NEW ZEALAND PART 1: NORTH ISLAND (AUCKLAND - KAITAIA - CAPE REINGA - KAWAKAWA - COROMANDEL - OPOTIKI - TOLAGA BAY - LAKE TUTIRA - WELLINGTON)

Very sorry for the long delay. Better late than never, right? So I was doubting, where must I ride for my year-end holidays? Given that its year-end, the northern hemisphere will be chilly as its going to be mid autumn changing to winter, so its not appropriate to ride in the north at this time of the year. It left me with options, either South America (again?), Africa, Australia and New Zealand (apart from South East Asia which I had done many times before and dont feel like repeating).

I finally chose NZ to ride. Approx three months prior, I was contacted by Matthew, a rider from the States whom I met at Sumbawa during Horizons Unlimited event, asking to meet me in Ipoh. During our conversation, I told Matthew about my intention to ride in NZ, and Matthew who rode in NZ prior to Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia, linked me with his NZ friend, Bill Irwin. The latter happened to be one of the kindest soul I had met in my entire life. We started emailing each other and Bill promised to help me find a bike when I decided not to bring my own as air freight and carnet fees will be pricey. I was surprised when Bill told me later that he had actually BOUGHT a second hand bike for me to use, a Suzuki GN250. I was thrilled. No one has done that to me before (and I never expect anyone would). He was such an angel. Not just that, he also helped to plot my route in South Island, and linked me with his friends, John and Heather in Auckland. The bike was stored at the latter’s home in Auckland, waiting for me to arrive.

While Bill is the owner of the newly purchased bike, John is a mechanic. Under Bill’s request, he helped to prepare the bike for me such as changing the tires, engine oil, chain and fixing a usb charger on the bike. Both Bill and John didnt charge me a single cent for everything that had been done on the bike. I was so lucky and grateful.

DAY 1 & 2: 22^nd – 23^rd Nov 2017, KUL - GOLD COAST - AKL

I boarded Airasia flight from KUL to Auckland via Gold Coast. It was a long 12 hours flight and I was pretty exhausted. I arrived Auckland International Airport at 5.40pm local time. I had to spend more than 1 hour for customs declaration and had to go through a very strict inspection. Fortunately I did my research and I knew that I must prepare a list of all food that I had with me, and make sure that its commercially packed (canned, packaged, bottled). Strictly no fresh produce from plants, animals and dairy products. Declare every single thing. Ask if you are unsure of anything. Give the list to the officer in charge to smoothen the inspection.

Walla, my entire food ration passed the inspection. The officer inspected my tent as well to make sure no soil was taken into the country. (Yes, its very strict.) If you wanna avoid hassles, bring a new (never used) tent. Once done, I exited the arrival hall and was welcomed warmly by John and Heather who kindly offered to fetch me at the airport. I was taken to their nice home at the northern part of Auckland. The road was quite heavy with traffic as it was peak hour.  I took the opportunity to check on the locals driving attitude and to my relief, New Zealanders driving attitude were good. We had a lovely dinner later, accompanied by Haakan and Georgia, (friends of my hosts), who owned a two wheels tour company in AKL. Spinach fritata, potatoes in curry, fruit salad and bread were served for dinner. Heather is a great cook and I really had a feast. 

From left: Myself, Heather, John, Haakan and Georgia

Yummyyy....fresh fruits with ice cream

While having dinner, we discussed about my route and John and Haakan gave me lots of tips for my upcoming ride in this Kiwi country.

NZ PART 1 is the blue route

 Day 3: 24^th Nov 2017, AUCKLAND - KAITAIA 

After breakfast, I went down to the garage to see the bike which is going to be mine for my ride in the 5^th continent (Oceania) for me, New Zealand (thank you Bill). The 2006 Suzuki GN250 is12 years old, but who cares, as long it works fine and takes me where ever I want to go, its good enough for me. Before setting off, Heather took me to a nearby mall for me to purchase NZ simcard. It was quite pricey, NZD35 for 28 days usage. Back home, I packed my things into Givi soft cases which were given to me by Givi SRL Italy. The cases fit on the bike nicely. Later, I said goodbye to Heather while John leads me for about 40kms out of the city, and after that I’m on my own.

There's actually a straight Motorway 1 heading north but I chose to ride the back road via route 16 - 12, passing two nice forest parks. The road was very quiet, winding with rolling hills and it was pretty chilly bcos it was drizzling on and off. The road was slippery when wet and theres a lot of signs warning vehicles to be careful. 

Love the trees here

I reached the small town of Rawene and took the ferry to cross to the other side (NZD5). 

The road continued to wind and I started to climb up a mountain which was quite steep and when I reached the highest point, something really funny happened.

FYI, this bike had a 10L fuel tank and it didnt has a fuel indicator. I had no idea how far it can go (nor did Bill and John, as they never tried the bike). The first time I refill petrol earlier, I had ridden 135kms and only half of the tank was used. So my mind calculated that full tank will be approximately 270kms. I had done 230kms when I reached the highest point of the mountain road when suddenly the engine died. Theres no petrol station I could find after the ferry ride. When the engine died, I knew that the tank must have been dried up already. This is the first time ever that I ran out of petrol during my entire advriding history. Luckily I already reached the peak of the mountain road, so I let gravity pulled me and the bike for another 5kms or so, descending slowly until the bike finally stopped. I checked my GPS, the nearest petrol station is in Kaitaia, 20kms away. Its almost dark by that time and the road was very quiet. I had to wait quite a while before a car passed. I waved, and the nice Maori driver stopped. However, he was in a hurry and couldnt take me to the petrol station. He drove me to the nearest house (1km from where I left the bike) for me to try my luck. New Zealanders, especially in the remote area, normally kept some petrol at home for their own use. I was so fortunate that the house owner had some fuel in his red jerry can, well not much actually, only about 1L, but it managed to get me into town. 

I finally reached my host's house at 8.30pm after riding 400kms today. Si, my host is a very nice guy. He was originally from Cook Island (one very tiny island in the middle of South Pacific Ocean). He made dinner for me and showed me a video of his home island. It was so lovely, but not cheap to go. We talked for a while and made a plan for tomorrow before I retire to bed. It was a long day for me.

Si made rice with tuna and veges for me. Thx Si :)

Day 4: 25^th Nov 2017, KAITAIA - CAPE REINGA 

The good thing when you stayed with a local host is you get to see what normal tourist couldnt see. But the not so good thing is when the host is not a motorcyclist, they might not give you accurate advice on the road condition. My host brought me up to a 'secret' cliff to get a birds-eye view of 90 Mile Beach. He said that the last part of the road is not accessible by car but easy for a motorbike. I followed his car to the place where he finally stopped and parked his car. He pointed me the direction while he walked and I continued riding.  It was 3kms of steep climb on multi-terrain - soft sands, some sunken 4WD’s track which sunk up to my knees, some gravel parts and some puddles. Yes, I did see some dirt bike riders up here, but the GN250 with street tires I’m riding was not made for this kind of track. HAHAHA...it was quite challenging but I survived. It was actually quite fun too. 

Which way now?

Auwwwww

Sadly it was a cloudy day. So the view of the ocean from the cliff of 90 Mile Beach was not as blue. It was said that during low tide, one could ride or drive on this beach all the way to Cape Reinga, the northernmost of NZ (thats how this place got its name), but it was not advisable to do it.

The view of 90 Mile Beach from the viewpoint up the cliff

After some photo sessions, we went back to Si’s house. I only took what I need for my ride and rode 100kms on a nice hilly twisties but I was freezing due to some drizzles. The road, as usual, was quiet. Lots of green grasslands and wildflowers could be seen. Once in a while, I bumped into tourists motorhomes or campervans, all heading or coming from the northernmost of NZ, Cape Reinga. I refuel at the last station which was about 20kms from the Cape and stopped few times for pics enroute. 

I loveeee deserted road

I finally reached the visitor center, parked my bike and walked about 800m to the famous lighthouse. The view of the Tasman Sea crashing over the rocks down below made me so much in awe looking at how beautiful is God’s creation.

I spent about 1 hour here, just lazing and enjoying the waves and the view. Then I get back to my bike and ride to search for a campsite. The apps which I used to find campsites in NZ was Rankers Camping NZ. It was a very useful app and I used it for the entire trip in NZ. However, this app need internet to function. Not a problem for me because I already have my NZ sim card installed on my hp. The cheapest campground was normally the one operated by the Department of Conservation (DOC), offering basic facilities, while the best facility campsite is the holiday parks, but much more expensive. Please bear in mind that freedom camping is strictly not allowed in NZ except for self-contained motorhomes only. If you are caught, the fine is hefty.

I found Camp Tapotupotu on the apps and rode on gravels for about 3kms to reach the place. The view was incredible as I made my descent to the campground. I chose my spot, a lovely beachfront site, away from other people. There was no DOC’s officer in charge here, but one must pay the fee (NZD8) in a box. I cooked a simple dinner and retired early for the night. I didnt get a good night sleep as I didnt feel comfortable. My mistake of being lazy not to use my air mattress because I thought the soft grass was enough but it wasnt. Well, age factor...sigh...

Lovely Camp Tapotupoyu

Day 5^th: 26 Nov 2017, CAPE REINGA - PAIHIA - KAWAKAWA

I took my time lazing and enjoying the beach view, and also practiced my Spanish with some tourists from Argentina before packing my things back on the bike. 

Gd morning world

Then I made my way south, stopping first at the famous Giant Sand Dunes. It was a 4kms offroad ride to reach this place. This is the biggest sand dunes in NZ. You can play sand boarding here and the board rental fee is NZD8 – 10. I only prefer to watch but not to play. Riding solo, I need to be more careful with my outdoor activities. Should anything bad happen to me, who is going to look after me?

The Giant Sand Dunes

From the sand dunes, I rode to Paihia via route 10 and 11. Paihia is a nice beach resort town on the north island. I waited for a friend to fetch me at a petrol station which faced the beautiful sea. Roger came soon after and I followed him to his house at a very secluded hill in Kawakawa. It was a steep offroad ride to reach his house and I was quite worried if I cant handle the bike. Fortunately, I managed it. Roger had some friends coming for dinner and we spent the time chatting about my plan in NZ.

Roger, my host @ Kawakawa

Day 6^th: 27 Nov 2017, KAWAKAWA - COROMANDEL 

There are lots of offroad opportunities in NZ, especially in the north island which was pretty neglected by the government. Throughout my ride, I noticed that only the main road is paved, while the one which branches out from the main road is not.

It was raining in the morning when I want to leave Roger’s house. The gravels wre wet and I didnt have the confidence to ride the bike down the 800m steep path from his house to the main road, afraid if I dropped the bike and damaged it. I am always extra careful when the bike I’m riding wasnt mine. Roger helped to ride the bike down while I trailed behind. I said thanks and waved goodbye to him and made my way south via Motorway 1. 

The highway became busier when I’m nearing Auckland. For information, there are several stretches in the north island of NZ has tolls (which motorbikes are not exempted), and you must register online to use the road. There is no toll booth for you to take your ticket or to pay your toll at the end of the stretch. Since Heather had helped to register my bike on the online toll payment website, I happily took the toll road. Its not expensive for motorbikes, only about NZD2 – NZD3, but certainly significant in making your journey a lot faster than taking the secondary road.

After bypassing Auckland, I continued on route 1 – 2 – 25. I need to reach Thames ASAP bcos a Malaysian traveler wanna meet me. I arrived at the small town earlier than him and started to look around for a place to relax and have a chat. I found a Chinese restaurant and while I’m parking my bike, a car stopped abruptly next to me which made me jumped. Before I can curse the driver, a head poked out from the window and greeted me. It was him, Jeroong Wia or his real name is Wan. He bought me lunch and we had a nice 2 hours conversation at the restaurant. We also went to PakNSave, a big hypermarket similar to Tesco to buy groceries. Wan showed me a sausage brand Tegel which is halal to eat. 

Me and Wan @ Jeerong Wia

We then parted and I followed the coast of Coromandel to my designated campground at Tapu. The ride was lovely. Even though the road was pretty narrow, the fine weather and the blue sea made the ride so enjoyable. I found the campground (NZD17) and searched for a nice place to pitch my tent. I settled at a spot next to a renovated 4WD. The owner was not around so I took a moment to admire his vehicle. If only I can own one like this. 

I then pitched my tent and enjoyed a very beautiful sunset. 

The 4WD owner returned with his kayak (yes, he got a kayak with him) with his catch. His name is Lawrence. He’s a Zimbabwean Chinese but had resided in NZ for more than 10 years. He invited me to have dinner with him. He grilled the freshly caught fish. It tasted so good. We chatted while eating and he told me that he sold his computer business and had been traveling around NZ for a year and a half. He also designed his 4WD compartments and did all the electrical things himself. When asked if he encountered any danger while kayaking to fish, he told me about his encounters with sharks and the danger of big waves which almost crashed his kayak.

28^th Nov 2017:, COROMANDEL - HAHEI - CATHEDRAL COVE - TAURANGA - OPOTIKI

It was a looonggg ride today. I started with a ride around the Coromandel Peninsular, following route 25. The road was narrow with lots of twisties. I cant ride fast but I didnt mind because the view took my breath away. If only I have a drone which can capture my act from above.

I stopped at Hahei Beach, but I couldnt hike to the famous Cathedral Cove because its going to take me 1:30 hrs so the only opportunity was to take a boat.

Cathedral Cove

Hahei Beach

After some time spent there, I continued to Hot Water Beach, but theres an entrance fee, so I forgo the idea. As I was getting late, I raced south and the road got wider when I rode on route 2. There was a massive traffic jam as I approached Tauranga as it was 5.30pm and there were roadworks. I tried to be patient in the beginning, queuing as the other vehicles, but there was no movement at all. I am not going to reach my destination before sundown if this continues so I rode on the shoulder. After a while, I heard someone shouting at me, “Damn you mother fucker!!” I knew it was meant for me because I cut the queue, but I just ignored it. FYI, in NZ, motorbikes must queue just like other vehicles, at the traffic light, roundabout or traffic jam. Its not like in Malaysia where motorbikes can lane split and move straight to the front. I rode carefully while scanning the area, ready to get back in lane if there are traffic policemen around. Normally, I followed the road rules especially in a foreign country, however, I’m glad that I didnt this time because the jam was 10kms long!!! Once the road was clear, I sped as fast as I can but I still couldnt reach my destination on time. As the sun was setting, I made up my mind to stop at Opotiki instead. I checked the apps on my phone and headed to Island Bay View Holiday Park. Finally, after riding for 10 hours today, I settled at a nice 4 bedded dorm (but only myself occupying it). Since I was very tired and the place was beautiful, I decided to stay here for 2 nights to recharge. The fees were NZD25 per night but it was worth it.

29^th Nov 2017, OPOTIKI

Today is my rest day. So I didnt do anything much but sleeping, eating and just chillaxing by the beach while viewing the South Pacific Ocean. The last time I viewed an open sea like this was when I camped at Alexandroupoli in Greece. The nice feelings gave me the mood to write. As I’m just about to continue writing for the 2^nd serial of GDR, I saw a couple walking nude on the beach. Ouchhh. There goes my idea in the sea. HAHAHA...

30^th Nov 2017:, OPOTIKI - WAIHAU BAY - TOLAGA BAY

I felt energized after taking a break yesterday and ready to continue. It was a beautiful ride along route 35 which followed the coast most of the times. I found that I paid more attention on the sea rather than the road. At times, I passed a beautiful countryside with green grassland, and lots of sheep and cow fields. At other times, there were lots of twisties and tight switchbacks. I'm always alone on the quiet narrow road except when passing small villages. The weather was very funny here. At one time its bright and sunny, the next minute its cloudy and rainfall soon after. However, the view was nice.  

I love the tree fence

and the tree tunnel

My bike almost ran out of fuel after passing Waihau Bay. Fuel stations are scarce here, and the lack of fuel meter on the bike plus the constant ascends and descends made matters worse. I stopped to check for the nearest station on Google map. There were two stations at Te Araroa which was about 50kms away. I rode slowly to save fuel.

When I reached the place, only one was opened and it only accepted credit card. I didnt want to use my Malaysian credit card, afraid of the high charges as happened before during my world ride. Fortunately, there were some bikers going for their weekend ride and I asked if they could help. One of them said yes, and co-incidentally when he rode in Malaysia previously, he was well welcomed by Malaysian bikers. Not only he let me refuel using his card, he refused to accept NZD12 of cash which I gave him. Biker brotherhood everywhere. Thank you bro :)

I finally reached my destination and as usual, I will check the apps for a place to pitch my tent. Please bear in mind that campsites were often fully booked at popular destinations during summer or public holidays, so its wise to book ahead. As for me, now is the end of spring so I do not need to book in advance. I choose to camp at Tolaga Bay Holiday Park (NZD17) as suggested by Haakan the other day. The oldest wharf in NZ was located here. It was a very beautiful and quiet spot and I had the beach all to myself for a few hours to enjoy. I walked on the wharf till the end and just lazed around enjoying the moment.

1^st Dec 2017, TOLAGA BAY - LAKE TUTIRA

After packing my things, I headed south bypassing Gisborne. I really love riding in NZ. Its super easy to navigate and the signs were very clear everywhere. I didnt need my GPS at all. Most of the time, I only memorized the town names and the route number and I was never lost. However, internet was another story. Only at towns u can get connection, not at remote areas. My SPARK simcard didnt work at Tolaga Bay which I camped yesterday and campgrounds normally have additional charges if you want to use their wifi. So whenever I passed towns, I will stop for a while to check or send messages from my phone. 

The view to Lake Tutira was very beautiful. Winding road all the way along the coast and I passed some scenic reserved on route 2. There’re lots of scenic reserves in NZ and it was awesome to see the different type of trees. I was blessed to have a good weather and a very enjoyable ride today.

However, it was not the case at Lake Tutira campground. The lake itself was so blue and beautiful, but the campground was not managed and there were lots of animal poops everywhere. I had to settle with it and closed one eye. I told myself that I will be here only for one night, so just ignore it. After all, its organic and its FOC. HAHAHA...

Lake Tutira

2^nd Dec 2017, LAKE TUTIRA - WELLINGTON

Its been a while that I didnt scream inside my helmet due to the wind. If memory served me well, the last time the wind scared the hell out of me was in Iran, approximately 17 months back. However, here in the north island of NZ today, the northern wind decided to say "hello" to me.

In the beginning, the ride was calm. I bypassed Napier and Hastings and had my lunch of fish n chips at Palmerston North (the cheapest I found, only NZD4.80). After lunch, out of nowhere, I started to feel the presence of wind. I knew that Wellington is a very windy city and I had been warned about how harsh wind in NZ can be. However, I am still far, about 150kms from the city. Since I started riding 8 days ago, there were some winds, but none was disturbing. It got harder and harder when I was ascending Rimutaka Hills. Gosh...I cant move forward even when using 2nd gear. It was a tough climb on the narrow, winding and steep road, and when I finally reached the peak and started to descend, the wind got worst that I was shoved to the opposite lane for 3 times. God knows how scary that was and how I struggled to get back to my lane. Unlike Ruta 40 in Argentina which was deserted, this road was quite busy and there was one time that there was a vehicle coming from the opposite direction while I’m still unable to bring my bike back into my lane. Phewww, that was really close.

Rimutaka Hill

Thank god Kiwi drivers were very patient. They trailed behind me until I reached a bay to pull over and let them passed. Not once was I honked by those drivers. After pulling over, I was surprised to see very long lines of traffic behind me. When the road was deserted again, I continued riding. I was sooo relieved when I finally reached the foothill. The wind was still strong but not as bad as when I’m on top of the hill. I was exhausted by the time I reached my host’s house at Upper Hutt.

Andy and Edith Rackstraw welcomed me to their beautiful and cozy home. The owner of the bike and also the couple’s friend, Bill Irwin was also there. Bill had just returned from his Taiwan ride and now riding back to his home in Nelson. I am going to follow him back tomorrow, and the couple was so kind to let me overnight at their house. We had a nice conversation over dinner. Edith made a delicious vegetable kurma, to be eaten with rice. I told them about my scary wind experience, only to be told that Rimutaka Hill was famed for its crazy strong wind. No wonder I did see a warning sign for motorcycles before I ascend the hill. I thought the warning was meant for motorcycles racing on the winding road. Little that I knew the sign was meant that the wind can endanger motorcyclists.