The beginning of a 4000km journey, stage 1 &2  Akl – Wellington – Picton – Buller
Morning arrives and its a race to get the gear on and vacate the premises, we have places to go and see.
A spritely trip down to hamilton and a meet up with M109rider and the Bank Manager, the first of many many caffine stops. Cliff & Sue look like they have converted the rear of the 9 to a goldwing, Im sure they actually included the kitchen sink , Sue seems to be sitting in a wrap around arm chair, with her comfy gel seat and foot boards hastilly fitted for the trip.
Well wouldnt you expect it, we set off, found the main road headed south and then prompty u turned and went back to the coffee shop…somebody….. not saying who, left her expensive eye glasses on the ground, prompty retreived undamaged and finally on the track south.
A comfy trip to Te Awamutu where we filled up at the servo and set off once again, the garmin had been programmed to take all scenic routes and so we headed away with a quick look in the mirror to see they were following and off we went. only to find within 100 meters we had aready lost our wingman.. I said to Lo well he knows his way around this neck of the woods so we will catch  up somewhere. so on we trucked, a phone call told us they were at some 2bit town and we thought ok, they took a shortcut we will see em soon. but no, we never saw the 2bit town and we reached Otorohonga and again phoned to find they were a little behind us on some main road waiting for us.. a short wait and the roar of the 9 was heard around a km away.. so once regrouped we set off around the west side of the mountain, just a brilliant run too, great weather and roads pretty good for the north, and on we trucked at a good pace to Bulls to check in at the NzMcCg Central Region Checkpoint, sample some fine coffee at Les & Jackie’s Country Estate.
Turtle was also their waiting for us, seems he stayed at Hotel Midnight, and escorted us south towards Plimmerton where he peeled off, we blasted south to Porirua where we peeled off to stay with family in Tawa and the 9 trucked on to Newlands and the motel. (I understand, that in true cruiser form they missed the turn and found their way to Wellington before returning to their motel.:-)
We had a pretty hectic evening with family get togethers (Whitby, Auckland, Brisbane, Tawa) and dinner out a local restaraunt which put the first huge dent in the wallet, one of many to follow.
5am next morning and we are once again loading the bike, geared up and off to Newlands to find our cobbers, (who were also up and busy) then off to the ferry terminal for a 7am check in. Parked in the bikers lane by the Brown Shed and waited patiently as other bikers arrived to join us, chewed the fat and finally got boarding instructions.
Once in the hold, we ripped out our tiedowns, secured the bikes and headed up to the upper decks to find food and drinks.
A great crossing all in all, flat as glass really, up on the observation deck for a looksee and some brisk sea air then down to more comfortable lodgings below. Sailing down the sounds was picturesque as usual, and a few Pics up on deck followed the general hillarity.
Docking went smoothly and we retrieved the bikes, exited the boat, music blaring, the 9 reving and they knew we had departed. down into Picton for some fuel and our south Island cruise began in earnest.
Heading west around lunchtime to Havelock was a very scenic, flat, and good paced trip, eating up the kilometers through beautiful vineyards and farmlets, small towns just whipped by as we continued to nelson, where we floated in with engines purring from long highspeed slalems, locals all turned to the street as we decellerated into town, a quick cuircut of the town centre and we parked in the middle for a stretch and a bite to eat.
Pit stops completed we once again headed around town for a final look, cranked up the pace and headed east to the Buller Gorge, wow, what a sight, slipping into smooth motion of sweepers, like a pair of eagles soaring in unison not too many meters apart deep into the gorge, over sparking rivers and creeks, through tree and bush covered ravines we roared on, just amazed at every bend at the new vista presented to us, my eyes just couldnt stay focused in any direction.
One second we were dropping like stones hundreds of feet, the next roaring higher and higher, there was no blue or pink pill that could have given us better highs. just stunning vistas.

Buller to Hokatika.
The ride from Upper Buller to Lower Buller just continued to impress with every turn, the skies remained clear, we were toasty as in our gear and the roar of the bikes throught the cuttings, canyons and hillclimb sections was just awsome, the thump of the 1500 & 1800 big pistons just music to the ears, bouncing off the rock. it just enticed a twist and an extra twist, we made brilliant time, now in a groove, both bikes tuned to each other, gear change to gear change, engines singing in the afternoon stillness.
Once clear of the Gorges the vista opened up and we once again stepped up the pace, until my mighty new Garmin Sat Nav decided a shortcut was in order, it seemed strange at the time but I thought hell this is great .. a short cut, so we turned off highway 69 and headed around a nice country road, passed a farmer or two pootling along minding there own business, wondering what these two cruisers were doing in there private domain… anyhow, 10 mins later we get to a sign that says Highway 69, clever I thought, we cut some miles, turned back on 69 and looked at the road thinking , hmmm, familiar looking territory,, Lo said, hmmm  that was interesting…. and bugger me we came o the same side road and once again the Garmin said TURN LEFT…… by this time Lo and I were cracking up so hard were were in tears.. so we put on the left indicator to wind up the following 9. but they had already clicked also and were themselves, have to stop for a change of underwear because of all the laughter in their helmets.. needless to say the next 10 kilometers we were cracking up in intercoms making all sorts of comments about the Garmins sense of Humour… must ask Garmin HQ just who programmed that blasted Map..
Anyhow we cracked on and headed south along the coast, the roads were just remarkable, all four of us could not get over the great condition of the roads, bugger all traffic, and somehow the road builders in the mainland actually know how to put correct camber on the corners, which I might add made the bullies just fly.. the only striking thing on the coast road was the one lane bridges, that just appeared at the end of every long straight and just after a corner where fierce down changing and engine breaking must have sent every tree shake beside us. to top it all off they have this habit of putting railway tracks down the centre of the one lane bridge, so its rather disconcerting thinking a train might appear in your sights at 100 and ^&*()_{} KPH coming towards you, apart from the fact that those railway tracks dont like bike tyres..
Hokatika came up fast and the Garmin restored some of our confidence when it found the motel right where it should be.
Sue being a ex Local of this fine town, promptly told us it was a easy few feet walk to the local pub and after a quick unpack and refresher we walked into town, on and on and on, we now are considered locals, having walked every inch of it and wore out our soles. but Hey can Sue find good eateries, Stumpers was great food and by the time that was consumed we were all for finding a taxi, plane or Stagecoach back to the motel, instead we struggled on foot, planted ourselves in the middle of the town sign and took a pic.. see gallery..
http://www.nzcruisergroup.co.nz/e107_plugins/coppermine_menu/thumbnails.php?album=80

Hokatika to Haast to Queenstown
We set off fairly early this morning, quite a chill in the air, dried off the Bikes with some towels we found lying around headed off to Stumpers for a big breaky, (seemed to become a normal event with my mate M109rider, two of everything and caffine fix. BM & Lo settling for more healthy food,Then after dropping  off the Bank Manager for her to catch up with mates in town, the three of us headed back to Shanty town, we were a little late as we passed it yesterday. Rolled in, parked up, bought our tickets and went for a wander around,
A typical old 1800-1900′s mining town as one would expect and have seen in many countries. Went for a blast on their steam engine, and on the way back Lo was into panning for some gold, needless to say, it produced a few grains which was popped into a souveneir bottle, then she promptly marched into the gold store and purchased herself a small necklace peice that held some raw gold in a chamber (without the chain as it was not up to her standard) and popped it on her 18 carat gold chain she brought along for the occassion I suspect. So, gold card suitably dented we finished site seeing and remounted the bikes for a blast back to Hokatika to collect Sue, and on with the southern route.
The roads stretching on for miles, stopping here and there to admire the views and scenery, finally arriving at Franz Joseph where the setting was just like a swiss village, quaint and snow capped mountain in the rear, The Pumpkin Soup and cappachino on the menu was just unmissable,
Down the road a few meters were a bunch of Ducati’s having a breather and trying to straighten their bodies out, heading done to Haast as well as it happens, Lo by this time has lost her Cell Phone so Im in deep doggy do, because ofcourse its the blokes fault, so the pillon aint a happy camper for a Km or two until she gets in a happier state of mind.
So we set off ahead of the Duc’s and carry on to Fox, turning off to the Fox Glacier Access road for a close looksee at the ice. , Hell lucky we went, it wont be their next time I venture that way, its slowly receeding up the mountain. of course there is tons of camper vans here, and they kick up a bit of a dust bowl  heading back out the gravel road access road to hook up to the hiway again.
Onwards along great roads at a good pace when we are passed by Ducs that fly past at warp 9, we work our way down to Haast to the World Heritage Motel, that is a world disaster as far as a comfort goes,quite  apart from the flying attack squadrons circling the room.
We hooked into the Net and had a quick surf to do some site maintenance and off to dinner around the corner. this one donkey town only consists of accomodation eatery and  a servo (closed early) so we wait till morning to refuel.
Early next morning we refuelled, retraced our steps a klick so Sue could video the long bridge and then hit the haast pass, a little overcast/foggy/grey but roads reasonably dry, save for the huge arrows they paint in the middle of the lane to keep the idiot tourists on the correct side of the road, but they aint a friend to bikers thats for sure. nothing like decellerating at the end of the straight, laying her over only to find a huge white patch in your ride line. particularly early morning when its frosty. The pass was a great run, and eventually we opened up onto the top and lakes appeared huge, blue and flat, the roads skirting around em are just made for cruisers, and we stretched the throttle cables a little, and rounding a long sweeper over a rise at only a little over the legal limit dead ahead is a tourist driving towards me in my lane, filming the lake with not a care in the world, needless to say I swapped lanes real quick and horn locked on flew passed with blue language streaming from my helmet, they didnt correct themselves, just carried on.. the 9 followed seconds later with the same effect. bloody foreigners. A fuel stop  and on around the lake to Wanaka, where we hauled up for coffee and a snack, photo op and again on the road towards the Crown Range, climbing up was spectacular, but the sight when you hit the top at any speed leaves the heart stopped for the next few minutes, while you take in firstly the sheer drop off the side of the road, a kilometer or so down it seems, the vista is spectacular, and the road quickly drops hundreds of feet in ever decreasing tight twists and turns, the girls are holding their breath once back on the flat we hightail it for Arrowtown.
Once again we choose our own parking on the lawn of the Museum, (always in the best viewing spot I can say we have illegally parked in every town of the south I think. but it keeps the locals amused admiring the bikes.
We head off on foot to explore and have a snack and drinks. Lo once again heads to the gold shops, Jewelery and Sweet stores and anything that looks like excercise for the goldcard, Not sure what damage was done here, Im afraid to ask.
A few hours later and its mounted up and heading for Queenstown and Checkin.

Queenstown to Invercargill, Bluff. 
Well after a night of relaxing in a great accomodation,  its a pretty early start again to load up the bikes, and head off into qtown for a big breakfast at “The Garage” we had heard so much about, the garmin said it was here but we cant find it. around and around we rode circling the block only to find its down a wee lane behind a building site.
The Normal 2+2+2+2+2+2 eggs bacon sausage hashbrowns tomato and mushroom (well we coudnt get cliffs engine started unless he had one of these, I just joined him to keep him company ofcourse Sue with her huge bowl of fresh fruit and Lo sensibly eating toast & jam, we loaded up on caffine before cranking up and heading back  down south.
Not a lot between here and Invers town wise, lots of wee villages that we flew through, until Lumsden where a drop of water landed on the screen, hell its rain, new to us in the south so far.Still we honked on, it wasnt much to speak of, just enough to wet the road, eventually we descended on Invercargill, had a cruise around town and then went to check in at the Bella Vista Invers. a nice enough motel, quite comfy, but the hosts were a bit on the surly side, not helpful at all bike wise. We saddled up again and headed down to Bluff and Lands End. took the obligatory shots to prove we were there, went up to the lookout, back to Landsend to find the coffee shop, pick up our certificates, had hot  scones , jam & Cream, and ofcourse coffee,. Met a couple on a ST Honda also travelling and a silly beggar on a pushbike doing what we were doing.. geez whats wrong with a motor m8… Back to Invers
Sue and Ciff headed off to see family a few kms out of town, and got poured on on the way back, we went supermarketing and took home TV dinners as well as real coffee (Mmmm Macona)
We also hunted down the Worlds fastest Indian at Hayes Hardware, plenty of old bikes, some quite a memory lane for me as they were most of the bikes I had ridden in the 60′s,  Veloccette , Ariel Square 4 1000cc, Indian Scout & Sport, and and some other custom built bikes of old, including the one and only fastest Indian, and some of his earlier racers, I actually met Burt in 1965-1966, he could only be described as an excentric fellow at best, cranky was how some described him back then. but determined for sure, Mr hayes senior (of the Hardware store) was a bike builder back then also and worked with Burt on different projects. Hence the link between the two.
A decent nights sleep until 4am when the howling wind woke me up, got up looked out the window and its blowing a storm, the bike cover is now draped over a 4wd, and is hanging there by a thread, hooked on the wing mirror, So a leap into my wets, I roared downstairs, to retreive the cover which is sopping wet, stretched it out on the carpet and dried it off, back to bed where Lo woke u to find a naked fella in a wet oversuit suit coming at her. Ooops.. not a sight to wake up too. Anyhow a few hours later we saddled up,  and as Cliff & Sue hadnt been to see the Indian we took em back to view em, and Cliff also had to buy some Rivets for his leather Chaps… (dont ask, I think it was for some kinky games at night We all got some Indian type souveneers ofcourse.

Oamaru to Ashburton via the long track  PICTURES  in the gallery under Blvd & NZ Cruise

Next morning saw us packing up and saddling up for a run inland, decided we would do the long route to Ashburton, so heading west we came across Duntoorn and Kurow where we stopped for breaky, seems the owners are ex Westys from Auckland , as normal  the boys had HUGE Breakfasts 2+2+2+2 & caffine injections, whilst the girls ate a little more sensibly, only a little mind you An hour later we were heading on into the Dams (Avamore was one I think that we inspected close up) the roads running around them were just magnificent, Benmore in the distance, beaut sweepers, great surfaces and fast roads.
On and on the road climbed and weaved eventually to Omarama and then Twizel, where we refueled and had a quick look around and headed out through Simons Pass and then Lake Tekapo, man what a vision, the mountain blue of icy water, the vision of mt Cook in the background, capped with snow, a huge lake that just swept on and on. through Burkes Pass to Fairlie, where we stopped for Fuel and Food. Wonders never cease, a free internet setup at the coffee bar, so I availed myself and did a little Site maintenance before a bit of food and caffine.
Leaving here we turned left and out through Allendale and on though the Beautiful Valley (aptly named) and onto Geraldine, or last leg back to the main highway Rangitata, then on to Ashburton.
Checked into the motel, emptied a fly spray can into the place (1 zillion flies) and left to go to the Zuki dealer to regisiter with the southners for the rally, picked up our rego pack, and Lo purchased a gold plated shirt,  seems she paid twice what she could have at the rally, not impressed.
The Locals all seemed intent on taking pics of our bikes, seems they aint used to bling and mods.
We then shot back to the motel, caught up with mates from the last rally, and found a lost soul who’s booking had been lost and no rooms anywhere in town. fortunately the BM & m109rider had a spare bedroom so took him in, whilst setting out to convert him to NZMCCG and deciding exactly what he should spend his hard earned cash on bling wise. Sorry Ken m8, but you get mixed up with this lot and its bling forever
The girls wandered into town to buy goodies to knock up a communal meal, we had cans left over from the previous night in our panniers and Ken went and obtained more, so a long night ensued, and much hilarity. before we all crawled into bed

Ashburton to Hanmer Springs & Bully Rally 2009,
Well its Rally day, so we packup our gear, load up the bikes and head off into town to find a eatery, Would you believe at 7am everything is shut but some unfortunate restauranteur is setting up his place so we descend on him like a starving horde, well 5 or six of us anyhow, he apologises for not yet being open so we place our usual orders, the boys 2+2+2+2 and the girls a little more sensibly. soon further hungry bullys arrive and the odd local punter, and the place is filling up. So, inner man fed we head off to the local bikeshop for the meet, many bikes are arriving early so its a general chat and mutual admiration of bikes, A coffee or two and finally its time for the briefing and mount up,
The crowd from south of Oamaru have arrived, registered riders and plenty more unregistered who are just coming along for the ride, so a mighty roar as bikes crank up and pull out into a queue heading out of town, heading west toward the mountains we tootled along at a quiet pace, too quiet for many of us, hardly cracking 100kph most of the time, Strangely the group is spread out for blasted kilometers. We had been told by Jeff Marshall that the route was good and no known roadworks, well it soon proved the southerns dont run the route beforehand, because we ran into seven or eight sets that had been ongoing or some time, eventually after a very slow ride we arrived at Amberly, our first stop at 180kms, surprise surprise we have lost half the riders,well eventually they turn up from another direction, having turned off some where,  how you can loose a bunch at that speed seems impossible but they did.
From last years rally experience where every intersection no matter how small were marshalled and riders waited for tail end charlie to turn up, and petrol station stops were organised like clock work with girls on pumps with notepads, this affair was not in the same class at all, the mobil service station fellow at Amberley sat in his chair moaning about ’bloody bikes’ in his forecourt, and his kid had to encourage him to go serve at the counter, (his response, they can bloody wait) needless to say one or two bikers read him his parentage First sight of poor service we had really come across, all in all the southerners seemed a great lot.
Onwards we set again waiting for roadworks etc to let us through and finally made our way to Hanmer where we were rushed to the meet spot for a group photo with a group that wasnt there yet (the Northern Contingent). An hour or so and they (most) turned up, with a tail end filtering in, in bits and bobs, notably absent were the NZCG riders, who straggled in right at the end, having dropped off for petrol. finally more “Group” photo’s and in to the Event Centre for nibblies (lunch) and a drink or two.
Finally time to check in, unload, freshen up and back to the event for 4:30, few more nibbles and drinks, some crazy Basil & Manuel type entertainment, and around 6-6:30pm into the dining hall. the Meal service was probably its biggest let down, 2:5hours to get fed (our table in the last leg), and the quality was poor. But the company ofcourse was great.
Entertainment ran most of the night Basil -Manuel) and later we get into prize giving, if our guys had of put their bikes up for the Mod Comps we would have wiped the floor but most were not interested, Certainly B,,,s Project Black would have been the most impressive, one interesting 9 was all chrome, but other wise most were not heavily modded.

The M90 which Big Dave (Kiwirider) was riding left me a little flat, the pastelly blue was just not my cup of tea, and it just looks like a lightweight 9, ( a few kgs heavier at 328kg I think)  apparently according to Big Dave it goes very quick and he gave it a pretty good rep.  but it has the nose I dislike so that was that. I think if you saw it flash past you would say there goes a M109r, its cheaper than the 9 so it could have good appeal to many, and with a newly developed 1500 should crank along very well.

Anyhow the night drew on, a few of our guys won a few prizes, Kathy had to give some sob story (which she seemed very practiced at tears flowing as she related her story of only being allowed one pair of shoes in the luggage when one of our Male riders brought 7 pair with him ..

Cliff won a prize for his M109 number plate, I won a prize for knowing the south island ( well a bit of it anyway ;-)
Looking at the pics that BD took of the rally the NZCG  riders featured pretty well. Mind you we do have a large contingent of Boulevard riders here.
We retired to our rooms, us to partake of a spa while most of the rest of the NZCG partook of a ‘few’ more drinks into the night, well into the wee hours by the sound of it .

Hanmer Springs -Kaikoura -Picton – Wellington -Manuwatu
The organisers told us that those heading to the ferry had to breakfast at 7am and depart 8am whilst the rest heading south were approx an hour later, so up early again, load up in pitch black, not a light in sight in this complex. off to breakfast, back to bikes, check our load now that its light, and mount up. the Leader for this leg set off and ran up to 110-115 first up and we thought, cool, this will be more enjoyable, well we spoke too soon because we then ended up running at 80kph some  times hitting 102 for a few feet. Well by the time we got to Kaikoura the garmin said we had averaged 83kph for the trip on good open road with only one or two roadworks (mud works actually) So after filling up the NZCG riders decided to head on out on our own ahead of the rest, as we travelled out of town I noticed in my rear view mirror that we had gained a big bunch at the back, seems they too were keen to cruise, so a spritely run down the Kaikoura coast to Blenheim, just brilliant coastal road, a little breezy in places but otherwise majic, came across a couple of HP’s who didint bother us, so on to Picton, fueled up and rode up to the ferry boarding queue , chatted with all the riders who had latched on to us and finally boarded the ship. strapped down the bikes and headed for the bar and some comfy seats. (the bully group finally arrived quiet some time after we did and joined us aboard.
M109rider had had a peep at his rear tyre as he had a little problem trying to get the 9 around corners on this leg, well it looks like all our kilometres finally chewed his back tyre out, feathered at the edges is probably a good description, our bikes had so much weight on the rear luggage rack it was like carrying a 2nd pillion, and the bikes had a habit of lifting the front off the deck accellerating out of the corners. this put undue load on the rear. hence no tred, so we set about talking to zuki shop people to see if we could source a metz 240, some hope exisited with Wgtn M/c…
Chatted for some time, had a few bites to eat, ran into Iceman and his lady Lisa, always a great pair to talk to, full of life and living. Some of the crew had a bit of shuteye , in chairs, on floors .. well anywhere  actually.
The straits lived up to their history and put on a bit of a show, which had many passenger sitting in the centre puking their hearts out into their sick bags. it was a mess and very strong smelling Found a couple of dutch tourists who were looking for info on the north so I spent half an hour chatting in my very best dutch , then finally settled for a little tour around the top decks and observation deck, certainly a lot of very green people stuck in all sorts of corners, the swell seemed to be running a few metres so the Kaitaki was digging her nose and shovelling it back.
Finally into the heads and quiet of Wgtn Harbour, where we docked, down to the bikes, (all still standing) and unlashed, packed and rode off the ferry.
Cliff & Sue decided to stay the night in Wellwood so they could try for a tyre in the morning, the rest of us headed north, good weather too, and I left our lot heading up Himatangi to Bulls whilst I exited right for Palmerston North and a comfy night at the family abode, Lo enjoyed a couple of hours of professional massage, and then a reasonably early night.

Manuwatu Woodville Hastings Napier Taupo
Well its coming close to the end of our trip, the last few legs and its done,
We had some hard descisions to make today, one the weather up the east cape looks a little suss and I dont want to take our guys on a really long twisty run in crap weather, Ive managed 3600kms incident free and I aim to keep it that way, plus my riding buddies M109rider & the bank Manager are stuck in wellywood and not having much joy getting a tyre, and the weather is crap down there for them too. Id much prefer to finish this wee leg up the cape with them along, hate to complete it without em we have been cruising side by side for so many kms
So we head off to Bulls to the NZCG Central Stage Coach Depot at Midnights, Les & Jackie have once again put up a few of our riders, fed em with their usual  top notch nosh and they are raring to go.
The group saddled up including Glove midnight & jackie Kevin Kathy Craig Paul and Lo & I and headed off to Sanson for fuel then on to Ashurst and Woodville, stopped in Dannevirke where Slider decided to take us on a detour, and after a good cackle on the side of the road we set off for Waipukurau and a Morning tea stop.
Contacted M109rider to see if he was having any luck, but not good news, so we hiked on to Hastings and Napier where we had a lunch stop while we tried to round up Slider and Grey who were running around in circles trying to find us, eventually we had to run across a block or two to head em off (well you see they went ahead for a wee blast) they wernt lost… really
Regrouped & fed , we made the final descision to head to Taupo as Grey needed to get back north, so we set out across the napier taupo track, hell Id forgotten what such a great road this is, so very soon Lo and I were riding alone just carving the twisties through Te Puhui and on , we were just in bliss kissing the boards once or twice at 1.5 lightspeed, once over the summit  and onto the straights we buttoned back as it was a great speed trap area, on we trucked, slowing further and further awaiting the rest to regroup, hell I didnt realise we were quiet the quick, but man it was heaven.
Finally the 9;s roared up behind and we continued at a comfortable pace to Taupo.
Back to Freinds in taupo for coffee etc and finally to see off Grey on his way to Auckland, the rest of us set off to the bottle shop to pick up a couple of pickme ups & coke, then off to  Huka Village Resort, and booked a few Villas to unwind for the night,
We have earlier heard from M109rider that he is back on the road with his new tyre (just a stock Dunlop, not Metz unfortunately) and over the rimutukas in the pissing rain as far as Eketahuna where I redirected him west to the gorge and back up the main track to Taupo where we have reserved him a Villa & Spa.
Very comfortable place here, we have stayed here many times and whilst it aint the cheapest of places, its set in orchard like setting with carports, way off the roads,  Twin Double Room Villas rate at $225 a night, but they are two double bedrooms, plus a lounge capable of another foldaway, plus kitchen etc, so it could be quite cheap if you stuck a couple of couples per Villa and split the cost, anyway we negotiated our usual NZMCCG discount and got them for 165 per Villa and only one couple per villa so really spoilt, we had a few bevies at Kevins place, because he’s such a messy bugger we thought we would trash his place
We booked the restauraunt (onsite Restaraunt & Winery) for 8:30pm thinking that M109rider would get their just in time, then returned to our villas and leaped into spa baths.

8:20pm and the 9 of cliff & Sue roar in, having made record time and doubled his fuel consumption, dont know what that means ofcourse, but he doesnt remember the desert road at all
So a quick unload and we all head off  for a wander to the restaraunt for some fine food and wine/drinks, and once finihed there headed back to Kev’s to finish making a mess for him
Seems ya cant get an early night with these guys, when we finally crawled off to our villa Lo was so stuffed she went and had another spa bath (at 1am).

Taupo  Okororie Auckland
Late start this morning, we decided we had earned it so a wee lie in and then loaded up, I finally went for a walk around the villas to find Kev doing his housework, sweeping and cleaning, seems some one left a mess and he had to remove the evidence.

A quick run back into taupo for the usual big breakfasts and caffine and then back up to the Huka Falls for a foto op.. Heading North we made good time to Tirau where we exited right and made for the Okororie Pub, only a few other bikers here (some Ulysses riders on an extended run) had some refreshment and then headed up through Matamata and back to Auckland, riders peeling off until we were back on the shore.Speedo registered just over 4000kms, the bike was covered in bugs and poo,and looked decidedly tail heavy, first task was to unload all the gear, dumped it all inside, had a coffee, and reflected on our 12 days riding

Epilogue.
Firstly some observations gained throughout the ride.
You know Im as happy as a pig in mud riding by myself, but its a real buzz to share the experience with others, for any trip like this you need to have experienced and capable riders, who you know will be exactly where you expect them on the road around you, who anticipate well, and I would be happy riding with 2″ off my wing.
Cliff and Sue, are just such mates, skill to burn both as rider and pillion, reading road surfaces like an old pro, planning every manoeuver, it was a joy to watch them, every corner nailed with near perfect lines, and the companionship on the whole trip was second to none, We encountered every sort of road, some just pure bliss and some dangerous enough to kill the unwary, our speeds were not far off the legal for most of the trip, ok we had a spurt here and there where conditions allowed, but the Garmin tells me we averaged around 95kph over te whole trip  (up to the rally itself, then it dropped to 83kph and less average) no we didnt hit the wee towns at light speed it was just constant smooth cruising, corners not requiring much alteration of speed. The bikes performing perfectly, After adjusting our angles slightly to counteract the heavy rear and light front, it was easy riding. Our heads never stayed still, taking in every vista in every direction. stopping here and there to soak up the area and scenery. The C90T has to be the best Bully for cruising, nimble, tons of power, with a power band that has the most even band across right up to 6000rpm, I was tempted with the C109rt a couple mots ago when replacing the first C90T but the C90T won hands down again.
So M109rider (Cliff) and trusty pillion Bank Manager (Sue), thanks a million guys, this trip will be with us for ever, and it would not have been half as good without you both.
We laughed so much on and off the bikes that our sides still hurt

Roads,
Our southern brothers and sisters can be proud of the condition of most SI roads, if one thing impressed me (since my last big trip south) its the really good surfaces, good road design, & camber that actually leans the right way, Fellas, will you PLEASE send some of your roading guys up north to teach these nothern ones how its done. It was just so noticable after riding the north, and frankly it was a joy to cruise south. Ok some of your one lane bridges with a train track down the centre made us stand up and take notice after we hit the first one, but we were starting to look forward to em, decellerating with the bikes engine braking,  a hell of a roar into the corner, quick glance to check its clear and blast across.   I dont think we used the brakes at all except when we stopped for coffee
The few road works we did come across were mostly on the eastern side, and seemed to be mostly on the Rally route funniy enough  :-) (even though the breifing said roads were good

The Boulevard Rally
Really enjoyed the rally section of the trip, briliant company, great to catch up with so many of the NZCG riders, The rally organisation on the day ride wise, was well short of the 2008 rally, nowhere near as smooth, the Main Event meal was also below par from last years, slow and poor quality, but this event is about bikes and people and from that point of view it was brilliant, We caught up with many riders we aint seen since the last one and met many new ones so for us that was great.
I suspect the reason it wasnt quite  what last years was, came about because Rochelle from Zuki HQ was not as intimately involved, and ofcourse was not their due to her impending new arrival, I can still see her now at last years event fine tuning , ringing ahead, orchestrating everything as we rode. that lass is well organised.
Getting the NZCG riders back together on the way home was a blast,

Whats next..
well a plan is afoot to do another south island run over some long weekend (perhaps 4 days) akl-wgtn-nelson- kaikoura, meet with southern contingent, stay a night together somewhere, and then head back home.

Another thought is to cost out a Aussie trip, perhaps containering bikes to Brissy orMebourne and doing a bit of a cruise then recontainer and ship home, possibly a couple weeks, this would need long planning so people can plan well ahead, but firstly we will see how viable  it is..

Cheers, Johnny Flash (there in a flash )
Cruisers rule the highway & the universe