuesday or Wednesday, the following week, this looked like a good plan For the first time, New Zealand Customs, selected our container for ... read more

Yesterday I reached the most northern place in New Zealand. According to Maori culture the spirits of the sea leave this earth here. They travel down the cliff to the tree then wait for the kelp to part so that they can enter the sea. They travel from here to Three islands where they emerge into the after life. A truly spiritual place, I climbed to the highest point where all you could hear was the wind. The place marks the meeting of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean you can see where the currents meet and apparently when there is a storm the waves can reach up to thirty feet. Today I spent at Maitai Bay, actually hot enough to venture in to the sea for a swim!!! Not as cold as the sea ... read more