Roadtrip New Zealand

Day 6 saw us heading to one of our most eagerly anticipated destinations of our trip, Kaikoura. There have been so many articles in the paper and things we’ve seen on television recently about Kaikoura, and it was one of the first pins in the map at home when marking out our route.

Before leaving Blenheim though we headed a couple of kilometers out of town and visited the vintage air display. Mike had mentioned it to us over breakfast at the Redwood Heights B&B, and being a huge fan of airplanes it was a detour we had to take. The display is an assortment of WWI replicas and originals, and several smaller scale models and glass panels with memorabilia in them. Several of the full size planes are depicted in real life scenes, which Peter Jackson I think assisted in making. There is one stuck in a tree which is particularly life like. The best thing there, for me at least, was a strip of material ripped from The Red Baron’s actual plane, a very significant piece of history. All in all a very neat diversion, but we were keen to hit the road so didn’t loiter long.

The journey from Blenheim to Kaikoura is revered by many, and it is easy to see why. For perhaps 45 minutes you head lazily south past Clifford Bay before you intercept the coast, and enjoy some of the most scenic views we’ve seen yet as you run parallel to the sea all the way down to Kaikoura. It really is a magnificent ride, but would be enjoyed in any vehicle. The roads are top notch and with the sun shining in its full glory, we were in motorbike heaven. Just out of Kaikoura there is a point where you pull over, I think it is called Oahu Point but can’t remember the name, and here there is a fur seal colony that resides on the rocks below. If you ever are traveling this way, you’ll know when you are close because you can smell the seals for quite some time before you can see them! They make for some great photos though, and we had a good twenty minute stop there.

After the point as you travel the last 20 minutes into Kaikoura there are several roadside caravans selling cooked Crayfish for the hungry travelers. I regret now we did not stop and sample this, because dining in Kaikoura is not the best experience, but more on that later! Our B&B hosts had mentioned the caravans and next time I see one I’ll be pulling over.

We finally came into Kaikoura after a very pleasant two hours on the road and Myra let out a huge whoop, you could tell she’d been looking forward to this place! Checking into the top 10 holiday park was nice and painless, and we saved some money with our new loyalty card. These places are great; they’re like the McDonalds of accommodation. Nothing fancy, doesn’t taste that nice, but you know pretty much what you’ll get no matter where you are. It’s a decent place to stay with a pretty comfy bed at a reasonable price, so you can’t complain!

Myra’s first mission was to get some washing done. Now Myra is a fastidious cleaner at home, and you could see that gleam in her eye for the last couple of days, she needed to clean stuff! After she’d put a load in the laundry we rang the whale watch place and got on a waiting list. The list means you have to go down to the centre and hope they call your name out for vacant spots on the boat not filled by people that have not shown up for their pre bookings. We thought it worth a shot and headed down there. After about an hour of waiting we got squeezed onto the last two spots of one of the last boats of the afternoon. So a short bus trip out to the point later, we were boarded and heading out to deep waters looking for Sperm Whales. Now I love whales, so the idea of watching them appealed to me greatly on paper, but the reality of it is somewhat less than the experience I had imagined. The majority of the time is spent inside the ships sitting area, waiting. When the captain finally does manage to track a whale and get near it, you are allowed outside to photograph it. The problem here is that you are a good distance away so you are photographing what could appear to be a log, until the time the whale decides to dive where you get perhaps 2-3 seconds to nail The Tail Shot. It is an extremely slick operation they run, and they have the exclusive permit to do this, but I wanted more. I am happy to admit I am a very fussy bugger, but I thought, very naively it turns out, we’d be pulling up alongside a whale who would be as curious about us as we were about them. I guess for this kind of interaction I may have to become a marine biologist  We did encounter some dolphins though, and for me these provided a lot more satisfaction than the Sperm Whale.

After about two and a quarter hours we were back on dry land, and by this time had worked up a huge hunger. We walked the short distance to the main center with a fine dining experience the main goal. Kaikoura’s main strip is about 750m long at a guess, and in this stretch there are 4-5 restaurants. Unfortunately none of these are overly appealing. For a little big city that thrives so much on the tourist dollar, I was very surprised that they had not nailed this mandatory detail. Eventually we settled for a place recommended by the girl on reception at the campground. In all fairness it was adequate, but nothing special, and for the Auckland prices we paid we wanted more. Perhaps the Thai restaurant or the Indian would have been better bets, but we wanted some bona fide kiwi sea food at what we thought would be local prices. The beer was cold, and I’ll leave it at that.

Overall, Kaikoura has been our first disappointment. There is nothing you can quite put your finger on as to why, but the town feels like it has sold its soul. It does everything right, and is a hive of tourists, but still manages to feel empty and void of any character. Everything here seems engineered to clip your ticket on the way though, it screams Give Us Your Money. It has blossomed acutely over a very short time, and in doing so has lost any local flavour, which to me is a shame. Kaikoura could be any money making city anywhere in the world, there is no identity. Sure the place is absolutely blessed with stunning scenery, but the people here all seem transient, like they are only here while the gold is running in the river so to speak.

As I write this on the morning of our departure, the rain has passed and I am very eager to head south to Akaroa. We are spending two nights in Akaroa, using one of our rest days. Akaroa is a beautiful little town with huge French influence. It is probably the polar opposite to Kaikoura in terms of character, and I can’t wait to head off.

We headed out Christmas morning after a light breakfast, continuing south with Palmerston North the next destination. I have family that I have not seen in a very long time and was looking forward to catching up again and spending Christmas with loved ones. My Aunty Jackie and Cousins Sam and Kate were expecting us, so onwards we went!

Myra’s body seemed to be faring a lot better and her hay fever and spirits were in much better shape, and we were both pleased to only have a relatively short 2.5 hour ride time, so it was in fine weather and good spirits we ventured off.

The ride to Palmerston North unfortunately took us inland, so the last couple of days of beautiful coastland were going to be missed. One thing we can definitely feel as we head ever south is the temperature dropping. This is especially true when you come through an inland section of road and are about to hit the coast. You can smell the sea and feel the slightly cooler sea breeze before you see the ocean; it’s a fantastic experience on a motorcycle.

We arrived in Palmerston North much earlier than expected and found said loved ones in Pajamas having a very relaxing morning. They were slightly mortified but Myra and I loved it, and after such a long time between visits (we’re talking 10 years maybe) it was great to come into such a relaxed and friendly environment, with minimal fuss and plenty of smiles.

It wasn’t long before the champagne was opened, and the conversation was easy. This is what Christmas should be all about, no matter what country you’re in or religion you practice. We’ve been absolutely spoiled for the last couple of years with fantastic Christmases at our place, with Myra’s family and my mother congregating, and while I missed that this year it really was a great day and a fantastic time had by us in Palmerston North, and couldn’t have hoped for anything better.

Now Palmerston North and the Manawatu in general has a pretty bum rap these days, but the property Jackie has purchased goes a long way to convincing you it is a extraordinary place to live. After having a brilliant day, a magnificent meal and a several more wines we all retired for the night as the Christmas sleepiness overcame us. We awoke the nexy morning to a perfect sky, in absolute silence and with a million dollar view of rolling hills, forests and isolated farmland. Even Te Puia Springs could not match this, the hotel there is on the State Highway, so every now and then you would get a truck rumbling through, but here there is just nothing. The only sounds are a distant dog barking, birds singing their morning welcomes and a faraway sheep calling for its lamb. It seems somehow to cleanse the soul and its mornings like this that stay with you for a long time. It is such a foreign experience for an Aucklander!

Unfortunately after getting up and being treated to a café worthy breakfast, the wind had picked up to something resembling a gale and with it the chill came. Myra, particularly prone to the cold, was overjoyed when Katie proffered up some thermal leggings and top she could borrow for the rest of the trip. I think it’s the best gift she could have received! She donned these pretty quickly, and after a round of goodbyes and hugs and some photos, we mounted the sturdy Sprint and headed off again. South. Always south.

I hope all our family and friends had as wonderful day as we did, we were thinking of you all.

Today we covered what seemed like a massive distance, in absolutely perfect riding conditions. We left behind our damp and mildewed cabin at the Papamoa Holiday Park at roughly 9am and headed into the plaza to find some breakfast. The choices for dining in Papamoa are fairly limited, so it was at an American style diner we found sustenance. Now this may sound far fetched, but I can guarantee you there was not a single healthy option on their menu, and some patrons were feasting on cheese burgers and fries at this time of the morning.

After breakfast Myra got some new earplugs from the chemist, the alpine rider ones I gave her keep falling out and she is not happy with them, so she now has pair of squeegee yellow numbers. They seem to do a great job, maybe too great as communication between us has resorted to me having to yell for her to hear me while we are at highway speeds. Oh well, who needs talking anyway right?

So once this was all taken care off it was off on the road to our next stop, the Te Puia Springs Hotel. The Garmin tells us it is only 345kms away and it looked like nothing on paper, but boy it was a hard days riding.

The roads through this region are absolutely wonderful. The trip was about 5 hours riding time, and I can honestly say that for large periods of that we would maybe see one to three cars per half an hour coming the other way. There is pretty much nothing heading the same way as us. I had head that Gisborne is remote, but had no idea at how sparsely populated it is.

The coastal route is stunning; with so many gorgeous bays and inlets where families have pitched their tents and have the kids out in the glassy sea collecting kinner and mussels with snorkeling gear. It has really made me wonder if we need to start heading out this way instead of the Coromandel come camping time. The small towns we passed through, Matata, Paroa, Kutarere, Torero, Omaio, Waihau Bay and others, are blink and you miss it type arrangements. It is just so peaceful here, hardly a sound, and nothing that you would call built up.

The ride is awesome, huge long straights with high gear sweeping bends for a large part of it, until you get near Te Araroa where you turn south as you come upon some breathtaking cliffs that rise intimidating from the ground and soar skywards. Once you take the turn off you’re treated with some slower more challenging roads, plenty of signposted 25/35/45/55 corners for what seems an eternity as you climb through the hills. We were far past the comfortable ride length stage at this point though, with sore backsides and my throttle wrist not happy, so it was a shame we did not really get the most out of this section as we should.

When we came to Te Puia Springs we actually drove straight through it without realizing. This place is great; it has a general store, a fish and chip store, and the hotel. That’s all I’ve seen! We had to turn back when we realised there is no centre of town. As I said, we’re staying in the Te Puia Springs hotel, and it’s so cool here. We are the only guests in the whole hotel. It is a very old school type of establishment, a la The Shining type thing if you know what I mean. The people are fantastic and have been extremely friendly, cooking us a magnificent dinner of fresh of the boat Terakahi with chips and eggs and a side of home made coleslaw. This was after a soak in their natural Te Puia Springs hot spa, with apparently the most mineral rich spring water in the world! Right out back in their shed with the warm fuzzy inducing painted yellow door. For $90 a night, I’d thoroughly recommend you give this place a try if you ever come through this way.

Anyway, tomorrow is another long hike to Napier, so I’m hoping a good nights rest will rejuvenate my wrist for another lengthy ride. After that it’s two fairly short riding days so if we can just get through tomorrow fine we’ll be able to recoup over Christmas and Boxing Day.