15 Apr. 2024

New Zealand Delivered Exceptional Landscapes and Community for Adventure Rider Runa

Midst of February, I packed all my riding & camping gear and jumped on a plane at my local airport in Stavanger, Norway, heading east. Very far east. And 36 hours later, I’m in Auckland, New Zealand, preparing to collect my travel companion for the next month at Husqvarna Motorcycles New Zealand’s headquarters. A 2023 Husqvarna Motorcycles Norden 901 with mostly original accessories, except for two alu panniers and off rod foot pegs.

I have a soft spot for camping and outdoor life, mountains, good views, and places that make you feel like you’re the only one left on the planet. Coming from Norway, I am already spoiled with most of this, but New Zealand has something Norway does not have; summer months when Norway is at its coldest, making it a very attractive destination at this time of the year.

Fueled by the collective wisdom of online communities, I headed straight for the south island of New Zealand where I wanted to spend the larger part of my time. Equipped with cameras pointing in what feels like all directions, I was ready to document my experiences exploring what New Zealand has to offer.

One month is not nearly enough to experience all of New Zealand, which I soon discovered is a LOT, but still time enough to completely immerse yourself into the trip, not caring if it’s Tuesday or Saturday, and not worrying and stressing over how many days are left of the trip.

During my one month I got to experience many of the locations and passes that was recommended to me as New Zealand's best motorcycle roads. Some of my favorites being the Rainbow Road, French Pass, Nevis Road, Old Dunstan’s road, Skippers Canyon and of course, the place that almost made me feel like I was back in Norway, Milford Sounds.

Many have asked me what my favorite part of New Zealand is, but I can hardly choose just one place. I’ve concluded that my favorite part is how incredibly diverse the country is, and how much the landscape changes over short distances. How on the same day you can experience so much variety in landscapes, roads, and views. Camping was also so accessible and easy - DOC campgrounds becoming my favorite with their simplicity and more remote and scenic locations. During my 28 days on the island, I spent 24 of them in my tent.

New Zealand delivers diversity in more areas than landscape; the weather changing every bit as fast as I was told. Luckily, I’m somewhat used to that from living right next to the Atlantic Ocean all of my life. On one of my last days on the South Island, I started my day in 25C in Christchurch and ended it in rain and 5C in Lewis Pass, waking up surrounded by snow covered mountains and all my gear frozen from a night with temps below freezing. It sure keeps things interesting, and just adds to the wild beauty of the country.

More than that, I greatly appreciated the hospitality, kindness and curiosity of Kiwis. Coming from a part of the world that is known to be introverted and where most keep to themselves, it was a fantastic experience being approached pretty much everywhere I stopped by people wondering what I was up to and wanting to admire the bike. I got so many kind offers of places to stay and for people to reach out a hand and help if it was ever needed, it was quite overwhelming in all the right ways.

Thank you for making this experience everything I hoped it would be! I’ll be back some day to discover more of both islands. Until then, you can follow along on my trip on my YouTube channel, as I will start releasing episodes from my trip mid-April.

Thanks for having me and see you soon!