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.