Burt Munro 2023
I had attended the Burt Munro 2019 event and I had been blessed by sun, ferries that ran on time and a dream run down and back up the country. The only difficulties had been the Kaikoura slips which washed out a couple of kilometres of road reducing it to a work site of gravel roads deep potholes and heaped mounds of gravel piles to negotiate. Overall, It was a stunning run pushing myself well past my comfort zone being a long way from home and far from support on a motorcycle that is now fast approaching classic status.
The Burt Munro event for 2020 did go ahead however there was a storm which made the last 150 km into Invercargill impassable for a couple of days with slips and road closures, it forced many to hold off and camp waiting for roads to open, I watched this unfolding from home, undertaking this event would never be a yearly ritual for me and I was happy to sit this one out as the weather projections rolled in. The Burt Munro staff tried to report a positive outing, but it was clearly not a happy time for many battling along the coast and out of the mountains to arrive.
2021 Arrived and the event got away well with brewing storm clouds of influenza in Asia and Europe starting to panic some, concern others and send survivalists and conspiracy theorists into overdrive. Personally, I was expecting another Avian Flu which would peter out to nothing like the last version in the early 2000s. How wrong I was!
Shortly after the world literally shut down, the speed with which it happened, the silence of roads and motorways that are perpetually busy for decades on end was staggering. What followed was a lot of worry, working endlessly from home in a little concrete room, trying to jolly children along as they tried learning from home while trying to balance everything else without going fully insane was a deep challenge. Being in IT a job while allows remote work and living in Auckland we took an absolute hiding in terms of restrictions even on a global scale only surpassed by Chinas suppression of their civilians.
I looked on as everything was cancelled, controlled, cut down or delayed then cancelled. By 2022 I was deeply over it and deeply frustrated. Early / mid 2022 we started back at work hesitatingly a couple of days a week and I looked forward to Burt Munro 2023. I booked for the main event and to compete in the drag racing, how hard could a drag race be… again I was to be proved wrong.
I had all the equipment like last time and the bike was in reasonable condition, I changed the oil on the bike and brake fluid along with the clutch fluid and took it for a WOF early in December so that if there was a problem I would have time to resolve… It failed on a weeping fork seal resulting in pulling the legs apart and for good measure I added a new set of brake pads, the one on the left was partially contaminated with oil from the seal. Not a difficult job except for trying to force the cap down against the spring and get it to thread which takes a bit of a knack and effort. I missed the window for WOF rechecks and was hit for another $50 to finally pass the WOF.
I took a “Gold Ride Forever” course in January as a bit of a warm up for this event, I booked for Coromandel rather than Auckland location to get a bit more exposure to open country roads and the hills of the Coromandel range provided some exposure to what I would experience in the central range of the South Island. We completed a Coromandel loop with a mix of stunning fine weather and heavy rain on the downhill section out after Coromandel and crossing the range. It was challenging coming down the Coromandel range in pouring rain, I was a lot slower than others and felt pushing my normal boundaries of confidence braking on steep downhill sections in rain with limited visibility and highly polished roads. Its probably fortunate that I got this in because a month later a lot of these roads were washed away in the Floods and it looks likely wont be open any time soon.
The weather running up to the event was poor with rain and storms, unusual for this time of the year to be so set in and relentless, new terms “atmospheric rivers” entered the vocabulary we had an entire January month of rain fall on the 27th of Jan (one months’ worth in one day). With the inevitable flooding, houses being pushed off foundations and sadly a few people losing their lives in floodwater accidentally or trying to help others. We had a flooded garage but did not lose anything of value and counted ourselves lucky.
Against this backdrop I packed the bike much like last time however with the addition of a set of zip together leathers, boots and a back protector for drag racing which added a significant amount of weight and bulk which probably pushed me and the bike past the limit when fully loaded with fuel, unloaded the bike is already 300Kg which gives you a slightly unsteady / uneasy feeling when pushing it around and at slow speeds until you build confidence.
The week running up to departure we experienced a significant storm event claimed as being 1 in 100 years (which now seem to be very common) with the entire month of January normal rain being dumped in a couple of hours with the predictable results in a city with poor infrastructure and significant infill housing in the last couple of decades. Our basement flooded however many houses were swept away in Auckland by landslides or simply pushed off foundations by rising floodwater, sadly a number of people lost their lives, people trying to escape flooding, rescue workers searching houses trying to retrieve others. It was a sad day in Aucklands history compounded by these events being predictable and a poor emergency response by local government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Auckland_Anniversary_Weekend_floods
We cleaned it up as best as we could and watched others deal with lost people and lost houses on the news. The almost predicable outcome of under investment for decades and election cycle thinking to secure employment rather than a vision of the future for the city.
Departure morning loomed large, dark and wet on the 6th of Feb. I had been nervously watching the long range then medium range followed by short range weather forecast as it oscillated between cloudy and crappy before settling on somewhere in between (semi crappy).
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/new-zealand/auckland/historic?month=2&year=2023
I had grand plans of cutting a new path south running wide out through Rotorua as a change of scenery and roads. The light rain and fog sowed seeds of doubt about this and after dropping out of the Bombay hills where city lighting disappears and the light rain thickened put paid to this plan without much consideration on my part, we were now back to a cannonball run to Wellington.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/12+...25de85d2c9!2m2!1d168.247664!2d-46.4363923!3e0
I had built a buffer of time into my plans but speed washed away as doubt and rain set in, somewhere south of Tokoroa the motorway was shut and a detour was put in deep out into farming territory for a circuitous route bypassing whatever damage or operations took out this section of the motorway. The signage for the detour are very small and put out by people not to worried but a couple of lost drivers so your taking it on faith that in the pouring rain and fogged up visor and glasses that you will see the sign for the next turn, because of the limited number of roads the detour was very long with a number of steps, very worried I had missed a sign and was now driving in the wrong direction.
My Navman was of no use now, it wanted to do a U Turn and head back the motorway blockage, it would now have been easy to miss a turn and all of this was eating into my margin of error for time which I had allowed on top of the already slow progress. Dodging the odd tractor heading for morning milking I eventually re-joined the motorway, Navman gave me some hope that there was still a chance and we pressed on through the thousands of acres of forestry which often form a tall near full canopy over the road leading to both trepidation about entering and the surprise of being caught by cross winds when existing into areas newly felled fields with involuntary lane changes and deep panting a result.
It was a battle all the way to Taupo but when I arrived for the first big break and fuel I knew the worst was behind me and we had turned a corner and that I would make the distance to Wellington, a few people asked me where I was from and going to and a little more shocked at where I had come from than anything else. 20 odd litres of fuel and I was away for dryer climes of the lower half of the North Island with renewed confidence.
The Desert Road has always been a inhospitable place, a high plateau in the centre of the North Island, exposed with little to endear it except its rugged vastness, framed with snow-capped mountains and warning signs about unexploded ordnance the left overs of decades of military exercises both past and the mechanised track marks of current activities. It’s a desolate place which lives up to its name with no services and no homes. Crossing this area is normally challenging in terms of wind and weather but this time fine, warm and welcoming helping to dry out my clothes and improve the downcast mood, I don’t normally stop here but this time I caught a few photos of the tussock, Mount Tongariro and Mount Ruapahu.
I stopped in Levin for a large brunch with renewed confidence that we were going to make the distance, rural life seemed to float past the door with jandels and stubbies (classic rugged shorts) on display, the rural hard working ute
The lower half was much less exciting having recovering ground that had already been traversed a couple of times now and the worst of the weather behind me. I planned to stop at Levin to have a late all-day breakfast like last time and happy now to be within striking distance of Wellington and my ferry. After a greasy refuelling and stripping off a few layers I had added for the cold wet morning I pushed on for the last leg to Wellington and using Transmission Gully a new multi-billion-dollar motorway which did not disappoint.
The Kiwirail ferry fleet are now thirty years old and well past their prime, they have been plagued by engine and system failures in recent years and the run up to this crossing was no different with the Kaitaki having suffered a full propulsion failure in January 2023 resulting in them dropping anchor in Wellington harbour, dragging anchor and passengers donning life jackets and moving to lifeboat stations while perilously close to a rocky harbour wall in a severe storm, no doubt the older passengers could see news reels of the Wahine tragedy (ferry capsized in Wellington harbour with loss of many passengers, others struggled out of lifeboats only to be bashed on the vertical rock cliff walls of the harbour) in similar circumstances playing on loop in their collective heads while holding Grandchildren’s hands it would have been rightfully scary for anyone with a basic grasp of the situation they found themselves in. Apparently, a coupling in the engine cooling water system failed causing an overtempt and full engine shut down and loss of power, it was past its replacement date by a number of years… !!
Preliminary inquiry into ferry's engine failure finds KiwiRail did not follow part manufacturer's advice
The complete engine failure on the Kaitaki ferry was caused in part by KiwiRail's failure to replace safety-critical parts, an interim report has found.
www.rnz.co.nz
The Awatere has been plagued by issues with too wide a range to discuss but summarised as propulsion issues (engines, generators and direct drive motors) through to rudders but more classically and comically summarised by this photo when the propeller fell off in 2013.
I tried to call Kiwirail in the days running up to my departure just to confirm my sailing was running and sent an email and Facebook message, no reply so there was more than a reasonable possibility that I would turn up and find my sailing cancelled or rebooked which depending on which sailing I was allocated could have been very inconvenient or wrecked the trip entirely. The only upside is that a Motorcycle and one walk on passenger don’t take up room compared with cars, campervans and trucks but still some lingering doubts about just getting on the boat and no alternative plan. Bluewater the only other alternative had one vessel out of service in Australia for a large service as well which eliminated any redundancy in the situation adding additional pressure everywhere.
The ride through Transmission Gulley was fantastic, eight lanes wide and brand new ploughing through hills to the base of Wellington on a summer afternoon, while being on time (early in fact) for my as yet unconfirmed but prepaid ferry crossing having battered my way out of Auckland all the way to Taupo.
Arriving at the terminal to be met by at least forty bikes already waiting to load and another twenty odd dribbled in behind me, we collectively shed clothing as the warm sun dried leathers and then start to steam cook riders until we arrived at T Shirt levels. I think we all knew there was a real risk that those at the back might not get on the boat given the well-publicised break downs and failures of the ferries. We wanted quietly in suspense to see how our lotto ticket of a ferry ticket was going to play out.
A man in overalls tied at waist level came out to give us strict instructions to ride up the ramps and commence loading but his distance from the bulk of the crowd, background noise and lack of hearing on my part and probably others…. we saw the arm rise over his head and we needed no further instruction was required. Sweaty leathers were pulled on and helmets donned along with the over rich smell of partially burnt hydrocarbons from hot engines idling away.
We snaked up the overpass flyover that brings you to the correct height to enter the ships hold and then the polished plat steel of bridge that forms the modern gang plank for vehicles to enter the bowels of an obviously old ship which now has equal parts paint and corrosion and rust streaked bowls.
Within the ship itself we snaked between parked trucks to what must be the very front of the ship and lined up in military rows as the seamen throw out heavy chains between each row which become tie down points for what are predominately middle to heavy weight bikes. The provided tie down ropes look like well-used plastic 8mm strands with the consistency and strength of pasta, I however came armed with racket straps and tie down muffs for the handle bars, it was however a tight fit between by bike and the neighbours which had many times the value. The heat in the hold and engine noise combined with exhaust fumes was overwhelming, after a few tries on centre stand and off I felt comfortable that the bike was secure and collected what I needed for the next four hours of a passage to the South Island or mainland depending on where you reside.
I have always it seems been lucky with the crossing between North and South Islands, the Cook Straight is notorious stretch of water where the Tasman Sea and Pacific collide to creating a very strong current flow and storms which can appear with speed and ferocity which has caught many a mariner by deep surprise. It’s a well-known “vomit comet” of a trip for New Zealanders in the know, the tourism board and ferry operators always present scenic photos of cruising the Milford Sounds or flat calm sailing in the Wellington Harbour. The reality Is this water is choppy at the best of times and prone to mood swings which are outright violent, most NZers have witnessed a difficult crossing with people grappling to hold on something and school children up chucking on mass.
Inter-islander ferry Aratere on a 50-degree angle in rough seas, 4 March 2006.
My crossing was again idyllic picture postcard stuff, a light swell in the Wellington harbour and calm crossing with glass like conditions in the Marlborough Sounds. I took a rest in the tired armchairs as much as I could given I had the rough start to the day and nervousness waiting on admission to the ferry. I then spent some time in the forward bar at the front of the boat jammed in with others enjoying brunch / lunch and a liquid refreshment, the panoramic view forward and access to the walkway on an elevated promenade above the bow of the ship. The view was spectacular with dolphins ride the bow wave and playing and general fishing and ship traffic to take in, I looked up the GPS location for Barrett Reef (where the Wahine grounded) to get a reference finding calm water in the distance.
The passengers feel into three obvious groups, those cross for work transporting something, the bikers and local NZers exploring their own country given the limited and expensive options for overseas travel which is beyond the average person and possibly inspired travel to the south island which had been on the To Do list but put off by summer and sunnier climes of Australia, Islands or further afield. There we a few true foreigners travelling but these represented a fraction of a percentage for similar reasons why NZers are not travelling overseas, however these few represented the first green shoots of a once Billion-dollar industry returning after a multi-year hiatus. A welcome sight for tourism dependent operators up and down the country and a source of much needed tax revenue for the country as a whole.
I had always hoped that someday I would be able to purchase a beach front property in the Millford Sounds, theses are generally few and spaced many multiples of KM apart with reasonable land holdings and access by Jetty. They are generally off grid and held within the same family for generations so a difficult transition to even contemplate as a full time or part time holiday location unless you are born into it or have lived in the sounds and boating was a big element to your life and lifestyle. We all have dreams and this was one of mine, it will however remain un forfilled and maybe the realities of not having internet access and power would not sit and fit well for me anyway. Still something to admire, true remoteness.
In the long approach to Picton left me with thoughts about what to do for accommodation, previously I had stayed at a campground in Picton itself which was a safe bet but there is little to do and few food opportunities (none after 7pm) and I was very tempted to push on to Nelson which was a much larger place with more options and this would form the start of western side of the South island sojourn. Best guess was it was a 2 hour trip which did not seem unreasonable undertaking, looking back the ferry arrived around 7.15 but pretty sure I did not get off the ferry until 7.30 with the sun setting around 8.30pm but because of geography with Picton set at sea level surrounded by hills it appeared to have already set.
I called ahead looking for camp stops once we entered cellular range on the approach to Picton with a few dead ends until I found someone with a campground in Nelson at XXXXX and asked to reserve a tent spot, asked if he wanted payment and arriving late around 10.30, true southern man along the line of “…nah I will be gone, find a spot and sort it out with me in the morning”. And this is where I made a monumental ***** up, the plan in my befuddled mind was the following which was going to be challenging finishing at 10.30pm given my 5am start but for non sensical reasons which still escape me as to the logic I was determined not to stop in Picton and push on to Nelson but fully aware it was a mountainous region.
I stuck the destination into the Navman and let it sort the details, happy to follow its guidance, well it choose the shortest route and this is the setup I put in twelve years ago when I got these units (pre smart phones) which worked well in Auckland but the implications of this configuration were going to become apparent in about two hours with a thunderbolt of realisation in my soggy and foggy mind. This is the route I thought we were going to be taking…
Planned Trip from Picton to Nelson – Via Motorway
This is the route it settled on which is similar in terms of time and less of a distance, but what Google Maps and Navman don’t know is that Queen Charlotte Drive follows the coast with numerous 10 kmph first gear switch back curves one after another for dozens of kilometres which on a nice day while fresh would have been a spectacular but after a marathon day, in the dark, dodging areas where the road had fallen away or where one lane traffic light control was in place was not something I was capable of.
The kilometres ground on and on, by halfway I was just looking for a piece of ground just to pitch my tent by the side of the road and talk my chances, it was raining I was wet I was tired and the road itself was treacherous. I looked and looked for somewhere to stop but there was nothing, just a road cut into bush with the odd layby full of boulders that were difficult to see at the best of times, slippery and inhospitable on a heavy bike.
I had made a damn foolish mistake and I was pushing well past my endurance and skill level on really dangerous roads, I had promised myself not to put myself in this situation but here on day one I had made what could easily have been a mistake resulting in serious harm to myself.
Planned Trip from Picton to Nelson – Via Motorway
Actual Trip from Picton to Nelson – Via Goat Track of Queen Charlotte Drive
I pressed on to Nelson and eventually broke out of the bush, the road to the camp site was unusually long and very long established residential in nature I could not face making a mistake at this point, I really was over this leg. At the very end… Brook Valley holiday park run by Nelson Council, I didn’t see anything off but looked for a likely camping area away from others likely sleeping. I was greeted by a man in his slippers and dressing gown heading to bed after a late shower and pointed me in the direction of some tent spaces, I selected one by a light to help setup the tent and called Georgina at 10.40pm to tender my apologies for pushing my luck.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/pic...2m2!1d173.2443635!2d-41.2985321!3e0?entry=ttu
http://www.nelson.govt.nz/recreation/venues-and-grounds/motor-camps/brook-valley-holiday-park/
Camp Ground at 10.30pm - Brook Valley Holiday Park
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