I have been in the Northland area for the last 4 days, so I thought I would illustrate these regions. I believe they are called "provinces" & I am pretty sure to hit all of them, since there are none that are solely in the high regions in central South Island - high and cold snow peaks. That little island on the south end? Stewart Island & I don't think that's on the agenda though there does appear to be a ferry for the 381 people that live there.

Free camping tonight! Tiny little town (Whananaki, east coast halfway between Auckland  & the northern tip of Cape Reinga) has this beautiful spot for a nights camping, including tents. Free never had this good...

There it is - the BMW all loaded down for traveling. I would have preferred a bigger windshield & cruise but overall it's a good bike. I went to a famous beach today but found it almost deserted; I guess it's a little early for the crowds.

What a releif! All my stuff actually fits on this smaller bike, which  I wasn't sure of since the bags are so small. I have two plastic clothing bags which I strap to the top of each one to compensate & that works pretty well. Today, my first riding day, I managed to get lost several times and turned a 58-mile ride into a 75-mile one. Getting out of town is more difficult without taking highways but still, I thought I knew where I was going. Once, I went the wrong way for a while because I failed to realize the blue dot was supposed to be on the OTHER side of the road on the tablet screen. But I managed to stay on my (wrong) side of the road the entire time on the road if not on the map. Yeah, I know a GPS would be helpful but no, I'm not going there, it's more fun without.

OK, here I go!! My 2007 trip here was in a car, where we traveled 3,600 miles and went everywhere on both islands, so 17 weeks of riding with a projected total of 7,000 miles means an average of 60 miles per day - I gotta learn to take it easy! Easiest process of buying a bike worldwide I have encountered so far - the folks at Experience Motocycles made it simple for me. It'll take me a bit to get used to the BMW; it's different. Kinda spotty rain around but not bad since it's mostly sunny otherwise, season I guess. On another note, one crazy benefit (among many) of government healthcare here is the price of vehicle insurance. That's because New Zealand also has national accident, of any kind, medical coverage (hey, no lawyers!) which also includes visitors (good for me...). As a result, no medical costs are included in motorcycle insurance & my total cost for full coverage including road service is a whopping US$26.22 per month.

      New Zealand December daylight                                  Michigan December daylight

Another awesome reason for being here, especially on a motorcycle!

Well, here it is, the NZ bike! 2009 BMW ST800. A little smaller, but that will make it easier to do some of those tiny roads I saw here in 2007. Motel last night, but I was a bit groggy from the 3 flights - 3 1/2 hours, 17 hours & 3 hours and managed to lock myself out of my room. No attendant so I slept on the floor until the guy showed up in the morning. But since it went so well today, no complaints. They need to get it ready so I don't pick it up until Wednesday. Found a cool little RV park in town to set up my tent, so I can use the rental car & take a look around for a few days - but hey, it's a city, never the most interesting of places.