Hobbits And Bobbits...NZ'12-The North

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Up into the hills we go...


Crusty_0061.JPG



TimC_0053.JPG




NZ_Nov12_0199.JPG



NZ_Nov12_0190.JPG



NZ_Nov12_0193.JPG



Looks like the party’s over at the Stag Lodge...:bs


Bernard_0039.JPG



NZ_Nov12_0191.JPG



NZ_Nov12_0197.JPG



The Motu Rd. is a cracker... what a fantastic way to stitch a route across the Eastern Cape.:glu:glu


NZ_Nov12_0192.JPG



Goodie_NZ12_0057.JPG



Goodie_NZ12_0060.JPG



Bernard_0040.JPG
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Again, it’s everyone for him-/herself...plenty of time to take pics, stop and gawk, pull off the road and just gaze into the green hills and valleys.


NZ_Nov12_0194.JPG



NZ_Nov12_0195.JPG



Outta my way !! SF leading the pack...


NZ_Nov12_0200.JPG



NZ_Nov12_0196.JPG



Going all nouveau-retro in ‘60s Vinyl in Opotiki...


Bernard_0041.JPG



...including one very vocal bible-basher who brimstones and hellfires his way down Main Street, letting the Heathen masses have it, all guns blazing...stamping feet, windmilling arms and all.
Looks like he's got the Devil up his clacker...


Bernard_0042.JPG




A quick return-run up Hwy2 and Waioeka Gorge, just for a look-see.... it's a fizzer....then along the coast for a short stint, a little loop on Paerata Ridge Rd and Verrall Rd. back to the coast.


Map06.jpg



A little scenic route found on the map while our lunchtime-Moses promised a 100 ways to hell for the non-believers...but that one way up that ridge was close enough to heaven for us, I believe, oh yeah!!


Crusty_0063.JPG



Just while at it, we crossed the main hwy for the Ohiwa Harbour Rd., which is a magic little road snaking it’s way just above the waterline back to the hwy a little further up.

A good spot to see the active volcano of White Island smoking away in the Bay of Plenty.


Goodie_NZ12_0065.JPG




Goodie_NZ12_0064.JPG




Goodie_NZ12_0067.JPG




NZ_Nov12_0203.JPG




NZ_Nov12_0206.JPG




TimC_0054.JPG
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
The commute up the coast and through the surprisingly big town/ small city of Tauranga is a pain...it’s a couple of hours that feel like a whole day.


Dropping down the Kaimai-Range into the flatlands, the sun’s out, temps are up and the roads are quick. There are some thermal springs in Matamata, the ‘Hobbit-Town”....and just out of town and on the way to have a dip, we trip over one of those lucky finds that occasionally pop up in your travels.


The place looks too inviting to go past....and man, are we welcomed with open arms or what?? It just feels like coming home!!:lao

Karen and Terry, the owners, are not just the most welcoming and friendliest folk you could imagine, but they’ve got a thing for motorcyclists, that much is obvious.....and when Terry’s garage door opens, you know why!!

Enfields everywhere!! Enough said.

The whole vibe of the place is such that it makes you just about feel guilty to only be able to stay one night....this is a place, and those are folks, you want to stay with for weeks...and then go back only a few days later again...and again.


http://towerroadmotel.co.nz/


The thermal pools down the road aren’t bad either....and there’s a huge waterfall not far beyond those....one can easily spend a few days here.

Matamata is also quite a lively little place with everything one could need, and let’s not forget the backdrop of the Kaimai Range just another few k’s off.

Bernard reckons it’s a lucky find, too....but doesn’t stay for the Pizza, nicking home, which is barely an hour away.

A HUGE THANKS for coming along, mate....it’s been great...AGAIN!!
:clap::clap:
And once more I tip me hat to the little XT and shake my head in wonder...

NZ_Nov12_0211.JPG



See you for the next one....or for that “Birtles Conquers Tassie” run...whatever, it won’t be long. Already looking forward to it now....:so


Terry and TimSF returning from the Pizza-run...just look at THAT SMILE!!
:thumbs::thumbs:
I reckon that preacher in Opotiki and the run in the Enfield-Chair have done it: the Victory hasn’t got a hope in hell. Hallelujah, Brother!!


Goodie_NZ12_0068.JPG



Goodie_NZ12_0069.JPG



TimC_0059.JPG



This is knee-slapping good!!

NZ_Nov12_0212.JPG



Karen and Terry....THANKS guys, that was awesome!!:cdle:cdle



Into the Coromandel tomorrow....


Oh...and...welcome to the forum, Terry (Wild Irish) :chug::chug:

If you want, stick a link/ post/ story into the "Commercial Listings" here.
http://www.austouring.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=93
 
Who the hell would build a public pool in a tiny primary school yard...in MOTU??

Standard NZ Education Dept primary school pool. When I was a kid EVERY (I mean every) school had one exactly that same as that. We used to spend most of our school holidays at the school pool and btw they were not heated. I don't think most of them exist any longer.
 

Kiwikev

Getting the hang of it
Standard NZ Education Dept primary school pool. When I was a kid EVERY (I mean every) school had one exactly that same as that. We used to spend most of our school holidays at the school pool and btw they were not heated. I don't think most of them exist any longer.
yes,, every school i attended had a swiming pool...
i dont know if they excist now either
its been a long time since i visited a school.
come on pete with the coro pics
want to see if anyone has feed my cat yet?
 
Hi Guys
We've really enjoyed your blog, fantastic pics. We always enjoy feedback from distant travellers (especially motorcyclists). The shed full of Enfields is planned to become a Classic Motorcycle Experience, where you stay and ride 1 day loops on some quiet back country roads. We're only 100 miles coast to coast in our part of the North Island so we can point you to some interesting sights.
Was great meeting a few of you and hearing of your adventures around NZ and would welcome any return visits.
Safe Riding.
Terry (wild irish) and Karen:chug:
 
N

nicola_a

Guest
Pete,
A breathtakingly SPECTACULAR collection of pictures. Like a fairytale.
So glad you guys had such a magnificent trip.
Nicola
 

asphalt

Tassie...where tyres are flat and nights are long
Hi Guys
We've really enjoyed your blog, fantastic pics. We always enjoy feedback from distant travellers (especially motorcyclists). The shed full of Enfields is planned to become a Classic Motorcycle Experience, where you stay and ride 1 day loops on some quiet back country roads. We're only 100 miles coast to coast in our part of the North Island so we can point you to some interesting sights.
Was great meeting a few of you and hearing of your adventures around NZ and would welcome any return visits.
Safe Riding.
Terry (wild irish) and Karen:chug:
Hello Terry and Karen,
a day full of surprises and beautiful memories in Your Tower Road Motel, Matamata.
Thanks for everything. :clap:
I'm back in NZ in 2014 and will certainly go in for a visit .

Greetings from Vienna/Europe
Hans
 

robbieb

Tassie Daddy
that tunnel wouldn't be called the Earnslaw by any chance???

Don't worry, Nev, I got it, even if everyone else didn't!:bs

TSS Earnslaw = Tight Squeeze Shute...

Why you guys didn't just spin the bikes round on the side stands I don't know, but I wasn't there :)() so I don't know just how tight it was.

Good thing the tide wasn't in, in contrast to the good ship of the Lake Wakatipu, where a higher tide would have helped...

http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3990&page=21

Looks great, guys, sounds like plenty of fun was had on another stumper of a trip

:chug:
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Standard NZ Education Dept primary school pool. When I was a kid EVERY (I mean every) school had one exactly that same as that. We used to spend most of our school holidays at the school pool and btw they were not heated. I don't think most of them exist any longer.

Of course they're not heated...if they would be, the one Motu would only have 8" of ice through winter :cold: Still, the Motu Pool is slkightly different. Might've started as a school-pool, now it's a public pool with extra-entrance etc. from a 6-car carpark along the road.
The thing even had a wind-out pool-blanket:eek:.....looks like the Kiwi's knew how to squander some "stimulus-package" waaaayy before the Aussies :doh:


yes,, every school i attended had a swiming pool...
i dont know if they excist now either
its been a long time since i visited a school.
come on pete with the coro pics
want to see if anyone has feed my cat yet?



Have a feed of your cat?.....Yeah mate, it might've been in those spring rolls.:wink:
Coromandel coming up.


Hi Guys
We've really enjoyed your blog, fantastic pics. We always enjoy feedback from distant travellers (especially motorcyclists). The shed full of Enfields is planned to become a Classic Motorcycle Experience, where you stay and ride 1 day loops on some quiet back country roads. We're only 100 miles coast to coast in our part of the North Island so we can point you to some interesting sights.
Was great meeting a few of you and hearing of your adventures around NZ and would welcome any return visits.
Safe Riding.
Terry (wild irish) and Karen:chug:


Hey, you 2! :D

You've really got a spectacular place there....but in the end it's always the people.
We'll be back! :tu
 
Top Bottom