(With Offerings to the god of speed )
Just occurred to me that I never got round to writing up this years trip to the Burt Munro Challenge in NZ Only 8 months late, but better late than never right?
Settle in its a big read and took me weeks to put together. Lucky I dont have a real job.
The Awesome Burt Munro Challenge held in the small town of Invercargill on the Sth Island of New Zealand. It Is an event I have long wanted to visit and after completing this trip it probably won't be the last time we do. If you haven't heard of Burt Munro, do yourself a favor and check out the Movie the Worlds fastest Indian. Its a great Insight into the legend that was Burt Munro.
It was a beautiful sight as we glided over the Southern Alps into Christchurch.
After clearing customs and checking into the Cosy Juicy Snooze hotel we went for a walk to check out the small but excellent Nike Pero motorcycle museum.
Spent an hour or so there then headed in to town where we hired a couple of lime scooters and spent the afternoon checking out the sometimes sad sights of Christchurch made even more so now as just a few weeks after our visit, New Zealands worst massacre took place just around the corner form the prison we stayed out that you will see later. Very Sad and the beautiful city of Christchurch did'nt deserve it after all it has been through.
There is still areas of complete destruction from the 2011 Earthquake which almost destroyed the whole city, however we had a great time scooting around the various bars and sights of the beautiful city.
The once majestic cathedral is still rill rubble, but they have made huge improvements and repairs with lots of new and modern attractions.
New Zealand has a surprisingly good range of Gins available.
Sam loved the big trees in central park
Check out this cute little Guy. The kid was cute too.
Next morning we were up early and off to Kiwi Motorcycle rentals to pick up our Yamaha Tracer which would be our steed for the next 2 weeks. Second time we have used these guys and can recommend.
Having ridden here previously, we were keen to check out few things we hadn't seen before
Our plan was to head up to Hanmer Springs then up the Jacks Pass road to Murchison through the Nelson National Park. Unfortunately it was all a bit much for the Fully loaded Tracer and after bashing and crashing our way for quite a few hours a deep river crossing halted our progress and we had to back track to Hanmer and then the sealed roads to Greymouth, which while disappointing, was still great fun.
1
Chasing a few locals through the canyons was great fun.
Camperfuckingvans are everywhere in NZ. Be wary
We checked into a groovy Air BnB caravan in the rainforest then went out for a brilliant dinner at a Afghan restaurant then headed back to the van and drifted off to sleep as the rain started to fall.
Land of the long white cloud.
The west cost of NZ is often referred to as the wet coast and it certainly lived up to its name the next day. Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers are usually spectacular sights on the trip south, but on this day all we could see was cloud.
We were hoping to do another Helicopter flight out of Franz Joseph, but alas the weather decided it wasn't to be.
This was the best view we got of the Glacier
The weather cleared after Haast pass and the The road into Wanaka is brilliant
Fortunately we had done it on a previous trip out of Mt Cook, so the disappointment did'nt last long and we pushed on through the rain to Wanaka, which was completely booked out, so we ended up in another Air BnB Caravan on the banks of the Cromwell river which was brilliant.
Everything we had was soaked so we dropped our dacks and sat taking in the excellent views and serenity. That is until the Midgees came out to play and after being eaten alive we decided an early night in van was in order. Trust me you dont wanna have no Daks on when thise Midgees come out.
Fucking annoying jet skis on the river. Cant escape the vermin
A breakfast of Gin and Whiskey was on the menu at the Brilliant Cardrona distillery and much NZ dollars were spent.
Sam also picked up a new at the Bra wall.
The roads around here are particularly fun. This is Crown range.
After the disappointment of the failed helicopter flight. we decided to spend the money on a day cruise.. We had done the Milford sound on a prevision trip, so this time we decided that Doubtful sound would be the destination and we made our way to beautiful Manipouri, where we found a rustic shack to spend the next few days.
Doubtful sound is in my opinion even more spectacular than Milford sound. It is harder to get to with 2 boat trips and a bus ride of the treacherous Wilmont pass. Not for the faint heated or bad passengers like me.
Gizago mate
Was a great day out though and fish and chips on the banks of the beautiful Lake Manipouri was a great way to finish it.
Next morning it was up early and the scenic route into Invercargill for the weekends festivities and action.
ROAD Hazard Sth Island Style. Chur eh Bro?
The Burt Munro is like no other event that I know of anywhere in the world. (and I've been to few in case you haven't noticed) Where else can you see Hill Climbs,Drag racing, Speedway, Circuit Racing, Street racing and beach racing all in the space of 4 or 5 days and all within 20 klms of each other? Unfortunately we arrived too late for the hill climbs, so we headed straight to the beach races.
We had a great time sitting in the dunes and cheering on QLDer Damian Koppe, who unfortunately suffered a mechanical issue while leading the feature race. He did break the lap record though. so that was good.
Some crazy machines in the car park.
Decided to take the Tracer for a spin along the beach. Was a cool feeling to know we were following in Burts tracks
Was purely for research and nostalgic reasons though
Was a great afternoon! After the beach races we Headed into Invercargill. The whole town gets into the event and its a great atmosphere. Reminded me of Phillip Isl;and before Vic Pol wrecked it.
The motorcycle Mecca museum is def worth a visit
We were looking forward to seeing a couple of the beautiful Brittens in action in the next few days
We paid Homage to Burt then, Exhausted we headed back to our Little sheep shearer cabin for the night
Next day was circuit racing day at the awesome Teretonga Park. A brilliant circuit for spectators and access.
We spent the morning watching the Sprint races, then headed across the paddock to watch the afternoons speedway racing.
Didnt crash...Didint die
The Speedway racing was brilliant and Banter in the crowd great fun
Crashes Galore
Next day was the one I was really looking forward to. The safety Nazis in Australia would have a fit if this were to occur there.
First time I have seen the black and Yellow Britten in action.
Just like the TT only warmer ad dryer
And Just like the TT you can get pretty close to the action.
AWESOME FOTO SKILLS EH? Nearly ran out of fillum
ELVIS WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME
So was white man Bob Harly
The motard racing was brilliant
QLD legend Damian Koppe wanted a pic with me. He would go on to Blitz the day after my breifing
Sams Diet was going well.
A Brilliant Brilliant day.
Whilst at the circuit we came across our Ol mate Andy from Andy Strapz, and his wife Janette who was over doing some work and also on a Tracer, so we decided to hook up and spend a few days exploring the Beautiful Sth Island.
We headed for Bluff. Most southern point on the South Island
We had missed the hill climbs but I had a crack at breaking the course record anyway. Failed miserably but had fun trying.
Had a ride on the Latest model Tracer which is a big improvement over the model we had. I liked it a lot.
Niagara Falls was a bit of disappointment and nothing like what I have heard about.
Had breakfast at a fancy cafe. The edible flower added 30 dollars to the cost
Cant remember what these falls were called, but they were heaps better than the Niagara falls.
Did I mention the roads?
Dont miss teapotland if your ever passing through Owaka. Its a must see.
We had a great couple of days touring around the Southlands and Caitlans with Andy & Janette. Sadly we had to leave them at Kaka point as we were heading back to Christchurch and they were heading back to Queenstown.
We set off up the Owaki Valley which was absolutety beautiful and only marred by the fact that I had forgotten to fuel up and we only just made it into Clinton,.
Whilst getting fuel Lawrence we came across this guy that had hand built this thing from scratch and was shipping it across to Chile to start an extended trip.
Yamaha R1 Adventure anyone? It was an awesome piece of work and virtually hand made.
If anyone has anymore info on this guy or the Brusca, I would love to hear about it. He gave me his details but I lost them.
We headed into Alexandra. Famous for its huge clock on the mountain.
We scored a room in a local guest house and after a great meal in the local Brewery we were walking home when we stated chatting with these 2 older people.
Turns out it was None other than Burt Munros very own sister and son. John was very proud of His Burt Munro #1 commemorative ring and rightly so.
How cool is that
WE spent the next night at the workers Village of Otematat and decided to have a refreshing Skinny Dip in the beautiful lake Aviemore.
Heres a pic for you.
Next day we couldn't resist the urge to head into Mt Cook. Despite the fact we had done it before. Its a spectacular bit of road and one you really should do if you get the chance.
the Medivac Helicopter wasnt required
decided to give the scenic flight a miss.
Much Hooliganism was had.
It really is a pretty place
Our trip was winding down and after 12 days on the bike, we decided a dip in the soothing thermal waters at Lake Tekapo was in order.
Riding around New Zealand really is like stepping back in time, with lots of Quirky accommodation and shops etc. Its great fun.
Three Creeks Servo is a must stop.
I fell in love with this Airstream. Would make a great Campervan.
With a day to spare before we had to get the bike back we decided to head for the spectacular Akaroa peninsular. We had visited this area briefly on a previous trip, but we loved it so much another visit was in order.
Finding accommodation was a bit of a challenge.
We tried the silo apartments but far too expensive for us and ended up in an awesome converted Bedford house truck in the rain forest which was pretty cool.
Our Final day on the bike was spent exploring the Beautiful back roads of the Penisular. It is a spectacular area
It really was a Phat Time
Our crappy iphone pics, dont do the place justice
We made our Way back into Christchurch and It nor surprisingly spent our Our final night t in a Jail . Was self imposed punishment for all the naughty things we did in the previous couple of weeks.
Crack whore
They did let us out on good behavior to spend another great afternoon exploring Christchurch sleazy gin bars on the scooters.
We were deeply saddened by the events that occurred just a few weeks after in that very area.
Then just like that it was all over home to bed and up early to catch the big bird home.
Another awesome trip and I said previously we highly recommend a visit to the Burt Munro Classic.
I really hope to get back there some time. who knows.
So many places to see before we die.
Guy & Sam x
A selection of vid clips.