A talk by Simon Barker 22nd January 2026
Twenty-two SDVMCC members crowded into the back room of the Three Compasses for Simon’s talk about his travels to and through New Zealand. Although the talk was due to start at 7:30pm most members remained in the bar until the very last moment – the back room is noted for it ‘micro-climate’!
Simon began by giving us some background information on New Zealand. It has a population of under 6 million (https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/new-zealand) with the vast majority of the population living in the North Island. The North and South Islands have an area equivalent to the UK whose population is close to 70 million (https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/ United Kingdom). Hence the remoteness of many parts of New Zealand.
His tour began on the east coast of the North Island in the Hawkes Bay region in a town called Napier. Napier has a number of attributes that attract businesses and tourists. It is a major port exporting local goods such as wool, apples, pears, stone fruit, and wine (there are a number of well-established vineyards producing high quality wines locally) Napier is also noted for its Art Deco architecture. Napier was destroyed by a major earthquake in the Hawkes Bay region in 1931. It was rebuilt in the architectural style of the period and remains to this day. It has been referred to as the “Nice of the Pacific”. Like me Simon has an appreciation of Art Deco style.
The tour continued south across the Cook Straits to the South Island. He visited the Classic Motorcycle Museum at Nelson prior to its closure. He told us a bit about a New Zealand engineering icon, John Britten, and his development of a series of racing motorcycles, the Britten V1000, build and developed in the 1990s. John Britten caught the world of motorcycling’s attention with a series of performances. For instance, on the 3rd December 1993 a Britten V1000 set the World Flying Mile Record at 188.082mph. A record held to this day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britten_V1000 The museum and its stock of motorcycles was almost lost to the world when it closed. It was bought at the last moment by an entrepreneur and transported to the south of the island at the last moment. It is now installed in Invercargill – the website makes it a very attractive prospect to visit. (https://www.motorcyclemecca.nz/)
Simon’s journey continued south on a rented BMW RT1200 which he found a reliable and comfortable steed. He followed the road through Arthur’s Pass, a deep valley with steep sides which identifies the edges Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. This road was initially opened up by the Otago Region gold rush between 1861 and 1864. Then it was just a dirt track. From Simon’s description I got the feeling it is only slightly better – river bed cemented together to form a ‘flat’ surface. To be honest it did not sound particularly comfortable, but the great thing about the RT1200 it soaks up these bumps to provide a smooth ride. Still would not like to come off on such a surface though.
The end of the road was at Fjord Land – an excellent description of the geography of the area, Apparently tour boats go out on the fjord and play music directed at the water – it attracts Hector’s Dolphins (named after the New Zealand scientist and explorer James Hector 1834-1907), an endangered species of dolphin due to bycatch in gill nets and trawls, disease and genetic issues. They favour shallow waters. Marine protection areas have been established in an attempt to preserve the species.
New Zealanders have a reputation for enjoying outdoor lifestyles, and this means not only eating from a barbecue regularly. Simon visited Queens Town, an epicentre for outdoor sports. A great place if you are interested in skiing (water and snow), jet boarding, bungy jumping, mountain biking, paragliding, etc. All sports I know the readers of this article and SDVMCC members relish to participate in.
Finally, Simon showed a video of riding through Arthur’s Pass and further afield. I must confess looking at the shadow of the bike, rider and passenger, I did wonder if Teletubbies’s Dipsy was in the driving seat? See attached photographs. Many thanks to Simon for the talk and for clarifying some points for me.
Mike Davis
