Preparation, packing and planes

11 days motorbike the South Island of NZ? Don’t mind if I do!

Now, this would have been the most ludicrous idea 3 years ago, when I hadn’t even sat on a motorbike, let alone owned three. But now, you can’t wipe the smile off my face.

So what’s the issue? Well, let’s just say, packing ain’t my strong suit and although I tend to travel on the lighter side, stuffing my belongings into a top box and side panniers proved to be quite the challenge! 

If I pack by priority, anything that doesn’t fit I didn’t need anyway, right? Or perhaps I’ll try and covertly stuff them into OH’s cases 😉

Left: what I'm wearing. Right: to be packed.

Here’s my op 20 list, in order of importance.

1. Chapstick
2. Playlists
3. Ear plugs
4. Heat packs (patches, hand warmers, toe warmers)
5. Voltarin for the neck
6. Neck buffs
7. Thermals for, well, everywhere
8. Seat cushion - cause when she goes, she goes
9. Bathroom bits
10. Wet weather gear (little did I know this would become number 1).

Yeah ok, so I’ve packed as little as possible. But when everything is laid out, it still looks like a lot!

Stuffing excitedly into my suitcase for the trip from the Gold Coast to Chr

istchurch, I can’t help but wonder if my version of “traveling light” will match those three little boxes on our rental for 11 days, the BMW F760GS. 

Our bike hire company of choice, Paradise Motorcycles, confirmed today that our beauties are waiting for us at our hotel. The best thing about that is, if things don’t fit, we can simply leave some stuff behind and ride out from the hotel. Not sure why this excites me so much lol

The Coolangatta Airport’s new international departure is lovely. Check-in and customs was very quick and seamless and we found a large round table to sit at with all our gear. Seven kilos carry, then say. Hmmmm I’ll just have to wear my helmet and jacket 😉 

Just a little over 3 hours and we will land in Christchurch, NZ. Time to sit back, enjoy our pre-ordered in-flight pie and a glass of bubbles while we make the hard decisions… what to see and do on the 3000 kilometres we will travel over 10 days.

Tracey, Annie, Andy, Robby and myself at the airport.

BRING IT!!!!

We'll be posting videos of this trip on our TribalMoto Travels site, so subscribe and we'll let you know when they're up. It's free!

Cheers

Annya and Andy