Where and Why

1 August 2014 - Where and Why

Having decided upon Australia and New Zealand to be the destinations for our travels, within those two countries we need to make some decisions as to where to visit, taking into consideration weather and distances.

Some notable factors need to be taken into consideration.

With both countries being relatively new countries, there is no classical or renaissance architectural history to visit and see, such as can be seen in the capital cities of Europe. Some of the early colonial buildings and architecture still exist, but the majority of sights in these countries are the natural landscapes and their wildlife.

The south island of New Zealand has weather and seasons not too dissimilar to those of Scotland, so the obvious time to visit is in the middle of the south island summer, January and/or February.

The northern parts of Australia experience hot,wet,sticky monsoon conditions in the summer months.

Excellent for some of the wildlife but a definite season to avoid if travelling with a loaded motorcycle......unless you love to ride on muddy unsurfaced roads ending up wet and dirty at the end of each day.

Not for us thanks.

By contrast the winter months in this same area are the dry season. It rarely rains, and the temperature is not quite so high, but still with temperatures between 15-25 C during the day. That sounds like almost ideal conditions for motorcycle travel to me. That would necessitate travel though this region in July and August. 

An ideal route outline would be to start in Sydney, New South Wales in June. Travel in an anti-clockwise route around the country, arriving back in Sydney for Christmas and New Year, then onto New Zealand for January and February. Taking this route should allow us to travel in reasonable weather for most of the journey.

That would be ideal, however I think that bureaucracy may prevent this ideal route. I will explain further on in our story.