Arrived in Christchurch on sunday, stayed with friends for 2 nights to get back to feeling somewhat human after flying to the far side of the world, pick up the bikes at City Motorcycle Rentals, and re-pack for the road trip.
Day 1. Tuesday, april 7.
Start from Christchurch, heading west towards Arthur's Pass. Flatlands and straight roads at first, which together with the building style put me in mind of an American road movie. The first stop in Springfield did nothing to put an end to that feeling:
After Springfield things quickly changed. Corners appeared, and we were slowly but surely entering the mountain range that had been looming on the horizon for some time.
Side note: This Dutchie is used to flatlands, and the appearance of a mountain range on the horizon took quite a while to sink in. They were already quite pronounced by the time I noticed. (Yes that was way before this pic was taken, obviously.)
The weather by now was clear blue skies and sunshine. Lovely. But there was trouble ahead. Rain clouds. Time for a quick roadside stop to get some waterproofing in place and pack away things like cameras.
We'd been told that the bikes could easily do 200 km before hitting reserve, so I was somewhat surprised when it started coughing after just 150. Quite in the middle of nowhere, I was on reserve, with Arthur's Pass still some time away. Oops. Turns out the fuel tank wasn't quite as full as they said at the bike shop.
Got to Arthur's Pass in the rain, ever so slightly nervous, after 20 more km on reserve on a bike that's completely unknown to me with a tiny 13l tank and no idea exactly how much reserve it's actually got. Oh well, made it.
Filled up the bikes and the spare canister with what must've been New Zealand's most expensive petrol after having a cup of tea, and then we set out to find a place to stay for the night.
We didn't particularly feel like figuring out how our (borrowed!) tents worked while it was cold and raining. A hostel, then. We were pointed at The Sanctuary as a good and cheap place to stay, and were they ever right about that...
This wasn't an ordinary hostel. First of all, the place was deserted. A sign next to a phone said ring the owner, who told us he was in Christchurch and that it was run entirely on the honesty box principle, and then gave us the code for the door.
Inside, we were in for a shock. The 8 bunk beds weren't very surprising, but the living room with full kitchen and wood burning stove were. Never mind the bathroom with an actual bathtub and plenty of hot water for us to use...
A little internet cafe off to the side completes this lovely picture, all with notes attached stating the cost and that we're trusted to put the money in the honesty box. Brilliant.
We had a fish&chips in the local pub, a bath, and then called it a night.
Day 1. Tuesday, april 7.
Start from Christchurch, heading west towards Arthur's Pass. Flatlands and straight roads at first, which together with the building style put me in mind of an American road movie. The first stop in Springfield did nothing to put an end to that feeling:
After Springfield things quickly changed. Corners appeared, and we were slowly but surely entering the mountain range that had been looming on the horizon for some time.
Side note: This Dutchie is used to flatlands, and the appearance of a mountain range on the horizon took quite a while to sink in. They were already quite pronounced by the time I noticed. (Yes that was way before this pic was taken, obviously.)
The weather by now was clear blue skies and sunshine. Lovely. But there was trouble ahead. Rain clouds. Time for a quick roadside stop to get some waterproofing in place and pack away things like cameras.
We'd been told that the bikes could easily do 200 km before hitting reserve, so I was somewhat surprised when it started coughing after just 150. Quite in the middle of nowhere, I was on reserve, with Arthur's Pass still some time away. Oops. Turns out the fuel tank wasn't quite as full as they said at the bike shop.
Got to Arthur's Pass in the rain, ever so slightly nervous, after 20 more km on reserve on a bike that's completely unknown to me with a tiny 13l tank and no idea exactly how much reserve it's actually got. Oh well, made it.
Filled up the bikes and the spare canister with what must've been New Zealand's most expensive petrol after having a cup of tea, and then we set out to find a place to stay for the night.
We didn't particularly feel like figuring out how our (borrowed!) tents worked while it was cold and raining. A hostel, then. We were pointed at The Sanctuary as a good and cheap place to stay, and were they ever right about that...
This wasn't an ordinary hostel. First of all, the place was deserted. A sign next to a phone said ring the owner, who told us he was in Christchurch and that it was run entirely on the honesty box principle, and then gave us the code for the door.
Inside, we were in for a shock. The 8 bunk beds weren't very surprising, but the living room with full kitchen and wood burning stove were. Never mind the bathroom with an actual bathtub and plenty of hot water for us to use...
A little internet cafe off to the side completes this lovely picture, all with notes attached stating the cost and that we're trusted to put the money in the honesty box. Brilliant.
We had a fish&chips in the local pub, a bath, and then called it a night.