The New Zealand Moto-Map

I thought it might be fun to keep a map of the roads/towns I visit on the motorbike here in New Zealand. I am still working on the photos from the most recent trip. The photos in general turned out great and really highlight the rugged beauty of this country. Look for a post soon with samples and a link to Flickr

The outline of the 5-day motorcycle trip:

-Tuesday 6th of September I took a bus from Christchurch up the east coast through Kiakoura, Picton and into Nelson where I met Wayne (the seller of the moto) and picked up the motorcycle. I overnighted in Nelson at The Palace Backpackers.

-Wednesday I set out for Golden Bay north along the coast from Nelson traveling through the Takaka pass and turned around at the Farewell Split. The next night in Nelson I stayed at a much nicer hostel Tasman Bay Packpackers(the famed chocolate pudding has a well deserved reputation).

-Thursday I set out for Greymouth which is southwest of Nelson along the west coast. The Moteuka river valley took me to Reefton which was the first city in the Southern hemisphere to have electricity in 1888. The eclectic Neptunes International Backpackers was a bit low on occupancy so I was able to snag an entire 6 bed room to myself and sleep peacefully sans snoring.

-Friday turned into an long cold beautiful ride on the bike. Leaving before sunrise I went north along the coastal highway to Punakaiki to visit the famed pancake rocks. From there I set my sights on Wanaka by way of the Haast Pass. I stopped at the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers to snap a few pictures and see my first glaciers. Although the pass was beautiful the two hours of cold rain dampened my spirits only to be lifted by a 45minute hot shower upon my arrival in Wanaka.

-Saturday I got up early and checked the weather in Queenstown and Milford Sound. Unfortunately it was pretty crudy for the next 4 days with Milford being described as torrential downpour. I decided to head back to Christchurch by way of the Lindis pass, Lake Tekapo and the transition line of the Canterbury plains and western mountains.

The trip was 1850km (1150miles) and it was great to see a good bit of the South Island landscape.

The yellow is my travel path and the blue dots are the towns I stopped in. This map also shows a ride out to Akaroa this weekend with my flatmate James and friend Rick which is a nice twisty 100km jaunt south-east from Christchurch. I regret not taking my camera as the approach into Akaroa Bay is stunning. Next time. (*working on making this image less giganitic*)

A 'lil taste

WHOA!!!!! It has been 1 forever unit of time since I've updated the blog and a lot has changed. 2011 brought a sad end to a great experience at Beta Pro Inc. and the final chapter to a coming of age story in Austin. My official age upon leaving Austin is 32 but the true value number is up to debate.

I'll spare the details of how/why/when/what/who regarding the move to New Zealand and start with feet down on Kiwi soil. I arrived on the 27th of July with my bike box, a 5600cubic inch duffel bag, a wheely bag, medium size suit case and a laptop carrier. I didn't pack light but it consisted of most all my possessions. The triathlon and mountain bike are packed and waiting at the parents house awaiting shipment.

Spent 10 days at a local Hostel (kiwi house) just east of the city center. During that time I updated some contacts regarding my new local status, sent out more job applications, rode my bike all over town and searched for flatmates. Flats are houses and flatmates are roommates. I visited 4-5 houses south of city center and met one creepy old lady before i stopped by the 8 Merlewood flat in the Cashmere neighborhood securely in the green undamaged section of town. I moved in shortly after with the 3 other british occupants. Kirsti and Lizzy are PhD students at the local Uni and James is a working professional. Each have been lovely and accommodating the new guy.

Employers and recruiters have been much more interested in me upon gaining a NZ address. To date I've been on 5 interviews and twice as many phone calls with prospective employers. Unfortunately my unique skill set doesn't have a market here in NZ so I've had to really force fit my prior design skills into an image which the employers will like. Generally I've gotten the response that they like me but want to continue searching for someone with more specific experience to their field (forestry, trailer design etc..). So the search continues but the fact people are bringing me in and talking to me keeps the hopes up.

Exercise. Been getting lots of it. Most of the inner city is a bit rubbish for running but a once you get a bit south of town the Port Hills open up with a myriad of trails and hills climbing to challenge anyone. My favorite Saturday run is to leave my house and climb Dyers Pass out to Summit road which results in a consistent 4% average grade over the 12-14km out. Similarly I've been riding my bike all over and a couple of times got in over my head by keeping on when I should have turned around. As long as you get home before dark and don't get hit by a car then its a good ride.

This coming week I will be traveling to Nelson to pickup a motorcycle I purchased from TradeMe (the ebay of NZ). It is a 2007 Suzuki V-Strom with 600miles. 6-0-0. I'll have to take a couple of cautions with buying a four year old bike which has mostly sat garaged the entire time but I feel that I snagged a killer deal. The only decision now is what to name her/him.

2007 Suzuki DL650 A-waiting

Some pictures from a recent ride.

A couple of photos from the kitchen window.