Starting Moto New Zealand: Mount Cook

I can’t believe it’s finally here. This moment has arrived after weeks of anticipation, excitement, nervousness, and wonder. Michael, the owner of the touring company Paradise Motorcycle Tours, lives on the North Island in Auckland and works with Garth, who is down here in Christchurch. Garth and I reviewed all the paperwork explaining that motorcycling is inherently dangerous; insurance doesn’t cover damage on unsealed (dirt) roads, and I would be covered by a liability of $2 million with a deductible of NZ$3750. I appreciate the relative strength of the American dollar, but I know at some point, the tide will change in the other direction. But at this moment in time, it’s a great time to see New Zealand!

With the paperwork and the motorcycle inspection behind me, Garth wishes me well, and it’s time to start packing the bike. I’ve got a rhythm that works for me with my Givi cases back home, but these cases are significantly smaller. I had to make some hard decisions on what I would carry and leave behind. As large as it was, the camera was coming with. Medical stuff had to go with. Heated gear had to go with. So, the significant variable was how many clothes I would take with me. I assumed there would be laundry facilities along the way that I could take advantage of mid-trip. Having access to laundry would more than halve the amount of clothes I needed to take.

I’m guessing I was about 20% over budget once I thinned everything out and rethinned everything out. The side cases weren’t getting any larger and my stuff wasn’t getting any smaller. With the smack of my hip on both sides, the side cases eventually gave way, and I was on the road!

Pulling up to the road from the hotel parking lot brought butterflies all over me. Many people asked, “How are you going to do riding on the wrong side of the road?” I remember my first trip to South Africa in college – a seasoned traveler told me to always call it the left side of the road – not the wrong side of the road. The right side is on the right side- its not better or worse than the left. It’s just the side that we’ve choose, to drive on in the States.

All that theory being said, I still had to let the clutch out and turn left against every instinct 40+ years behind the wheel and handlebars have taught me. I’d even done left handed riding in South Africa and Australia at length. Look, look again, look again, and look again even more – the I eased the clutch out and the bike rolled forward.

The adventure had begun. Today’s travels would bring me to Mount Cook – the tallest mountain in New Zealand.

I’m surprised how easy it was to adjust to left-handed driving, so I’m actually on the road. I generally followed those ahead of me. Left turns were small turns and right turns were wide turns. Roundabouts were a whole different challenge, especially ones with multiple lanes. Follow the person in front of you. Repeat: I hope the person in front of you is doing the same route.

This part of New Zealand was rich in agriculture—just outside Christchurch proper. For at least the first hour of the ride, I wandered through farming communities in vast open fields. As the road squiggled through the farmlands, I descended into Rakaia Gorge, my first major “thing” to see. I was hyper to see just about anything, so there was a little bit of OMG OMG OMG as the bike rolled forward.

The first major “thing” on the route was Rakaia Gorge. Highway 77 started to follow the contours of the land, making gentle, sweeping turns with modest elevation increases and decreases. The road was beginning to flow with the land.

The biggest change to get used to is lane positioning in a left-handed world. I’m so use to switching between the centerline and the outside edge in a right-handed centric universe. While it seems to follow I would just a mirror that same behavior (and I do) but the tendency is to drift right which move me closer to the centerline. Always keep left.

Another two hours into the ride brings me to Burke’s Pass. It’s the first major pass along the ride and if I blinked. I would probably miss it. Burke measures in at just over 2300 feet – low for California standards but moves us from the coast into New Zealand’s Mackenzie Country. The Mackenzie Country stretches out along the eastern edge of the Southern Alps – one of New Zealand’s treasures.

Lake Tekapo is about half the size of Lake Tahoe located in the heart of Mackenzie Country. At this point in the ride the wind has picked up – affectionately known as the “northerlies.” The wind is stiff, such that I’m having some struggles keeping the bike stable when leaned over on the side stand. I have to park it facing the wind to make sure that it doesn’t blow off the side stand.

I’m instantly drawn to the Church of the Good Shepherd as its stone construction is stunning. It’s simple, yet powerful against the austere nature of Mackenzie Country. I wanted to go inside, however, services were currently going on in the building was unavailable for tourists unless you are willing to commit to being at the church service – I wasn’t quite there yet.

I turned off Highway 8 onto Highway 80 four the final 50 km of the ride. Highway 80 is a dead-end drive to the base of Mount Cook. And when I say this ride was stunning – that’s an understatement. The highway starts off very understated, much like New Zealanders about their beautiful country. As it winds and wraps through a series of high-speed sweepers – the scenery really comes alive. Mount Cook in the distance becomes a more dominating part of the landscape. Initially cloaked in clouds, he began to show his face as I got closer to the mountain.

I stopped just to take in the beauty and capture this picture as the day’s pinnacle.

The mountains got steeper and more dominant the closer I got to the hotel. I loved feeling wrapped by the surrounding mountains as I approached New Zealand’s pinnacle Mount Cook. It took a lot of pushing to keep me moving as if I didn’t check into the hotel by 8 o’clock, I wasn’t getting dinner that night. The tour guide made sure that I knew New Zealand closes early.

Tonight’s lodging was at the Hermitage, the nicest hotel in the area. The tour guide really knocked it out of the park on this one—it was a 9th-floor room with a panoramic view of the mountain. Hotel, view, comfort level—I don’t think I stayed in a better place in a very long time, if not ever.