Nev & Jo NZ2018 South Island

nev

Super Térrarist
Day -2 & -1. Christchurch

We arrive late on Friday evening and have all day Saturday and Sunday to explore Christchurch. Our motel is on the edge of the CBD and the place has changed hugely since our last visit here which was after their devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

When we were last here the entire CBD was a red zone with no access allowed, and only a few shops in shipping containers had been assembled in some areas with cleared land.

Now, most of the damaged buildings have been removed. Entire city blocks, most of the buildings in the city are either newly built or have been demolished leaving behind a gravel lot.
 

nev

Super Térrarist
Day 1 Christchurch to Geraldine

Monday morning we arrive at the bike hire joint to collect our bikes.

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Jo has a G650GS for the next 17 days and I will be on a DR650. The GS is a few years old but the DR is quite new and only 12000km on the clock and runs like a dream (just don’t ask how long it took for me to remember that some bikes still have a choke!... i’ve been riding EFI bikes for too long)

We head over the hills straight to the Banks Peninsular, getting used to our new steeds on the narrow winding country roads with spectacular views in one direction over Akaroa Harbour in one direction and the snowcapped peaks towards Kaikoura in the other direction.

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After lunch at the historic Duvauchelle Hotel we head back to the Canterbury Plains and our first nights accommodation in Geraldine.

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The Cheese Shop in Geraldine actually makes their cheese on the premises

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I found a tie for Pegaso Garry

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Jo was really channelling Tassie Dave Kennedy

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The toy shop in town certainly had a rural feel

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The Vintage Car museum in town is closed by the time we walk around to it, but we can get a good peek through the windows into one display in the front workshop

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nev

Super Térrarist
Day 2 Geraldine to Oamaru

Backroads from Geraldine to Fairlie. Mostly narrow single laners with a few km of gravel thrown in for good measure.

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Spectacular views of patchwork farmland.

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Then around to Burkes Pass and off the highway, south,

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through farmland to Mackenzie Pass,

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nev

Super Térrarist
and then to Hakataramea Pass.

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Someone needed cooling off

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Stopped and chatted to a couple of adventure riders who were headed off down the Meyers Pass Road.

We continued south and after an icypole stop in Kurow some phone calls were made and accommodation found in Oamaru. It was the antithesis of Christchurch, the main streets were lined with impressive 19th centry buildings. Columns were very much the fashion when this town was built, even the Catholic church has them.

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Our motel for the night is an old building perched on top of a hill behind the town. It was the maternity hospital for Oamaru before being replaced with a modern hospital in the 1990s and then it was repurposed into accommodation.

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Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
Day 2 Geraldine to Oamaru

Backroads from Geraldine to Fairlie. Mostly narrow single laners with a few km of gravel thrown in for good measure.

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Spectacular views of patchwork farmland.

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Yes please go ahead,
show me South Island.

I'm in :D:D
 

nev

Super Térrarist
Day 3 Oamaru to Dunedin

Staying off the main roads we zig zag through farm roads heading north.

Somehow, on this farm driveway, the car zigged with the truck zagged and the truck ended up precariously perched on one side of the road, while the car…. Who knows how he managed that.

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Despite some cloud cover it was a lovely ride up Dansey’s pass,

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to the Dansey’s Pass Hotel in time for morning tea, and some toasted sandwiches.

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nev

Super Térrarist
From Danseys we follow the Kyeburn River south, along Hwy 87.
A quick stop to reminisce on the night we spent at Clarkes Junction on our last trip to the South Island,

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then the meanderings of the George King Memorial drive, some fuel at Outrim and then to our motel in Dunedin.

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Despite an overcast morning the sun is out when we arrive in Dunedin and set about exploring the town

Cathedral

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Local newspaper building

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Law Courts building

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Some of the streets are reminiscent of the steepness of the streets of San Francisco.
A local street (not this one) claims to be the steepest in the world. This is just a convenient street adjacent our motel.

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Dunedin Railway station with it’s beautifully curated gardens

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nev

Super Térrarist
wow..

the Drone shots really are worth it, great perspective


Yeah, I agree. Sometimes as you're riding along you can get a view of the road winding into the distance, but only for an instant, and because of trees and undulations and by the time you stop to take a photo there is no photo to take, but just getting a few metres higher can make a world of change and really tell a story that you can't see from ground level, especially from the bottom of a valley.

Also, most of the time I was launching the drone, was with the intention of getting photos using the functions which the drone can perform at the touch of a button, multi image stitched up panoramas. As I fly the drone, when I'm not taking still photographs I leave it running in video mode capturing 4K video while I'm positioning it, and after reviewing the video and panoramas which I captured, most of the drone photos I have included in this ride report are just screenshots from the video.
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
wow..

the Drone shots really are worth it, great perspective


:clap:
Agree. Some pretty speccy shots, I also like the Dunedin walk-around.
We only ever had a look at the old Dunedin University in '05, those original, old Goth-buildings are some sight.
Sadly the parks around the place have been getting smaller and smaller thanks to more and more campuses getting built.

LOVE the Danseys Pass shots!


Missed a great opportunity to stay another night at Clarkes Junction again :bs
 
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