The wind picks up as we leave Invercargill, something they are all accustomed to down in this part of the world. We take the Southern Scenic Route and it's very pleasant to be on this road again, taking in the views of the coastline and the weather patterns. A stop at the Orepuki Beach Cafe [...]
The ride from Queenstown south along Lake Wakatipu is nice but busy until we turn off to Gore, the alternate route to Invercargill. We are still a group of five as we stop in Gore for lunch where immediately we are struck by the strong Southland accent! They roll their 'r's and talk about everything [...]
The Paekakariki Hill takes us from Paraparaumu to Wellington and the water has calmed since the huge storm the day before which wreaked havoc to Westland and the top of the South Island - our Cook Strait crossing will be fine. Paraparaumu from Paekakariki Hill with Kapati Island to the left We meet [...]
We ride south of Napier to Havelock North along more of the beautiful Hawke's Bay and take a side road through intense farming to the Patangata Pub but it's "too early" for a beer! This is a rateable bike road and we pass a bike group taking shade from the growing heat. The tar is [...]
So what did Captain Cook think when he sailed into New Zealand for the first time at Poverty Bay... "The land on the Sea-Coast is high with steep cliffs, and back inland are very high mountains...the face of the Country is of a hilly surface and appears to be clothed with wood and Verdure" Captain [...]
Kiwi's are impressed with the summer they've had so far and we are blessed to be part of it. We leave Whakatane with perfect riding temperatures and less traffic after Ohope Beach. The beaches start to face north as we head out around East Cape so the white sands have changed to smooth rocks, the [...]
The Christmas holiday period in New Zealand is a busy time on the roads and at the beaches. We had decided before we left that we'd relax and spend this time with family and friends. Over the 30 years of living in Australia, we've finally broken the spell of two-week stays and are able to [...]
We have been planning for years to have Christmas Day with Paul’s sister’s family and bring our kids together so 2017 saw it happen. Janine and Marcus have removed their old bach (N.Z. word for holiday house) from the block and replaced it with a new dwelling complete with all the whistles and bells of [...]
We are eager to hit the road again after two nights in Raglan. Our bodies are gradually adjusting to life back on the road, along the with the aches and creaks that go along with camping. There are a lot of foreign tourists in the campground and around town, even all the hospitality staff are [...]
It’s been 18 months since BikesnBeers arrived back in Australia from riding round the world and we still pinch ourselves that we really did it. We sat on the couch like stunned mullets for several months, caught up on sleep, gradually started on house maintenance and totally fell in love with our cold beer fridge [...]
