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19 Mar 2018
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It was still pretty early, but we went to the dock to check in and hang out on this glorious sunny day.
 IMG_1991 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 North Island NZ 1-102 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
They load the trucks first and then the bikes. There are some sketchy dirty ropes to tie the bikes with as we had been warned and we were glad we had some the the BMW tie downs from the shipping with us.
 FILE2738 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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20 Mar 2018
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20 Mar 2018
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We had a river front spot for the tent and duck viewing. The walk into town was about 20 min and we found a locals only watering hole for a drink and a steak sandwich. There were some very colorful characters here tonight. Once the sun went down it was very cool and we showered and hopped into the sleeping bags. Despite being near the highway and the bridge it was pretty quiet all night.
 FILE2765 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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20 Mar 2018
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Today’s ride 208 km to Hanmer Springs via the Molesworth Station road. The Molesworth is said to be the largest station in the southern hemisphere.
First you ride 23 km south to just north of Seddon to the access road to the Awatere Valley.
 Screen Shot 2018-01-26 at 20.53.22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE3108 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
The first 30 km of the Molesworth road are paved and then it is a good gravel road until 2 km from Hanmer Springs. The Awatere Valley road passes thru the Molesworth station itself.
 FILE3190 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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20 Mar 2018
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There is very little traffic since the coast road SH1 has opened again this week after being closed in 2016 after the Kaikōura earthquake. We had 3-4 oncoming large trucks, which hurl towards you at 80 km/h in a massive dust cloud and can be a bit scary. We did not come up on any vehicles and thus did not have to eat anyone's dust. The road is in good condition and we can travel at speed except on the tight corners for fear of oncoming traffic and the poor performance of the Shinkos in loose gravel.
 FILE3192 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE3199 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE3268 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE3278 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE3299 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE3313 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE3318 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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20 Mar 2018
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Arriving near the town we chose the maintained Jack’s pass road and arrived to the camp spot at 3 when it was 31 degrees!
 FILE0036 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We did a bit of a walk about this cute village and bought some supplies. We noted that the forecast has changed and now they call for rain starting at 5 am and so we packed up as much as possible and went to bad after a beautiful cloudless evening.
 IMG_1999 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
It was indeed raining briskly at 630, but there was a break just after 830 long enough to get the tent down and the gear stowed. We only have 125 km to Christchurch today and the rain stopped about 30 km from Hanmer, but we did have a few heavy showers on the way.
 Screen Shot 2018-01-26 at 20.55.35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
It was sunny arriving to the city and to Budget Motorcycles Spares where we had arranged for tires. Very nice guys here and professional work. They even charged us less than the quote and all said this was about 400$ cheaper than the tires in Wellington. Everything is expensive in NZ. A pint is 9$!!!
 IMG_2013 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We had been invited to the home of Neil and Lorraine a UK couple living here. Neil met us in town and guided us to a spot for lunch and then set us up in their air B&B suite=sweet.
 IMG_2062 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_2063 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-18 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Mar 2018
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The forecast is not that great, but we decided that if it was not raining we would all ride out together today to the Akaroa Peninsula.
First we rode up the Evans Pass road, which no longer goes thru to Lyttelton since the earthquake 8 years ago, but they are still working on it.
 FILE0060 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
If you go left at the summit you can ride along the Summit road dodging cyclists for a view south over the Akaroa Peninsula where we are headed.
 Screen Shot 2018-01-27 at 23.48.15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0066 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0070 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-29 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Mar 2018
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Back down at the junction if you go straight instead of back down to Sumner or can take the Summit road left over the hill side to the valley thru residential streets and then connect to the tunnel to Lyttelton.
 FILE0073 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0076 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Here you follow the Govenor’s Bay-Teddington coast road and then on the Christchurch-Akaroa Road out onto the peninsula.
 FILE0078 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0086 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0088 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We took the high summit road, which rides the crest of the mountain and then falls down into the bay at Akaroa town.
 FILE0107 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0114 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0121 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Mar 2018
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It had become hot and very sunny and we enjoyed some great fish and chips at Murphy’s. Riding back we retraced our steps and finally arrived home after 7. We opted to stay in for dinner and a few  s. It was great to hear Lorraine and Neil’s stories from their trips around the world, but they have a lot more book worthy adventures than we have had including having a serious accident in SA and having to come home.
 NZ South Isand-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Mar 2018
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The idea was to ride north west to Greymouth over Arthur's Pass and then the next day back to Hanmer. From here we can do the off road route on “the Rainbow” to St. Arnaud. (Google will not route over the Rainbow road past the campsite). This will then put us just south west of Nelson and we can go to the west coast from there. It is more often then not raining on the WEsT coast. Looking at the forecast is is supposed to be sunny on the coast for the next 2-3 days and then the weather everywhere is rain as a storm hit the island.
 Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 10.28.36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Plans have to change sometimes. We will ride to the coast at Greymouth over Arthur’s pass and then head down the west coast. It is more likely to be nice at some time in the future for the rainbow and the north west road than it is on the west coast itself. (good thing we did this since after the predicted cyclone on the coast the road is now closed behind us). The next cyclone caused a massive landslide on the Rainbow, but that is another story.
 Screen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.23.20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_2065 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Mar 2018
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We stopped at several view points along the alpine pass and hoped/feared to see the mischievous Kea. This is an alpine parrot that is only found here on the South island of NZ. They are very intelligent and very naughty. They have been known to pick the rubber out of car windshields, bend aerials, eat hand grips, and generally cause damage just for the fun of it.
We did see several flying and one briefly landed on the railing at the “death corner” look out, but when we stopped a few km farther down the road one was walking across the parking lot as we parked and hopped up into a tree. It is 32 degrees today and I think it is to hot for them to get up to any destruction.
 IMG_2024 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-34 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-35 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Mar 2018
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Arriving to the city we stopped for supplies and then decided on the Top 10 park that is on the beach. The beaches here on the south island are mostly rocky and at least on the west coast teeming with sand flies. These and tiny black biting flies that leave large itchy welts that only get worse if you scratch them and turn into red sores. Luckily there are not too many here. What is more worrisome here is how much everything costs.
Generally the price is double what it s at home and this makes NZ the most expensive place we have been. A small bottle of coke in a store is 4$, gas is 225/l, and camping is 20-25$/person per night. We are very lucky to have been hosted so much. This camp ground is on the sea, but there is a very high hedge that acts as a wind break and this means the large grass area for the tents is nice and sheltered.
We set up camp and you can see our time lapse below. The Top 10 is a little more than the private sites, but they have very nice showers, hot water, full kitchens, BBQs, and wifi.
https://youtu.be/reZtcp1AN38
 IMG_2056 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
While we were cooking our dinner we ran into cyclists Rich and Karlene from New Hampshire. They ride their tandem bike somewhere in the world for 3 month every winter. That is not the most crazy thing. What is super crazy is that we met them before in Lake Arenal Costa Rica when we were both at the same B&B in 2013! Small world indeed. They are also headed down the east coast, but what we will do in 2 days will take them 12!
 NZ South Isand-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 NZ South Isand-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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21 Mar 2018
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We set off south from Greymouth on the 6 and detoured in to Hokitiki the center of greenstone for NZ and Sara bought herself a small piece for a souvenir.
 Screen Shot 2018-01-31 at 20.24.22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0279 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_2070 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Next we continued with very little traffic along the coast and then the road goes inland towards the mountains. We stopped in Hari Hari for a snack.
 FILE0314 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0315 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_2071 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_2072 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE0320 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
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helps answer the question - Why Go? Inspirational stories by veteran travellers Greg Frazier (5 times RTW), Peter and Kay Forwood (193 countries), Tiffany Coates (Mongolia Mayhem) and Rene Cormier (University of Gravel Roads).
Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers!
break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
Cotton or synth sweat-wicking t-shirts with the cool Horizons Unlimited graphic on the front and a snappy slogan (changing every year) on the back.
Show your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Motorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
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