New Zealand – A Paradise for Riding

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Warren

Welcome to my two wheel travel blog. You can view my photos in higher quality by clicking on them and I love to read your comments.

Latest posts by Warren (see all)

• A Fast Bike to Byzantium - February 20, 2025
• New Zealand – A Paradise for Riding - February 18, 2025
• Rev’it Sand 4 gloves - January 21, 2025

This is my third motorcycle tour of the New Zealand North Island, 6th tour of the country. It’s a wonderful motorcycling destination but this trip nearly became my last.

I put this together kind of last minute. I had been going to ride Thailand again but found myself hesitating. It is a superb road riders destination. So many twisty routes, however it also has the highest road fatality rates in the world and I was not feeling up to the lazer like focus needed when riding there. So where can I ride in February? Not Australia – too hot, but NZ is ok.

A month out in peak season I expected no rental bikes available however Motorent NZ offered me a Honda CB500X or a Honda Trans Alp. Despite doing a few tours on the CB500X I’m not really a fan but the Trans Alp uses tubes which I have sworn to avoid so the CB500X is the winner as is my wallet since it is a model always at the lower end of rental prices.

My two previously on the North Island were very enjoyable. IMO the north has the best motorcycle roads in NZ. My first ride there was in April 2013 in cool weather on a Suzuki Bandit 1200. My second ride there was on a Yamaha Tracer 9 in February 2016 in hot weather prompting me to make sure my accommodation this trip has air conditioning which Murphy’s Law says will ensure it turns cold.

I found some reasonable (by Australian standards) priced airfares down to Brisbane and across ‘The Ditch‘ to Auckland. It all came together remarkably well for something booked just few weeks in advance although I am pretty experienced at this stuff by now.

Then a few days out from departure my town became flooded from cyclonic like rain and I could see myself getting trapped so the morning two days before my flight to NZ I quickly packed and got a ticket on the next available flight which turned out to be the last plane out before the airport closed.

A couple of spare days in Brisbane. I worked (and lived) in the Brisbane CBD for 13 years but have no desire to move back. I really noticed the big city feel compared to friendly north Queensland. I did however enjoy some great Japanese food which I cannot get in Townsville.

When I got the Tracer 9 from Motorent NZ they were located on the northside of Auckland but have relocated to the south which made it easier for me as that is where the airport is. I stayed overnight near airport then took a Uber to the shop next morning.

Auckland to Whangamata

This is the first (overseas) tour I will ride without my old Garmin GPS. I enjoyed the navigation supplied by the Chinese AMap app on my ride in China so decided I will try using only phone navigation future tours.

Setting off My Route app on my Oppo phone refused to navigate offline and the phone refused to connect to my iPhone wifi hotspot (which seems to be common). My own fault not to have tested this in advance. I stop at first small town for coffee and pop into the post office where I get a sim card for the Oppo and $20 of data. I try and try but can’t get sim to work. Need to text to activate but there is no text credit supplied with card haha.

The morning is getting away from me so I just ride on navigating old school fashion – looking at the road signs and occasionally stopping to look at map on iPhone, not a difficult country to navigate.

The route all morning over to Thames is wonderful. Just endless corners and many small mountain passes. Last time I rode this route was in reverse on final day of my 2016 tour on the Tracer and it was a dull and wet day.

First bakery lunch stop of the tour but last minute I grabbed a roll rather than a pie (sorry Steve). Prices seem much lower than Australia. Chicken and salad roll (with egg) $5.90NZ. Thames bakery – recommended.

Beautiful scenery and lots of corners but a slow-ish ride up the Coromandel behind camper vans. Once upon a time I would have been getting frustrated but no sweat now. I mastered the slow ride in Japan and just enjoy being on a motorcycle in such fine weather.

Not having navigation I missed a viewpoint I wanted to see today which was Tokatea Hill north from Coromandel town. My memory thought the turn off was past Coromandel and by the time I stopped and checked it was too far to double back.

Never mind there is other viewpoints on my route to enjoy instead.

Then on with the corners that do not let up for most of the day.

Back down to the seaside there is some pretty towns and nice beaches as I ride south down the east side.

Then turning slightly inland I’m presented with more corners and what might be the nicest bit of riding of the day.

I’m staying in quality motels this trip not being my normal cheap charlie and tonight’s has a laundry which lets me skip my usual hand basin tour washing then it is a short walk to the Whangamata club for a good meal and a tasty beer.

Terrific start to this tour.

Whangamata to Opotiki

I played with the MyRoute App last night and thought I had it working offline but this morning again no go so will be using RWGPS app on iPhone in my pocket sending voice turn by turn to my Nolan B601 helmet speakers.

The road south to Waihi is superb, a real treat for any road rider. Older style surveying with many tight corners but well surfaced with predicable surveying and advisory signage so you know what to expect every turn.

The south has the scenery but the north has the best roads, however as you know many of the best roads are not photogenic being closed in with trees and that was the case most of yesterday and again up to this mornings coffee break. A drone could convey these roads but I am resisting getting one because that isn’t what you see with your own eyes – but one would allow me to better show how nice many of the routes I ride are.

After this route 36 became quite busy to Rotorua as was route 5 to the south. I decided to detour off to Waimangu volcanic valley. In motorcycle boots and pants I was not up for any trekking to see things but the side road was much quieter riding.

I ended up with not many photos today which reflects it wasn’t one of my better planned routes.

My route improved as I turned towards the coast. I enjoyed an break from the saddle and read some great quotes at this rest stop.

Back at the ocean things again became scenic on the coastal ride to Opotiki.

Opotiki seems a nice small town, people are very friendly. Everyone I have walked past says hello.

Only thing more expensive than Australia is fuel. $3.01 here and I paid $3.15 elsewhere.

Back working on the MyRoute app tonight I found out I need to download the map for country to do offline navigation (doh! of course) but then when I go offline it cannot load the route which is stored on the cloud not in device even if I sync. So still need wi-fi connection to load the route even with offline map installed. My flight to Auckland was delayed 3 times and arrived so late all the airport shops were closed but getting a sim (and getting it working) seems the key to using the app.

Opotiki to Gisbourne

Something I noted previously is in New Zealand 9 am looks and feels like 7 am. I’ve been getting on the road about 8.30 but it doesn’t work here and isn’t needed either as it’s daylight till 9.30 pm. I find the morning clouds do not start to break up until 10am and have not burnt off with warm sun until about midday, which aligns to my thinking that the clocks are forward about 2 hours. Reminds me of Spain except here trading hours are conservative, especially for sale of alcohol while in Spain restaurants don’t even open till 9pm.

I am riding route 35 today AKA the Pacific Coast Highway. Unlike the one in Australia this New Zealand route is superb. Actually I’d place it as one of my favourite rides and something you must do.

What makes this route so good? Well it is remote and you really feel that. Which equals few cars to spoil your ride. It is scenic, I mean one of the most scenic routes in the north island and right up there with some of the wonderful routes I have ridden in Japan. And it has thousands of corners. Almost endless corners for 300km.

There are very few shops so when I spot a coffee truck I turn around. Good chance to let the sun eventually turn up and burn off those clouds.

Talking about this trip to my neighbors they were surprised by the expense of renting motorcycles. “You can hire a motorhome for those prices” they exclaimed. Yes you can but driving a bus on twisty roads is not my idea of fun. I ride a motorcycle when I travel places because I find it exhilarating and it leaves me with a sense of achievement.

Before discovering travel by motorcycle I’d already done Europe in a camper van, USA in a Mustang and Japan by rail. I wasn’t planning to do much more overseas travel. But that all changed after my first moto tour of the Alps with Edelweiss. That opened my eyes to whole new world of moto travel. Very little of the travel I have done last 15 years would have happened if not on a motorcycle.

Still waiting for the sun to arrive.

I remembered this spot from 2013 when I first rode here. I stopped at the top of that rise and took a photo looking towards where I am today.

I stop at Hicks Bay general store and grab a pie for lunch but at the EFTPOS machine was declined and am told ‘we don’t accept foreign cards’ by a big Māori woman. I have not encountered this sort of thing since living in Japan (where it was common, but more discreet). I am in an area where almost every house is flying these flags

United Tribes of New Zealand flag and the national Maori flag.

I know there is currently a growing divide in New Zealand but I never buy into local politics when I travel.

I stop at a lookout of Hicks Bay but some NIMBY has locked the driveway to the higher area and also used logs to block a walking path. Oh well… Or as they say in Poland. Nie moj cyrk, nei moje malpy – Not my circus. Not my monkeys. I ride on.

I climbed the logs to get that photo in motorcycle boots – which is more risky than it sounds.

I get lunch at another remote little shop/cafe and have to settle for sandwiches as all the pies were already reserved. Makes sense when in a remote place if you are going to drive 1/2 hour or more from farm to phone ahead to secure whatever you want as everything, including hot pies is in limited supply.

Last time I rode here I was struck by these trees that shimmer in the sun. The underside of the leaves is a pale colour that appears like silver when the wind blows. I wasn’t able to capture that successfully.

The road south runs inland away from the ocean and was being repaired in a number of places.

It returns to the sea at Tokumaru Bay (below).

And also at Tolaga Bay (below).

Feeling very much at ease today.

I spotted a stone with a blue tinge which reminded me of Blue Stone Beach in Flores and with modest daily mileage I have no need to push on and can take the time to be a bit whimsical and recreate a photo I took on my Indonesia ride before last miles to my hotel.

Such a handy item this adjustable 4 hook bungy cord. I had a spare but lost it in Las Vegas when using it as a clothes line and I forgot to collect it before departing the hotel. I have tried to get another from Japan without success, if anyone knows an online seller for these let me know.

Gisbourne to Turangi

Having had my esophagus and some of my stomach removed during my cancer surgery means I get terrible reflux and have a permanent cough. I have prescription medication but also need to sleep elevated with a big wedge pillow. This is not something I can bring with me so I try use three pillows to achieve same with mixed results. This trip has been particularly difficult. Today I woke up and spent an hour in the bathroom ill then another hour before I could think about eating any breakfast. I only mention all this because it is relevant to what misfortune befalls me later in this tour.

Anyway it beats being dead so I’m not unhappy.

The sun is only starting to poke through another heavy cloud cover by 11am but it’s cool pleasant riding all morning.

The inland alternative route Tiniroto road is superb. Endless corners, quite a bit of twisty stuff before it opens into the valley.

Finally got a pie for lunch but it was not very good filling or pastry. Most popular pies in the North seem to be Mince with Cheese or Bacon and Egg but I’m more a Pepper Steak or Steak and Mushroom guy. However the tomato sauce was free which made me happy.

Nice countryside although the grey sky washed this photo out. Sorry about the image tearing and mushiness. I’m amazed that latest phone still has same issues with scenes like this as my last one which was 3 years old. I would love a decent new compact camera to be released. I got very excited when Olympus announced their new OM-3 (while on this tour) however in what must rate as the worse case of penny pinching they put a 15 year old low res EVF in it so that’s an instant hard pass from me.

Back on the main highway I was always getting pushed by cars to ride faster. I stopped down at the ocean for a break.

Shortly after this I see the car that was bullying me and floored it when I pulled over stopped by a highway patrol. Instant karma.

I turn inland on the Thermal Explorer highway. This used to be a good ride but they have lowered the speed limit for the first half with nice sweeping corners to 80kph.

Had a look around Taupo, very touristy with many very upmarket hotels and expensive cars.

Got some fuel and noticed 100 RON at the pump. Just marketing really because no bikes or cars have their computers set to use 100 RON fuel so you get no better performance.

Big storm brewing so I made a beeline for my motel on the Volcanic Loop highway but had to do a u turn to photo this scene (below).

After a shower I promptly fell asleep for an hour on the lounge in my motel room. Despite having this moto touring down pat it doesn’t get any easier each year.

Turangi to North Palmerston

My planned route today is impossible. The Desert road SH1 that runs south is closed for major repairs. After that I was going to ride down Taihape-Napier road but it is too long a route now with the detour to the west.

I made a new route last night with some back roads that I have no idea what they will be like. First up the National Park road that is very busy with cars all detoured from the closed highway.

The highlands in the centre of of the North Island has a couple of large volcanoes. This is Mt Tongariro.

And Mt Ngauruhoe to the left and Mt Ruapehu to the right.

Rest stop. I’m always interested in this sort of stuff being the retired rail guy.

Route 4 running south is a fantastic riders road.

I had forgotten to use my Theta X camera the last few days.

Trying to capture a different POV, need to have it on short extended pole.

And back to the old bike and road POV. Route 4 is good any way you look at it.

Chicken and cranberry pie from Whanganui East Bakery had perfect pastry!

Then I rode a series of backroads which I kind of picked randomly but I had seen some on Bandit Rider’s blog. Really enjoyed this part of todays ride, reminded me of the Northern Rivers region of NSW where you can string together backroads.

Saw this bridge and decided to detour and shoot with the Theta 360 cam. Not quite as big as the bridges of the Seto Inland Sea Japan.

Athols viewpoint was overgrown.

But looking back to the road the view is fine.

The afternoon really warmed up. The tar in those darker tyre wheel lanes was melted and slippery. Had to ride in between but then be on the constant lookout for loose stones as they do not sweep the excess stones after roadwork off in New Zealand. Then away from melting tar you must ride in the wheel lanes where loose stones have been swept clean by cars lest you unexpectedly hit hidden loose gravel mid corner. I think all this might catch out some people from other countries but in Australia most riders would have encountered something like this before.

Except for the first night in Whangamata I’ve been buying food in supermarkets and eating in the motels all of which have had a full kitchen so I shouted myself a pub meal tonight. Prices are similar to Australia, crazy expensive for just simple fair and a cold beer cost $14NZ. I savor both knowing I’ll be back to the supermarket next few nights.

Palmerston North to Waikanae

The plan today was to revisit some backroads I enjoyed riding from my last tour then head further south.

I departed Palmerston North in sunshine but this soon disappeared.

Despite having plenty of time I felt a need to keep moving at Pahiatua and for no reason skipped my morning coffee break which I later regretted as there were no more cafes on my route.

Nice road south to Masterton but cold and gloomy with occasion spots of rain so no photos.

Had an early lunch at the award winning ‘Ten O’Clock Cookie Cafe’ in Masterton which is one of the best bakeries I have been to in awhile – not to be missed if you are passing.

It looked poor weather to the east so I did not ride out to Castlepoint as planned. This left me with spare time so I rode an impromptu new route around the Wairarapa lake which was nothing special just delaying what I expected to be rain riding west over that range in photo below.

The Remutaka hill is a good road but heavy traffic with too many trucks however it turned to be dry and the western side was blue skies which was quite a dramatic change from the eastern side.

After here I made a mistake in routing myself through Akatarawa valley, this turned out to be a extremely narrow and slightly dangerous road that was a chore to complete. In hindsight I should have continued on and ridden Paekakariki Hill Road which is the old state highway.

Arriving at my destination with plenty of spare time I rode south to visit the lookout on the Paekakariki Hill Road today rather than tomorrow morning when very likely morning clouds will spoil the view.

Wish I had ridden all of this road.

I’ve marked my lake ride on the map in blue and the Paekakariki Hill Road in orange.

Waikanae to Wanganui Palmerston North Hospital

Today was a short route to allow me lots of time to further explore the roads around Palmerston North.

I checked out about 9.30, the sun as usual was still hidden by clouds so I was glad I went to the lookout yesterday. I stopped at the historic town of Levin and enjoyed an extended break over a coffee before riding on north past the very Japanese sounding town of Tokomaru.

I then had a coughing fit. This is nothing new I have a persistent cough since my cancer surgery and suffer from reflux so every day I get at least one fit of coughs however today while coughing I found myself gasping for air and then my vision went dark. I remember reaching for the brake and moving towards side of road then I lost consciousness.

Last thing I can recall was being on a highway doing about 80kph. The bike ran off the road on the left where there was a grassy depression which fell away from the highway. It seems the bike’s front wheel slid out because the bike fell on it’s side then slid a long way coming to a stop just before some small trees.

I have no memory of this. I regained consciousness where the bike had come to a rest. I was more or less still sitting on the bike. My right leg was trapped under the bike but it had crash bars and rear pannier bars so these had slid along the ground and were still holding the bike off the ground.

I was disorientated but already the car behind me had stopped and a guy was at the bike helping. I got myself free of the bike and checked for injuries. I felt some pain in my right ankle but otherwise seemed uninjured.

My riding gear did it’s job and saved me from more injury especially my TCX boots but everything played a part in protecting me. The pants slid at my hip where D30 hip armor was fitted. My elbow also showed signs of sliding but had similar D30 armor and I was lying on my back which was protected by CE2 D30 back protector. The Merlin Cordura rider gear shows no tearing or burst stitching or any damage. My helmet was scratched up badly and will be retired.

I somehow remembered to take a photo of the bike despite being in shock and unable to stand up. Guess I can finally join those ADV overlanders who always have a photo of their bike lying down.

An ambulance was called and also police. After being checked out I was taken to hospital.

In the ambulance I was worried how much all of this will cost me but then told myself what does it matter Warren you miraculously survived what could easily have been a deadly incident.

Lying on the hospital bed I kept thinking well is this the end of my motorcycle riding? I can’t be in charge of a motorcycle in future if I am going to black out. I can’t stop every time I cough because that would be every 10 minutes and it came over me seemingly so suddenly I had no time to stop anyway. But then I have no history of this happening before.

Australia and New Zealand have reciprocal health care so when I was discharged there was no cost. A reminder how fortunate I am to live in a country with universal health care. The doctors could not find anything wrong except sprain ankle and bruising but were concerned about my blackout and with my medical history said I need an endoscopy which I have booked at my local hospital as well another PET scan.

Once again I have cheated death. Not sure how many of my 9 cat lives I have left but I broke out my post cancer surgery t-shirt when home to celebrate.

The bike was towed to a holding yard in Palmerston North and the bike shop will collect it from here. There is an insurance excess, I thought I had paid for that to be lowered, I always tick that option but got confused with the next bike I am renting (health permitting) which has that option. Oh well I have had a good run. I have rented so many bikes over the years in many countries where there was no insurance, like all my rides in SE Asia were uninsured.

I mention the next bike rental, I actually have 4 rental motorcycles booked, for rides in March, April, June and July. But for sure I will be asking questions to the doctors and to myself about my state of health and what I can do going forward and how to reduce the risk of such a thing happening again. I know they will likely suggest to stop riding (and no beers or pies) but I would very much like to continue a little more and be able to complete my bucket list this year if I can.