Motoming with Family

After the gorgeous, scenic, sunny rides of the South Island and windswept and wild Ocean Beach ride, and forested Remutaka Trail, we were back to the same old Auckland rides. And both rides were fun, interesting and still made me smile. There were no barriers to get over, no narrow parts with a drop off…

Staying with Aunt Louise and Mack in the countryside at Foxhill, we had a quiet relaxing start to the day enjoying breakfast together along with a panoramic view of cloud languidly drifting over and around the hills. Given the rain forecast for today, we had arranged our first South Island ride (Richmond to Motueka) with…

Our rest day was a great idea, with a relaxed start to the day, visit to the magnificent Aoraki (Mt Cook), some work, and dinner out with Brian and Barbara (parents) at a Thai restaurant. While sad to farewell Twizel where we had magical days, we have time limitations with other trails to ride. I’m…

Today we did an out and back on the West Coast Wilderness Trail, starting at Taramakau on an old tram trail from gold rush days. Another wonderful trail, this one meandered through podocarp forest, past dairy cows, past a display of rusting aged farm and domestic tools, past the Kapitea Reservoir, on a boardwalk over…

Recreational riders facebook users advised that Ōhau to Omarama was likely to be too narrow and rough for the Motom, and a sign cautioned that the track needed repairs, so we sensibly skipped this part of the A2O. Feeling a little sore, and tired after our great Dark Skies experience at Tekapo the previous night…

What a contrast to the West Coast. Lush green forests and forest bird song have been replaced by golden grasses rippling in the breeze, vast tree-less plains, distant white-capped mountains, brown hills and the song of sky larks. The only similarity is the stunning turquoise blue we saw in the Hokitika gorge expanded now into…