After being made redundant from work on the 6th of April and unsuccessfully looking in the North Island for another job, the decision was made to accept our sons invitation to stay with him and look for work in Southland. The only issue being getting everything down there, furniture, car, bike etc. A small logistical nightmare.

Step one was getting rid of everything we don’t need or is too expensive to move and sending everything we were keeping South on a pallet. Step 2 was working out where to stay and how big a day to run and finally step 3 was doing it.

We left straight after Mrs DV finished work on Tuesday on the road at 2.30pm. We headed initially to Hamilton for the night.

8am the next morning we headed out, we had a plan we were following but it was largely dependent on ongoing weather reports, as we had been tracking a storm due to hit the South Island Thursday or Friday and we were trying to avoid that.

Heading down SH4 to Bulls we met every kind of weather imaginable, rain, sun, freezing cold to hot, typical kiwi weather. Stopped regularly on the way down we were targeting 2pm at Midnight and Toplessmx5′s abode. Plenty of fabulous scenery we saw along the way also, the Raukawa Falls was a peaceful spot and the many other photo ops made this bit of the trip alone worthwhile.

As always Casa Del Midnight was a welcome stop along with the fire burning on the hearth to thaw the bones, the last bit had gotten a little chilly. Shortly after TMX5 arrived home from work and the laughter stepped up another gear. A very sober evening was had as we had decided to hit the road again at midnight as the weather was looking terrible for Friday, this meant catching the 3am ferry. Dinner as always was awesome (thanks guys) and Mrs DV managed a couple of hours sleep in the chair after Jackie headed to bed (she had an early start next day).

Midnight we hit the road again the sky had cleared and the road washed clean Wellington beckoned. With thanks and handshakes etc we were off again. Our big concern was tiredness so we had decided to stop regularly for smoke breaks and to allow us to have a chat. Our other concern we discovered was linehaul trucks, damn they move

We made the ferry easy enough, tying the bike down went well as I had advice from Midnight on the easiest way to do it. We headed upstairs for food and some sleep, it had been a long day. One thing I did learn is there is no way to sleep comfortably on the couches they provide on the Bluebridge Ferries, next time I am on the floor. But I did manage a couple of hours and Jo got an hour I was woken up at one stage by a bright light thinking we had arrived I sat up to see Jo laughing and pointing a camera in my direction, so I lay back down for a bit more.

We landed in Picton at 6.15 and by the time we dismounted and hooked up it was 6.30 and we were off again. The day dawned beautifully and fuel was called for at Blenheim, we had allowed for fuel at Blenheim, Kaiapoi and Dunedin, I had been averaging 300K’s a tank.

As the sun climbed we got into a steady rythym stopping regularly for a photo and a cig. We were aiming at Monkey Bay for breakfast (North side of Kaikoura) as we had been to the Robbie Burns for lunch on a previous South Island trip. Awesome is the only word that can describe the view of Mt Lyford from the restaurant, and the breakfast was good too. The road was in good condition and we had been making steady progress south not fast but touring legally as this was the longest drive Jo had ever taken on so we were travelling at her speed with me tucked in behind her (we did learn when travelling with a car and bike this is the easiest way to do it).

Surprisingly with the fantastic weather we had we saw very few bikes on the road, admittedly it was a Thursday but I fully expected there to be a rash of sore throats in the South Island as the day and roads were brilliant.

On we went burning up K’s until Christchurch it was time to find caffeine, therefore I wanted a Wild Bean and we knew there was one somewhere on the south side of CHCH. Finally we got to Rolleston and there it was, I was hanging bad

Topping ourselves up and emptying out on we went. All the time we couldn’t get over the views we were treated too, as the air temperature dropped and the day got on all I could think of was bring on summer as the roads were just begging to be ridden. Even though that was the case we still had several hundred k’s to go before we hit Invercargill and as I said it was getting colder.

Darkness started to fall around the time we were landing in Dunedin, and by the time we got out the other end it was dark, this created our only moment for Jo as she missed a 100Km an hour sign and upset a few cars, not to worry I was seriously impressed at how well she had done so far. Tiredness was a bit an issue also for me mainly as I had been in the saddle for a long time, and I was starting to get cold (hands and feet).

We stopped at Balclutha to let Optimus Prime go past (damn that truck was lit up) and plans for the final leg were made. To avoid the trqaffic we would use the Presidential Highway (Clinton to Gore) as most people head through the Old Coach Road (about 20 minutes quicker)

The temperature had dropped considerably and my visor kept fogging up so I was riding with it cracked open and this caused my face to start getting numb

Finally at around 9.15 we arrived in Invercargill, we had been on the road and water since 12am Thursday (1200K’s) in total we had covered 1790K’s. Ridden/driven the length of the country, the only weather we hadn’t actually been hit with was hail and snow, the bike ran like a dream as did the Rav I was most impressed with the fact that I could walk at the end of it and if necessary I could have hit the road again the next day and started back the other way (but I did enjoy the sleep in the next morning).

Now a month later we are still looking for work but have had a number of interviews and some good leads. The decision to move this way was the right one as the people down here are fantastic.

I look forward to signing up a few riders as we get more established here in the deep South and over time managing to hook up with the Northerners again

Mr & Mrs DV (ex Whangarei, Now Invercargill)