h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

(General friendly greeting = South African translation of g'daymate) I had the good fortune to visit NZ in 2000. My stepsister drove me from Wellington to Palmiston North (sp?) and I yearned to be astride a Cruiser or RT - I'm a BMW nut! Those winding roads and open green countryside - marvellous!
South Africa is also a great country to ride - W I D E open spaces and a world of scenery. You can go from rainforest to desert, savannah to sand dunes and high snow-capped mountains to hot dusty valleys in a thousand kilometres. There is about 1 traffic policeman for every 5000 kilometres of tar road and outside of the towns the speed limit is 120k/hr (yeah, right!)
Petrol is affordable and accomodation cheap - especially if you earn US$ (ZA R10 = US$1) Beer is about R7-50 and imported stuff R12-50 in a pub. You can have a full meal, (steak, chips etc) pud and drinks at R80 a head in a normal fare restaurant and B+B type overnight will cost you about R150 per person. We're sunnier and warmer than NZ - if you rotated NZ around the south pole, the tip of North Island would just bump into the bottom of SA.
I really enjoyed my trip - three days was NOT enough. I will do more in future

Its something like "Oi Boot", is it ? Got that from a SA whiskey ad poking fun at our All Blacks ... I can see your point about Beemers - rode a 2000 F650?thread="smiley - winkeye" title="winkeye" class="smiley" src="http://www.h2g2.com/h2g2/skins/Alabaster/images/Smilies/f_winkeye.gif"/>

Sorry, don't know that ad! I had the pleasure of riding a K1200RS for a day last year - one hellova machine! You just roll on the power and it opens up until the white line go solid at 230 or so! I don't like staying at that speed and so tap off until 160-180 where it's like riding on rails
But I prefer the R1150RT for long distances at the same speed range. I found a handlebar vibration which numbed my hand in a half hour or so. My mate Andy from Sydney rode the same machine the day before and after and didn't experience it, so maybe it's my gloves or I hold the grips differently. Either way, I soon realised that owning either one would cost me a fortune in speeding fines - no points system out here YET!

Sorry, don't know that ad! I had the pleasure of riding a K1200RS for a day last year - one hellova machine! You just roll on the power and it opens up until the white line go solid at 230 or so! I don't like staying at that speed and so tap off until 160-180 where it's like riding on rails
But I prefer the R1150RT for long distances at the same speed range. I found a handlebar vibration which numbed my hand in a half hour or so. My mate Andy from Sydney rode the same machine the day before and after and didn't experience it, so maybe it's my gloves or I hold the grips differently. Either way, I soon realised that owning either one would cost me a fortune in speeding fines - no points system out here YET!