All Done!

Yes we're back - in fact back 5:30 last night after another long run from Opononi. It's been a great trip with good weather overall and no issues at all.

I'll be writing something decent (well hopefully) for the website soon but here's just a brief summary of the last four days.

Day 6 - Palmerston North to Gisborne

A reasonably big day this although in the end done reasonably easily. We left Palmy in cooler temperatures but the day just got better and better. We were early at the Cape Egmont checkpoint but ended up getting away about half an hour early which was a bit of a bonus.

One unwelcome feature of being back in the North Island was the increase in the number of road works and the delays they caused. Even so we had a pretty good run and after a magic run through the Waioeka Gorge we arrived in Gisborne for the night at about 18:50

View 2011 Southern Cross Day 6 in a larger map

Distance: 847km

Av speed: 90.9 km/h

Economy: 18 km/l

Day 7 - Gisborne to Whangarei

With a circuit of the East Cape this was going to be our toughest day. The East Cape is a fantastic ride but it is by no means a quick one - the roads are very windy in places and the road surface is not to be trusted. One pain in the butt for me was the GPS not working properly - I had taken it out of it's cradle at night and after putting it back in it kept switching itself off after only a few minutes operation. Eventually it came right but I was without music and directions for a while.

At the checkpoint we were made to climb up to the light house or have to wait until the books were brought down. So off we went and I can tell you that it is some climb - especially in riding pants with liners in! It was worth it though as the views were great and we got away pretty quickly.

In Whakatane I made a wee navigational error (and knew it straight away) but the GPS decided to play ball so after waisting ten minutes or so we were back on track. It was a pretty boring ride through to Auckland (the Kaimai's being the exception) where we had a quick burger with Jantar before carrying on to our motel in Whangarei.

View 2011 Southern Cross Day 7 in a larger map

Distance: approx 895km

Economy: 18.1km/l

Day 8 - Whangarei to Opononi via Cape Reinga

The last day of the Southern Cross and we just had to get to Cape Reinga by 12pm so nothing to strenuous. We got away earlier and stopped only briefly for fuel & a pie at Moerewa before plunging into fog before the Mangamuk's. Luckily the fog cleared for the ride over the hill but there were a lot of pretty nasty road works to contend with going up the Mangamuk's.

Just before Kaitaia we ended up taking in some gravel when the GPS took us on a "short-cut" which probably cost us a bit of time but we were out at the Cape by about 11am - in plenty of time. Once again we had to walk down to the lighthouse to sign the book and then it was back on the bikes to Kaitaia for the post-ride meal and celebrations.

We hung around until we had the lunch was served and then after a very quick bite we were off again taking the scenic route to Kohukohu and the Rawene Ferry before finally stopping for the night at Opononi.

View 2011 Southern Cross Day 8 in a larger map

Distance: 409km

Av speed: 83.0km/h

Economy: 17.7km/l

Day 9 - Opononi - Palmerston North

Our last day on the road was obviously to get home so we were on the road by 8am and cruising through the mighty Waipoua forest (video to come) to Dargaville and our breakfast stop in Ruawai. Not long after brekkie were back on the dreaded SH1 to Wellsford for our first fuel stop.

The traffic across Auckland was it's usual mad self although we didn't get held up and the bikes got fantastic economy on the motorway. As usual we turned off at Ngaruawahia and cruised on down through Otorohanga to Te Kuiti for another fuel stop - 13.5L used for the last 280km!

On 8 mile we caught up to Brian who was coming up to meet us and so from there on down we were a three bike convoy. From Taumarunui we just had a quiet cruise through National Park, Ohakune, Waiouru and Taihape. Naturally we ended the ride with a good run over Vinegar Hill and then we were pretty much home! What a trip!

View 2011 Southern Cross Day 9 in a larger map

Distance: 774km

Av speed: 92.5km/h

Economy: 18.8km/l

Total distance: 5,602km

Piccys here

Video playlist here (still a lot of video to be added).

Last note for a while...

Probably going to be internet-less for the remainder of the Southern Cross so here's a few things to tide you over:

Pictures so far

And, Crown Range Road: 8:30am Sunday morning - fantastic!

Southern Cross Day Five - Home?

Day Five of the Southern Cross simply involved us heading back to Palmy for a night in our own beds. The day started with the three of us sitting outside the Cheviot garage waiting for them to open so we could fill up and be on our way - note to self: Cheviot garage not open until 8am...

From Cheviot we had a quick little squirt up the road to Kaikoura where we parked up and ordered breakfast and waiting to hear from Meanie and Monie. A few texts were exchanged but they stopped at a different cafe than us and also got back on the road before us.

Never mind, we were in no hurry to get to the ferry and took it pretty quietly in SH1 traffic all the way to Picton. At the boat we joined 50-odd other bikes for a very nice sailing across the straights, the only issue being a touch of sunburn...

Off the boat and into rush-hour traffic was not a lot of fun but after refueling at Otaki the traffic got a bit better and we settled into the cruise home. A bigger day planned for tomorrow...

View Larger Map

Distance: 365km

Av speed: 84.3km/h

Economy: 18.3km/l

Southern Cross Day Four - Kick-off

Day four was the official start of the Southern Cross so after a big breakfast Mark, Meanie, Monie and I made our way over to Bluff to meet up with the other 108 riders taking part in the ride. We chatted with a few of the regulars (Steve deciding he liked our plan so opting to tag along with us) and were allowed to sign the book prior to the 12pm departure.

At 12 we were given our orders by Boss Rusty (do not fall off - or words to that effect) and sent on our merry way.

First off was to find the road that allows you to bypass Invercargil and pop back out on SH1 at Edendale. I still don't think that I've quite got this right but the GPS eventually got us to Edendale and back into SH1 traffic. Nearing Mataura we got a few bits of rain but this was to be all we saw for the whole day - fantastic!

Just North of Gore we turned off SH1 to begin our run up the centre of the Island. Off the main road there was a lot less traffic and we were able to maintain a good pace quite easily. There's also some great country to see and I particularly liked Roxburgh to Alexandra - a very pretty valley and the rock formations are pretty impressive.

In Alex we took a turn-off through Earnscleugh road which completely avoided the township and took us back onto the main road at Clyde - a great short-cut. From Clyde we cruised on into Cromwell for our first fuel stop. Tanks full we were off again and back up to our cruising pace. We had a little scare just out of Tarras where a cop was hiding in a shady spot - luckily we were being so well behaved...

Next up was the Lindis Pass, Omarama, Twizel, Tekapo, Fairlie and Geraldine for our second fuel stop. This is great country with some good riding mixed in with some longer, straighter and slightly boring roads. One thing that never changes is the fantastic scenery though so there is plenty to look at.

In Geraldine we gassed up and said good-bye to Monie and Meanie who were going through to Christchurch for the night and Mark, Steve and myself made for the inland scenic route. This route consists of huge straights with only the odd corner to make sure that don't forget how to go around corners. It was after 6pm by now and a little cooler so the riding conditions were ideal and it was a very pleasant ride up the island.

In the end we made it into Cheviot at 8:30pm - just 8 and a half hours after leaving Bluff so had done very well. A quick bite to eat and it was time to call it a day.

View 2011Southern Cross Day 4 in a larger map

Distance: 854km

Av speed: ***km/h

Economy: 17.5km/l

Southern Cross Day 1 - Crossing the Ditch

After watching a scary looking weather forecast last night, it was nice to wake up to the sound of my alarm clock rather than pouring rain - a good omen for the rest of the ride?

Breakfast put away and bike readied I started getting dressed for the ride while waiting for Mark. He rolled up at about 7am and we were off! Our first stop was a massive 2km away at the local BP station where for the incredible cost of $2.109 per litre we filled our bikes - if it's this dear in Palmy then what's it going to cost us in Haast?

Never mind, they had us over a barrel and the bikes won't run on thin air so with full tanks we set off South. As the skies got lighter we could see a lot of cloud about but it was actually pretty warm and we did not hit rain (light) until Paraparam. The further South we got the heavier the traffic until just South of the Tawa turn-off we were down to walking pace and being forced to lane-split to get through the traffic - not easy on big bikes with bulging panniers. Shortly we came across the cause of the delay - a little 250 lying on it's side just off the road. Darned if I know what happened but it appeared that the girl riding it was ok and the emergency services were looking after things as they do.

From here it was a short distance but a decent period of time (damn traffic) to the waterfront and the Ferry Terminal. As it was raining we got directed to the new (well first time I'd seen it) shelter for bike riders where we got out of our gear and readied ourselves for the wait. It wasn't long before other riders turned up - the first being a group of German tourists riding a couple of rental Beemers and a couple SV650's. Not long afterwards the first of a few Southern Cross riders turned up and soon there was ten of us trying to (and not completely succeeding) keep out of the weather. Greetings were said and comments made on the lovely state of the weather (now chucking it down and blowing a gale) and then we all settled in for the wait for our boat.

As mentioned above the weather had really changed for the worst and when the ferry first tried to back into the dock it was blown badly off course and had to go around again. In the end they had to drop an anchor to help steady themselves for the delicate reversing maneuver. All this was not that encouraging for those with stomachs prone to being easily upset when travelling by sea but eventually we were aboard and on our way to Picton.

In the end the howling gale appeared to be flattening the sea rather than heaping on ginormous swells so the crossing was fairly uneventful. Mark and I spent our time chatting with another Southern Crosser and kicking back in preparation for some pretty serious riding in the coming week.

Regardless of the how nice the sailing is, disembarking in Picton is always a most welcome experience as you are now in the South - motorcycling heaven! In Picton the weather had really improved so we decided that Queen Charolette Drive had to be done and had a great run through there (only a couple of campers to get past) before turning back onto the main road at Havelock and heading onwards to Nelson.

The Rai and Whangamoa Saddles were absolutely spectacular in the dry so Mark got to scrub in his new PR2's and I had to laugh when I entered a corner with the Connie laid on her side only to have a cop go past the other way - a quick look at the speedo showed 90km/h but I was having a ball and not speeding (well at that particular moment)! Mark also enjoyed a similar moment a couple of seconds later...

Anyway, this seems a lot of blather for a ride of only 260km but we are here in Nelson, safe and sound and raring to go tomorrow - the West Coast is calling...

A few stats:

Distance: 261.7km
Moving Average: 73.5km/h
Economy: 17.7km/l

View Larger Map

A bit more preparation

Not long to go (well long enough) until Mark & I take off down South for the start of the Southern Cross so I had a few more little jobs to do today to make sure that both bike and rider were ready for the off.

First up was an oil change for the bike (engine and final drive) and for this I even had a a bit of help in the shape of my old man so that was nice. Then the coolant was checked and I moved onto fitting the new rubbers on the top box rack which will hopefully assist in keeping the top box on the bike for the whole trip...

After this it was time to show some more love in the form of a polishing rag. All the bits that needed polish got some and a bit of Amorall was splashed around on some of the bits that needed it too. That done, the sheepskin seat cover was fitted and there's not

much to do to the bike other than load it up, check the tyre pressures and put some gas in the tank!

Another important job was to replace the visor on my Shoei. After my last ride the old visor was definitely stuffed - it was shocking (not to mention dangerous) to look through when riding into the sun. This time around I bought a visor that has the pin-lock anti-fog system built-in and so had to fit the pinlock lens to the visor too - very simple to do. A quick polish of the helmet and some Rain-X on the visor and the lid is ready to go too.

Now to clean my boots and....

Planning

Not long to go now until the Southern Cross. Ferry tickets arranged and most of the accommodation sorted. Bike washed but needs a polish and maybe an oil change. Routes all designed and ready to load onto the GPS.

Approx distances below - can you guess where we're going?

Day 1: approx 270km

Day 2: 734km

Day 3: 374km

Day 4: 815km

Day 5: approx 370km

Day 6: 843km

Day 7: 872km

Day 8: 467km

Day 9: 801km

Can't wait...

More Videos

I've nearly uploaded all the videos taken during the Southern Cross but rather than posting each one here I've created a playlist where anyone will be able to see all the videos. Here it is:

The Awakino Gorge

A nice run through the Awakino Gorge. I've edited out 2 bits where other vehicles put the brakes on a bit - otherwise it was an awesome run.

Jacksons Bay

More video - Jacksons Bay, as far South as you can go on the West Coast.

Southern Cross Photos

All of my Southern Cross photos are now available in my Picasa Web Albums so if you're bored check them out here or fire up the Slide show below:

The Devil's Elbow

More video of us dropping down through the Devil's Elbow on the Napier - Wairoa road.

White Pine Bush

Another little video of the three musketeers climbing up through White Pine Bush just North of Napier. Still day one of our trip - on the way to Gisborne for the night before pushing on to the first checkpoint at East Cape.

Apologies for the fact that the videos are out of sequence with our trip but I'm still learning all this video stuff and it's easier to start with the smaller clips.

Mohaka Viaduct

Ok, here's the first on-bike video from the Southern Cross. This was day one on our way up to Gisborne and is a set of delicious sweepers on the Napier-Wairoa road.

New Zealand Fur Seal pups

Totally un-bike related but anyway. A couple of snippets of some Fur Seals pups at play.

Southern Cross - done!

Got back home last night after 12 days and 6,492km of fantastic riding. The Connie lapped it up (as did Mark's Bandit) and the only issue is a stone in the rear tyre which will need sorting soonish. I'm planning a bigger write-up for the website at some stage but thought that I may as well start uploading some of the video we shot on the trip. Here's the first we teaser: Mark (3rd bike) and some other Rusty nutters coming out of one of the 15km/h corners on Crown Range Road.

Southern Cross Update #4

Well we made it through the Haast Pass without getting wet although the roads were a bit damp in places. Just coming out Mark's Bandit clocked up it's 50,000th km so we had to stop for a photo of that and also marked the position on the GPS in case he wants to try and hit 100,000 in the same place...

From Haast we headed for Jacksons Bay but soon had to put on wet weather gear when the rain started. Easy little ride into Jacksons Bay where we rode out onto the wharf and stopped for photos etc before turning back around for Haast. Had another shower on the way out but by the time we got to Haast it was fine again and the gear had to be taken off.

A fantastic ride up the Coast - this has got to be one of the greatest rides in the country! Just one stop in Franz for a coffee before heading on to Greymouth for tea and a bed.

One more day left on the Coast, taking in Karemea before tackling the Buller Gorge and then on to Nelson for a couple of nights. We've been very lucky with the weather so I hope it holds out for another few days...

Southern Cross Update #3

Just a small day today. We left Invercargill with Meanie in tow and took a quiet ride through to Queenstown just stopping briefly at Kingston to grab some piccys of the bikes parked next to the Kingston Flyer. In Queenstown we showed Meanie where the Subway was and then parted company with him.

We then headed for Glenorchy where we tucked into our subway and enjoyed the scenery. Then it was back into Queenstown before heading for Crown Range road. The mount for the video camera broke the other day so we haven't been able to get any on bike footage so I shot ahead of Mark and stopped at a lookout to see if I could at least get him on camera. As it turned out 2 of the other rusty riders came through at the same time and I managed to get a little film.

From there we headed for the Cadrona pub for the obligatory photo stop before finally heading onto Wanaka our destination for the night. Meanie is now in Greymouth and says that the weather is great - hope the good weather hangs around so that we can enjoy the West Coast.

I've also managed to upload a few of our photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/andrew.l.thomson/2009SouthernCross##

Southern Cross Update #2

Day Five

Day five was just a quick ride down to Wellington to catch the Ferry and then on to Kaikoura for the night. In Wellington we met up with Meanie & Monie and spent the crossing chatting with them and other Southern X'ers. The ride down to Kaikoura was short and sweet and we also managed to catch up with Nev who we used to work with for a while.

Day Six

Day six took us down through the inland route to Cromwell for the night and involved negotiating massive long straights and some more boring riding. The only fly in the ointment was some very windy conditions in the Rakia Gorge and then some rain through the Lindis Pass. A pretty good ride all in all and it was nice to finish early at around 3:30 in the arvo.

Day Seven

The final day of the Southern Cross was truly awesome. We started early leaving Cromwell just after 7am and the ride through to Alexandra and Roxborough was spectacular - the scenery and riding is just fantastic. It was however pretty cool with the temperature display dropping to 4 degrees as we went through Ettrick - heated grips definitely pressed into service. At Edendale we turned off Highway One and took some wet back roads to Bluff bypassing Invercargill completely. When we got into Bluff at about 10am (and 2 hours early) the weather decided to pack it in and we got quite wet standing around. Eventually we headed to the Eagle to collect our badges etc and have a great meal with all the other riders. Job done!

Tomorrow we start the return trip home and are hoping that the weather stays good for us as we intend to see all of the West Coast - fingers crossed!

Southern Cross update

Well the North Island leg is all but done: all three checkpoints and just over 3,000km. Now for the really good part - the South Island! We'll be leaving Palmy at around 9:30 to catch the ferry down and a quiet pootle down to Kaikoura for the night. So what's happened so far? Well briefly:

Day One

Day One was just a quiet ride up to Gisborne. We left at just after 10 in the morning with a number of the local Kbers joining us as far as Hastings. The ride itself was a lot of fun but what Meanie, Mark and I really wanted was to just get going. So after lunch just South of Hastings that's what we did. A really great ride and only some slight misty rain and wet roads on the hills dropping into Gisborne. In Gisborne we met up with my old man and his mate for tea and generally just took it easy.

Day Two

The first day of the Southern Cross proper. We hit the road at about 9am and headed out of Gisborne in some light drizzle which pretty much stayed with us all the way to the Cape. Arriving at Te Araroa we said gidday to Dad & Goldie before hitting the gravel to the Cape itself. Once there we were just 3 bikes among 130 but eventually signed the book and were on the road again.

By now the weather had come right and the roads were drying quickly so we were having a great ride until our first incident of the trip. At some stage Mark passed an older guy on a GS BMW but no sooner had he passed and the guy sped up to keep up with us so Meanie & I just sat behind him. About 20km up the road the Beemer rider panicked going into a slow right hander and must have grabbed some front brake. Before he new what was happening he was low-siding it off the road and into the fence. Meanie and I got on the brakes, parked up and rushed to help. Initially the rider was motionless which was a bit scary and I turned the bike around and headed back up the road to find a cop who had been taxing one of the riders. By the time I got back the guy was on his feet and Meanie and the guy's 2 sons were trying to sort out the bike. The sent us on their way and when we caught up with them yesterday told us that their old man was fine and had managed to ride the very battered Beemer to Taupo - pretty lucky.

The rest of the ride over was uneventful except for a lot of roadworks - some of which were very nasty. We took a detour from Bennydale and ended up doing Ramaroa Road which is a great bit of road although it was a bit tricky with the low sun doing it's best to hide all the corners. We ended up in Inglewood at somewhere around 8:30 where my sister had tea waiting for us - awesome!

Day Three

In the morning we met up with Meanie in Stratford and headed for the Cape. Enjoyed some great back roads on our way and ended up at the checkpoint about 1 and a half hours early. Book signed and we were on the road again and had a great run through Mt Messenger and the Awakino Gorge. More fuel at Otorohanga before heading North and eventually being caught up in Auckland traffic - doh!

North of Auckland and the traffic got better so we just kept on going making use of all the daylight - in the end only stopping quickly at Wellsford for gas before heading all the way to Kaitaia before having any tea. We got to our motor camp to find the office shut and no note telling us where to find our key etc - bummer! Luckily John & Steve were staying at the same place and were good enough to let us take the bunks in their room.

Day Four

This was the big one but started off slowly with a quiet ride to Hohoura to meet up with Meanie and grab a nice cooked brekkie. Stomachs full it was off to the Cape and man what a difference a year makes - a lot more tarseal and some nice toilets etc at the Cape.

Book signed again we were off in a mad tush to try and get to Auckland before rush hour - not a chance! We hit crawling traffic while still North of Auckland and had to battle it all the way through to Takanini where things finally started moving again - what a hell hole!

The next pit-stop was Ngarawahia where we fuelled up, grabbed a drink & a bite and hit the road again. A really nice ride through to Te Kuiti and then on towards Tamaraunui in the dark.

500m short of Tamarunui we were involved in the second accident of the trip and this one potentially more serious. We were following a large Mainfreight truck when around the bend came a Toyota Previa camper on the wrong side of the road. Right before my eyes he hit the left hand side of the truck and ricocheted off into the roadside grass.

I dunno how the truck stopped so quickly & safely or how we did too but when I pulled up I was right beside the Previa and could see the horrific damage to the car - I was expecting the worst for sure. Off the bike and phone out I went for the Previa while Meanie went to the truckie. I was dialling 111 when the driver in the Previa started talking to me and telling me he was ok. I tried to get him to stay where he was but he got out and only really had a few scratches on his hand. I made him sit in the grass until the ambulance arrived but he was quite with it and was fine telling me about his injuries etc. Luckily the truckie was unharmed too. Twenty minutes or so later we had handed over to the Police etc and were on our way again glad that we had not decided to pass that truck...

The rest of the ride home was quite enjoyable as there was no traffic and the roads were good. The only fly in the ointment was some quite bad fog in places - I hate fog! I eventually got in at about 11:50 and was quite happy to see my bed.

Right, now I've got to pack again for the South - bring it on!