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Blog entry: 10th December 2016
#SouthIsland2016 #SouthIslandNZ #KatsMotorcycleDiaries
The first day, it has finally arrived – how bloody exciting! A 7am start which should have been a 6am start – I'm not blaming anyone for sleeping in.
Auckland to Otaki in about or just under 5 hours. We made good time with only one proper stop. I'm sure it would have been a quicker ride if:
A. I didn't navigate us through Hamilton
B. The greater Hamilton area ceased to be continuous roadworks As we stopped at the lights at the top of the motorway on Hobson Street, Manny turned to me & said "This is it Kat, the journey has officially begun". I smiled in response; I was so excited it was actually happening. As this was my first time riding with panniers & extra weight on my bike, I was a bit cautious as we headed off down the motorway. The route we took, while a large part of it was down State Highway 1, was not a direct route & not only due to my fantastic navigation skills. We took State Highway 1 to Tokoroa & then headed west wards down State Highway 32 to State Highway 41, bypassing Taupo and re-joined State Highway 1 at Turangi. Continuing on State Highway 1 & down the Desert Road we stopped in Turangi for lunch. After lunch, we continued on State Highway 1 and just before Ohingaiti we took side roads & a bit of a detour along Otara Road onto Mangamako Road heading towards Rangiwahia. Before Rangiwahia we headed west along Rangiwahia Road & headed towards Kimbolton & then onto State Highway 54 at Cheltenham all the way to Feilding. After passing through Palmerston North we took State Highway 57 all the way to State Highway 1 re-joining just south of Levin and final destination for the day Otaki. The weather was fantastic most of the way with the worst of it just outside of Otaki. At that point I did strongly suggest (pretty much demanded) that we find a motel as pitching a tent was not quite what I wanted to do in what was becoming a heavy downpour. Highlights of the first day? Riding the Desert Road & the detour east through Kimbolton. The Desert Road as it is so so much fun with the deep sharp twists to ride combined with the savage vastness of the scenery. It really is an awesome stretch of road. The Kimbolton detour was a highlight as it was great to get away from traffic and enjoy having a bendy, twisty road with pretty much to ourselves. « Previous | Next »
A. I didn't navigate us through Hamilton
B. The greater Hamilton area ceased to be continuous roadworks As we stopped at the lights at the top of the motorway on Hobson Street, Manny turned to me & said "This is it Kat, the journey has officially begun". I smiled in response; I was so excited it was actually happening. As this was my first time riding with panniers & extra weight on my bike, I was a bit cautious as we headed off down the motorway. The route we took, while a large part of it was down State Highway 1, was not a direct route & not only due to my fantastic navigation skills. We took State Highway 1 to Tokoroa & then headed west wards down State Highway 32 to State Highway 41, bypassing Taupo and re-joined State Highway 1 at Turangi. Continuing on State Highway 1 & down the Desert Road we stopped in Turangi for lunch. After lunch, we continued on State Highway 1 and just before Ohingaiti we took side roads & a bit of a detour along Otara Road onto Mangamako Road heading towards Rangiwahia. Before Rangiwahia we headed west along Rangiwahia Road & headed towards Kimbolton & then onto State Highway 54 at Cheltenham all the way to Feilding. After passing through Palmerston North we took State Highway 57 all the way to State Highway 1 re-joining just south of Levin and final destination for the day Otaki. The weather was fantastic most of the way with the worst of it just outside of Otaki. At that point I did strongly suggest (pretty much demanded) that we find a motel as pitching a tent was not quite what I wanted to do in what was becoming a heavy downpour. Highlights of the first day? Riding the Desert Road & the detour east through Kimbolton. The Desert Road as it is so so much fun with the deep sharp twists to ride combined with the savage vastness of the scenery. It really is an awesome stretch of road. The Kimbolton detour was a highlight as it was great to get away from traffic and enjoy having a bendy, twisty road with pretty much to ourselves. « Previous | Next »
