First ride NZ - with pictures
Discussion
Ok. Not great pictures!
Still loving the roads here. Gradually building up a number of routes. So many corners and generally pretty good road surface. GSXR working well. Although with so many bends, some quite tight, a naked with wider bars might be more suitable.
Still loving the roads here. Gradually building up a number of routes. So many corners and generally pretty good road surface. GSXR working well. Although with so many bends, some quite tight, a naked with wider bars might be more suitable.
Edited by Esceptico on Friday 21st February 04:57
Very, very jealous. Would love to explore NZ on a bike.
I've did some riding around the state forests West of Noosa in Queensland, Oz two years ago. It's so different to the biking in the UK. Great weather, fantastic empty roads with plenty of corners and unbelievable scenery. Some of the best days I've ever had on a bike.
Please keep posting your trips.
I've did some riding around the state forests West of Noosa in Queensland, Oz two years ago. It's so different to the biking in the UK. Great weather, fantastic empty roads with plenty of corners and unbelievable scenery. Some of the best days I've ever had on a bike.
Please keep posting your trips.
MGZTV8 said:
A mate at work has the opportunity to move out there permanently and his missus and kids desperately want to but he won’t entertain the idea at all. Bloody fool.
Nowhere is perfect but after 6 months we are really enjoying it here. Great for biking and driving, outdoors lifestyle, friendly and relaxed people (more laid back at work), here in Auckland lots of good restaurants (particularly if you like Asian food), great place for children to grow up. My daughter says school is much more laid back and she hasn’t had any problems making friends. Weather so much better than the UK. Landscapes to die for.Downsides: very long way from anywhere, volcanoes and earthquakes, limited career opportunities, rubbish housing and outside of Auckland or Wellington, probably too quiet for us.
Not for everyone but certainly worth a look if you have young children. And you like riding 12 months a year!
I'm a big NZ fan but its slightly disingenuous to compare the weather at this time of year!
Yes Auckland is lovey in Feb, compared to the endless conveyor belt of storms we are getting here, but the majority of the country is just as wet and miserable as the UK in the winter months ;-)
Oh and don't get me started about the wind in Wellington....
Yes Auckland is lovey in Feb, compared to the endless conveyor belt of storms we are getting here, but the majority of the country is just as wet and miserable as the UK in the winter months ;-)
Oh and don't get me started about the wind in Wellington....
Edited by glenmore3685 on Saturday 22 February 18:37
I can’t speak about the rest of the country but near Auckland it seems okay in the part of the winter I experienced (Aug/Sep). Yes it rained but it wasn’t cold enough for ice so no salt to worry about and the temperatures in the day were between 15 and 20 degrees. With it being windy the roads dried fairly quickly. I don’t have a bike though so will be better placed to comment in the spring once I have experienced a full winter.
New Zealand isnt perfect, no where is. But as a place to ride a motorbike it is pretty good. As you say the GSXR is good, but at least it wasnt a Harley.
To give some context to those who are in Blighty moaning about stuff as they do on expat forums.
NZ had a law back in the day that you could only use Trucks for shipping if there wasnt a train for 100 miles. So the only motorways built were in Auckland in the 60s and from Wellington city to Porirua. Which meant that state highways are all 2 lane roads like Wales, towns are spread out evenly as before there were trains these were Bullock/Coach stops.
The downside is that now the trucks are using these small roads too. So if you are driving an RV or a Harley then this winding road and steep hilly terrain is no good a mototbike is a good idea, hence the winding roads being what they are.
Most towns and cities in NZ have decent coffee, my favourite thing is buying clothes when I get to a destination, mailing back my smelly used ones at the local post office so I don't have a huge backpack or panniers.
If you want a suggestion for a good ride, Go around the east cape of the North Island. State highway 35, from Opotiki, via Hicks bay to Tokumaru bay. Fuel up at Opotiki and anywhere you see gas. It is a part of NZ that doesnt get traffic, as it is not on the way to anywhere other than Gisborne. It is the bit that the NZ film director Taika Waititi uses and romantisizies about, lots of blink and you will miss it towns that look good in photos. The road hugs the coast, so you wont get lost or be looking at a map. Also there arent many cops on the road so you can let the Gixxer breath a little.
To give some context to those who are in Blighty moaning about stuff as they do on expat forums.
NZ had a law back in the day that you could only use Trucks for shipping if there wasnt a train for 100 miles. So the only motorways built were in Auckland in the 60s and from Wellington city to Porirua. Which meant that state highways are all 2 lane roads like Wales, towns are spread out evenly as before there were trains these were Bullock/Coach stops.
The downside is that now the trucks are using these small roads too. So if you are driving an RV or a Harley then this winding road and steep hilly terrain is no good a mototbike is a good idea, hence the winding roads being what they are.
Most towns and cities in NZ have decent coffee, my favourite thing is buying clothes when I get to a destination, mailing back my smelly used ones at the local post office so I don't have a huge backpack or panniers.
If you want a suggestion for a good ride, Go around the east cape of the North Island. State highway 35, from Opotiki, via Hicks bay to Tokumaru bay. Fuel up at Opotiki and anywhere you see gas. It is a part of NZ that doesnt get traffic, as it is not on the way to anywhere other than Gisborne. It is the bit that the NZ film director Taika Waititi uses and romantisizies about, lots of blink and you will miss it towns that look good in photos. The road hugs the coast, so you wont get lost or be looking at a map. Also there arent many cops on the road so you can let the Gixxer breath a little.
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