Top of the South 2.0

Just over a year ago, we attempted the Molesworth station road on a Suzuki V-Strom 1050 and the Harley-Davidson Pan America. If you followed along with the adventure, you'd know we never actually got to ride the Molesworth as it was closed due to flood damage to the roads in the area.

There is an amount of assumed knowledge in this story and video, so if you aren't sure where we are talking, check out these stories:
Great Rides of NZ - Molesworth
Great Rides of NZ - Rainbow
Top of the South

It was always the plan to head back and give it another crack. So, roll on Christmas 2022, and this time on some proper adventure bikes, we loaded up and headed south once again to "knock the bastard off"

We picked up the story around 7am on Boxing day, I was up and on the motorway heading south to the Wellington Interislander terminal. Meeting Todd there, we got on the ferry and got stuck into a traditional cooked breakfast. To me, this is the only way to start a bike trip.
We disembarked in Picton, set our beelines for Hanmer, and got on with the business of enjoying the ride.
From Blenheim, we made our way over Taylor pass, with a good bit of pace. pausing at the intersection with Awatere Valley road, this is where we pick up the story on video.