New Zealand - Day One

Day One of the New Zealand motorcycle trip. Flew from San Francisco to Auckland - Auckland to Christichurch - rented bikes near Christichurch airport - then hit the road. We got off to a good start - until we realized we spend our first hour traveling entirely in the wrong direction. Turns out Wade is nearly as abysmal at directions as I am, which should make for an interesting week.

We started riding out from Christichurch around 1p Tuesday New Zealand time (San Francisco time plus 21 hours).

We got into Nelson near the North tip of the South island around 7p after a good 400 km ride. We stopped briefly for lunch but otherwise rode all day. I'm not kidding, we passed probably 30 places on the side of the road advertising their fish and chips. It's like the national food here or something. Everyone we meet is fun and helpful and friendly - meeting other bikers on the road and talking briefly at gas stations with anyone who seems interesting or talkative. I love the accent - people say crazy things like "reckon."

Amazing roads, beautiful scenery. The bike I'm on leaves someting to be desired, it tops our around 120 mph - which is probably good to keep me out of jail I suppose. It's comfortable to ride - heated grips, upright riding positioning, a little squishy in the corners but it grips the road well. The roads are manicured - amazing like they were just built.

Hostel in Nelson was great - we crashed after foraging for good and woke early to head out again. Day two is a 500 km from Christichurch to Franz Joseph glacier...