What a strange Christmas here in Queenstown, the lake’s beach is full of guys ready to party, with their swimsuit and Christmas hats. There’s music, hot grills and many hectoliters of beer for each person, kept cleverly cold. We enjoy the party mood, admiring the town’s panoramic view.
ITALIAN VERSION
Today we look like normal tourists, we wear t-shirt and tennis shoes, also for us a relaxing Christmas, ready to charge our batteries before leaving for the last leg of our trip. And, in fact, on the 26TH we’re already hitting the road, discovering the most beautiful lakes of the whole country; their names are Pukaki and Tekapo. We get there riding down the amazing roads decked with purple flowers, as far as you can see. Pukaki lake overcomes Tekapo by largeness, but the presence of Mount Cook seems to be a natural scenic backdrop, if that isn’t enough, we detect a lavender field and walk through it, all this happens in the exact opposite of the Provence and the whole thing completes masterfully the picture of an amazing day. 
And because we’re still in the mood for adrenaline and power, before leaving the region of Queenstown, we’re now on board of a jet-board, a 750 horsepower motorboat, equipped with two car engines and with an incredible boost, which literally makes it possible to fly over the water, we discover other landscapes, like in a movie, but this is not a figure of speech, we find out that many movie-makers have chosen Glenorchy to set some movie scenes (including the famous purple cow advert). I thought I’ve seen the best, but the best was waiting for us: the majestic fjord of Milford Sound, which can be enjoyed completely only taking the ferry, sailing till the heart of the fjord and continuing to the open sea, in order to see the beauty of this place. Attention, here it rains 222 days a year, a sunny day in Milford Sound is a rare gem. Enjoy the road which from Te Anau leads to Milford Sound, but remember to get gas before going to Milford Sound.
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Leaving Te Anau, we opt for the one and only road available, the Southern Scenic Route, here you can go through the South Coast until Dunedin. But try not to be in a hurry, because in Invercargill there are two important stops; the ironmongery (yes, that’s right an ironmongery) HayeS&Sons, where besides a fine bikes collection, you can find the original Indian owned by Burt Munro; but if you’re looking for a big collection, just few meters from the ironmongery there is the Mecca Motorcycles (link https://www.transportworld.co.nz/motorcycle-mecca/). I swear that I haven’t seen something like this before! This is a necessary stop, with no ifs and no buts, and if you want to exaggerate, you should have a look to Oreti Beach, here Burt used to train with his bike.
Once you’ve survived this passion overdose, you can eat a lot of oyster in Bluff (it’s possible only during the right season) and continue North, always riding down the coast. We can easily ensure that every single corner will surprise you, anywhere you’re going to stop. An advise? Save Slope Point and Nugget Point as a can’t-miss stops. Or, better yet, put down the road map, turn off your sat nav and get lost. You won’t regret
Certainly there would be many things to say, but we just want to give two last advice; the first is to look for the steepest road of the world in Dunedin, Baldwin street. The second advise is for those who want to stay out of touch. Book a room at the Mt. Potts Lodge, take the easy dirt road, 20 km long and enjoy the sense of isolation, like there’s nothing around except yourself, your thoughts and you sensations.
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In Christchurch the journey has come to an end, not before we’ve explored Akaroa Peninsula. Christchurch still has evident signs of the earthquake, which destroyed the town in 2011. But the citizens didn’t lose their nerve, starting soon an accurate and brilliant rebuilding. A walk through the city centre must be done, to figure it out that with the right method and organization the town can be rebuilt quickly to get back to normal life.
New Zealand greets us from the plane window. We first fly to Auckland, then to Singapore and lastly to Italy. When leaving the kiwi land, it rains, the sky is grey and the wind is cold; it’s a gloomy and emotional goodbye (*), that we rarely felt in our travels.
A special thanks to Andrè , of Paradise Motorcycle Tour, for providing us the renting of an amazing BMW GS 1200, thanks also for the support, the tips, the logistic and for everything we needed. Thanks to Eurobike New Zealand that, in addition to providing us an Italian tank bag, they have made us felt their support for any needs.
Thanks to the companies, which have believed in our project.
Thanks to Cristina, without her wanderlust, her enthusiasm and her patience to stay on the bike for hours, this trip would not have been possible.
Note: (*) we wrote “goodbye”, but it’s not a real goodbye, because we’re sure that there’s a plenty to visit in New Zealand, apart from being the biker’s paradise. There’s a good chance that AMotoMio will come back in March 2018. Wanna come with us?? Write to my email address:
Abbigliamento del viaggio:
*Fagna: Giacca e Pantaloni Oj Desert - Guanti Oj Fighter - Stivali Stylmartin Navigator - Casco SMK Helmets Glide - Occhiali Emblema
*Cri: Giacca Oj Unstoppable - Pantaloni Oj Ridepant - Stivali Stylmartin Sharon - Casco SMK Twister - Occhiali Emblema
Moto del Viaggio e supporto alla logistica:
BMW R 1200 GS noleggio by Paradise Motorcycle Tours - www.paradisemotorcycletours.co.nz
Special Thanks to EUROBIKE NEW ZEALAND for the GIVI Tankbag
Mangiare e Dormire:
La Nuova Zelanda offre un panorama di ristoranti e alloggi tendenzialemente di alta qualità; per gli alloggio abbiamo usato Air B&B e Booking, dove però il primo ha battuto abbondantemente il secondo. Lungo la strada spesso si incrociano dei "Caffè" che servono torte buonissime e spuntini favolosi. occhio chiudono presto tra le 15.00 e le 16.00
Fagna&Cri
GALLERY:
