This morning we're in Queenstown and we're got a riding day in front of us. As we ride out of town, we stop at a gas station to put on our sunglasses as the sun is starting to shine through the morning clouds. There is also a row of bikes parked against the end of the gas station and when we pull in, one fellow walks over to inspect Neda's bike. Turns out he is riding a Sprint as well. He's with a bunch of locals who are hitting up roads around the area. They've already done a couple of hours by the time we've headed out and are on their first gas stop. Reminds us of our early days when we ride back home! Another guy we talk to in the group warns us that the police are very strict about speeding here. 10 over the speed limit will guarantee you a speeding ticket, and our host at the B&B this morning told us of a guest he had a couple of days who got his license revoked and issued a $600 fine for going 140 in a 100. It reminds me of how lenient police are in Ontario compared with the rest of the world when it comes to enforcing the speed limit.  Some local bikers out for day-long ride. The guy in the Triumph jacket walking away is the Sprint owner that came to talk with us. After exchanging tips about the weather forecast (a common discussion amongst New Zealand bikers), we head towards the east coast. The route we're taking doubles back over the Kawarau Gorge and then crosses the interior of the island. The roads are very open there, 100km/h posted the entire way, only dipping to 50 km/h when it runs through the occasional town. The roads are still a bit slick from the rains, but even if they were dry, the warnings about speed keep us to within a couple of km/h of the speed limit. The only fun to be had is when the suggested limit for curves drops down to 55-65 km/h and we take the turns at the full legal limit of 100! :) Yay!  Testing the new camera. Works great!  More sheep than you can shake a schtick at. A tour guide told us that if New Zealand could arm their sheep, they'd have the largest army in the world. And the tastiest too, I might add... Although the R1200GS I'm riding gets the most looks from non-bikers, Neda's is actually the more interesting one to fellow bikers. The Sprint ST is Triumph's sport-tourer, competing directly with the likes of the heavyweight in this category, the Honda VFR800. Neda was actually considering both these bikes when she got her BMW R1200ST, along with the Ducati ST3, so she was excited to have this bike for an extended test ride. The engine is much stronger than the Beemer's, with linear torque from low-down to red-line. Seating position is less aggressive than the R12ST and Neda seemed to handle the distance quite fine on the bike. What I really admire about the bike is the design. Sport-bikish in its profile, there are little thematic touches that play off the fact that the Sprint has a three-cylinder engine. Although this bike has Givi side and top cases, Triumph does sell good-looking cases that are more integrated with the bikes lines and colour.  Nice single-sided swingarm. Very Ducati.  Three underseat tailpipes for three cylinders.  Three gauges...  Three headlights and one happy rider! The BMW R1200GS was not my first choice for a rental. Mainly because I ride one at home and the whole idea behind renting a bike is to try something new. The rental company we went through is actually a motorcycle store and they specialize in BMW, Triumph and KTM, and I really wanted to try out the Superduke. I love the looks of this bike and I really wanted a sportier bike for the trip, but since NZ is such a popular motorcycle destination, the KTM and other interesting bikes were all booked 8 months ago when I called to make the reservation. So the GS is what I got. I like the GS though. I think it's the best all-round bike out there!  R1200GS makes a great couch while waiting for construction to clear. We reach the east coast in the early afternoon and head north for a bit to check out Moeraki. The beach here is well-known for it's collection of huge, nearly spherical boulders that seem washed up along the shore. They actually didn't come from the sea, but are created in-land and the eroding action of the tide against the softer rock around the boulders exposes them. You could probably wiki or google how they're created - whole bunch of geologic explanations about the cementation of mud, silt and clay with calcite - but the net effect is these things are cool-looking!  Looks like moose droppings on Moeraki Beach  Moeraki Boulders  Queen of the Boulders  The boulders were all that they were cracked up to be...  Too much lamb does cause constipation... You can see the water start to expose this boulder that was hidden in the banks. We met some Canadian tourists in the parking lot at Moeraki. In our travels here we've noticed lots of Canadians, Americans and Germans. I can't believe the amount of time Europeans get off for vacation! Sometimes up to 5 weeks a year!!! We tend to run into Japanese tourists on the larger attractions like around Queenstown and Milford Sound. And on the west coast, a few days ago, Neda heard Croatian being spoken! After playing around the rocks for a while, we head back down south towards Dunedin. Our B&B is 20 kms south on a strip of land jutting eastwards called the Otago Peninsula.
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