The Land Of One-lane Bridges

This entry is part 13 of 19 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #30

Perth Adventure Riders The land of the one-lane bridges Colin Bayman and his group continue their annual exploration of exotic destinations. For 2018 it was New Zealand’s south island.

Within just five hours and 10 minutes the Perth Adventure Riders had arrived in Christchurch on a direct Air NZ flight.

It was 9.30am and the shuttle bus took the crew straight to the bike-hire company to finish off paperwork, pack panniers and boot up. There were nine bikes lined up, including a couple of GS650s, a lonely DR650 and the remainder were V-Strom 650s.

The destination for the first day was only 35km away, but a nice, 180km loop through scenic Akaroa was planned before arriving at the Famous Grouse Hotel in Lincoln for the night’s lodging, dinner and a few bevvies.

Heading into the mountains each day and glancing down at the GPS to see the windiest roads anyone could ever want was amazing.

A cut above

Moments before leaving the bike-hire business Peter mounted his V-Strom and found himself crashing to the ground. We all looked on in disbelief, thinking, ‘What has the boy just done?’

A 75mm weld holding the sidestand to the frame had given way, causing the bike to fall and the windscreen to enter the bottom of his helmet, drive up through his mouth and rip open his top gum.

We could tell from the amount of blood he’d need a trip to the hospital for a few stiches, and although we all pretended to appear concerned and asked how he was, we just wanted to hit the road.

The rest of us went off for some lunch while Pete went for medical attention and eventually we started riding a little later than planned.

The planned tour was through Twizel, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown, the Franz Josef glacier, Reefton and back to Christchurch. All up nearly 3000km.

Picture perfect

Our planned tour was to take us through Twizel, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown, the Franz Josef glacier, Reefton and back to Christchurch. All up it was nearly 3000km. Each member of the group was responsible for one day and had to plan the route, include coffee and lunch breaks, fuel stops, accommodation and dinner, as well as lead for that that section.

With the exception of our arrival date we averaged around 380km each day, which is by far enough in NZ if you want to take a break and grab a few photos here and there. The roads are narrow and winding and the scenery amazing. Around each corner is a new surprise, and whether it’s a lake, mountain, small town or resort, it looks like a photo on a postcard.

The V-Stroms are smooth and comfortable with enough throttle to have a great play.

Tight fit

Coffee breaks were found at the most wonderful little cafes with wood fires burning, quality food and super-friendly people. NZ is geared up for tourists and does an amazing job catering for them.

We were riding in April, the shoulder of the tourist season, but I heard it gets a little crazy in peak season. We had one long, wet day to contend with, and a few other wet moments, but a rider wearing the right gear could stay warm and dry. We opted for moderately priced accommodation and found it all clean, well-maintained and welcoming. Dinners were a combination of steakhouses, Thai, Belgium and standard pub food. Nothing was great, but all of it was good.

Our long, wet day was between Dunedin and Invercargill and we certainly got hammered with hail, sleet, rain, thunder and lightning. Most mountains were covered in snow and the passes were just incredible to ride through. I had my first-ever ride through some light snow.

380km each day is enough in NZ if you want to take a break and grab a few photos here and there.

You needed to be mindful of the time when stopping to take photos or you could end up just stopped all day. It was important to sit back, enjoy the ride and take it all in.

Straight roads don’t exist in NZ. If you like hanging off the side of the bike then it’s the place to ride. Twisties go on for ever and ever and I even got arm pump a couple of times. You don’t need to go off the beaten track to find the best roads. In fact we mostly navigated with the Here WeGo app. Be careful of the many one-lane bridges. For some reason the Kiwis couldn’t afford both sides of their bridges when they built them and it’s ‘first in, best dressed’ when it comes to right of way.

Throttle- and clutch-hands got a workout on the winding roads.

Memories in the making

Frank boosted the NZ economy after passing the lead rider and having a little too much fun. We all beeped as we rolled by him parked up on the side of the road negotiating a fine with a rather large Maori police officer. Neal tried the same trick most days and somehow failed to leave the country with an infringement.

Mark also tried hard, but riding the DR and having it pinned still wasn’t going to get him a ticket. The bike did, however, contribute to a couple of minor offs which we reminded him of regularly. It was very embarrassing with the panniers laying on the road in front of other tourists on one occasion, and on another taking out a bollard in front of a crowded café.

There were just too many highlights to pick the best few, but obviously the scenery just blew us away. Heading off with eight ride buddies is the start to ticking a lot boxes. Lots of laughs and great memories are made on trips like these.

Heading off with eight ride buddies is the start to ticking a lot boxes.

Getting the bends

The Queenstown jetboat ride at 8.00am in very cold conditions certainly had hearts pumping. Navigating the narrow river at 80kph and missing rocks protruding from the water and cliff faces by just millimetres had everyone’s eyes wide open, and there’s nothing like a spray of freezing water over the face during a 180-degree manoeuvre to get a bloke’s attention.

The cable-car ride in Queenstown was also unforgettable, with views from the peak worth every cent of the ticket price.

It’s a very steep climb in a gondola built for four with really good cafes, bars and restaurants at the top.

But the favourite part by far was simply the riding. Heading into the mountains each day and glancing down at the GPS to see the windiest roads anyone could ever want was amazing.

Switchbacks with a 15kph precautionary sign were followed by a 35kph bend, then a 75kph curve and then back to tight, 15kph, 180-degree kinks certainly kept everyone on their toes.

All of this was typically within just a couple of kilometres. I’m a dirt-bike rider at heart, but I must say I enjoyed the NZ road riding almost as much as a Sunday enduro.

Next year

Fuel is a little costly at around $2.40 a litre, but even with heavy throttle hands the bikes were reasonably efficient and we only spent around $300 each for the weeks’ tour. Rough prices for the tour if you are considering it: flights (from Perth) $1000, bike hire $1000, accommodation $800, and another $1000 for fuel, food, snacks, jet boat and cable-car ride and maybe a few beers.

You’d probably need to book accommodation in advance as most places were heavily booked. I highly recommend a 650 for a ride like this. Anything more would just be a waste. The V-Stroms are smooth and comfortable with enough throttle to have a great play. Perth Adventure Riders is heading to Laos for next year’s ride and will be riding CRF250s in a 50/50 road/dirt organised tour.

Where will you be riding?

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