The Big Blog
NZ - On to the wild west
From here it is a short hop up the coast to the most fabulous campsite ever at “Gentle Annie”. Wekas potter about the campground, seemingly at ease with all the happy campers, and happy and content they are. Everyone has a happy sigh on their face, you can’t...
3 February 2018
NZ - Wal Footrot rides Royal Enfield
From what I’ve seen New Zealand appears divided between tourism , dairying, government and forestry. The juxtaposition of tourism and dairying is very evident in the small rural towns where the locals go about their business in gumboots and four wheel motorbikes,...
1 February 2018
Sauvingnon Plonk
When in Rome, or Marlborough, as the case may be, one should drink the local wine. So it was that we found ourselves in the Marlborough region of New Zealand’s South Island. Fortuitously our lovely hosts lent us a very cool Triumph Herald and our very cool...
30 January 2018
NZ - Riding the PC Highway
NapierAfter leaving the Coromandel Peninsula we have had quite some adventures. We took the legendary Pacific Coast Highway which works its way around the eastern shoulder of the North Island, from Opotiki around to Te Araroa and then down to Gisborne and...
28 January 2018
Meet Dudley, the chick magnet
Tom from Napier telling us all about the Manx NortonOn our previous motorcycle adventures we have had the pleasure of riding with “SB” (Steeple Bumpstead) on our first tour of Europe in 2009, and “Howard” on our 2013 tour. Names for our bikes don’t happen...
22 January 2018
NZ - where do all the tractors go?
We managed to escape after the Auckland floods and rain, for a moment It looked like Noah’s Ark might wash ashore as well. The weather delayed us by one day after which we headed east to the Coromandel Peninsula, up the east coast road because the direct west...
15 January 2018
NZ - searching for Dida
I never knew my father’s father, I think he died before I was born. I do remember my grandmother though, visiting her once in the Blind Home in Victoria Park where she lived for the last part of her life. My grandfather (Dida) left the Island of Korčula in...
4 January 2018
NZ - you can bury me in Whanganui!
But why would you want to bury me in Whangaui? I imagine Whanganui is perhaps not on the list for many Kiwi’s as a place to visit, let alone a desirable resting place. It does however have many similarities with our home town of Gawler in South Australia,...
26 December 2017
A reverence for trees - Redgum Road
Although River Redgum trees are known as icons of Australia, their almost ubiquitous distribution and ever presence means that they are not always appreciated. This is especially the case on roadsides where they are all too often hit by erratic car drivers...
26 October 2017
China - then and now
I have just returned from China, my twenty something visit. It is eight years since I was last there and the changes were staggering. The development of infrastructure and the people has been amazing. It made me think about what it was like when i first visited...
25 July 2017