THE DRAG BACK
I won’t lie… the ride from St Arnaud back to
Blenheim is a drag. Monotonous and extremely
boring, with a high chance of speed cameras. I
was completely over SH63 by the time we rolled
into Blenheim exactly 331km after leaving that
morning. Could The Red Baron have made it on
one tank? Maybe. Probably not. The fuel stop
saved me from finding out it couldn’t in the
worst way. It was a long ride in the heat in a
single day, 10 hours or so, but it was worth it
for the great riding through some of our most
beautiful high country.
If you like dirt touring and gravel riding and
you’ve never ridden the Molesworth or Rainbow,
I’d highly suggest you do. Take a look at the
boxout for info on when the roads are open if
you want to schedule your own ride. I’d like to
thank the BMW Motorcycle Club Aotearoa for
doing the organising and leading the ride, which
made for a very easy way to enjoy one of New
Zealand’s great gravel riding experiences.
BMW MOTORCYCLE CLUB AOTEAROA
The club is open to anyone who owns or has an interest in BMW motorcycles – you don’t need
to own one to be a member. It organises many rides throughout the year and has a bunch of
very welcoming members. The annual rally I attended had over 100 people participate each
day in a variety of road and adventure rides, wine tastings, the Show and Shine and a moto-
gymkhana. If you’d like to know more head to https://www.bmwor.org.nz to see what they’re
about and what rides and events they’ve got coming up.
MOLESWORTH & RAINBOW ACCESS
Both the Molesworth and Rainbow are only open for a short period of time each year. The
Acheron Road through Molesworth is open from 7am to 7pm daily from Labour Weekend in
October until Easter Monday in April. Similarly, the Rainbow Station is open from December 26
until May 1. There’s an access toll to pay for the Rainbow and a form to fill in too.
Head to https://www.rainbowstation.co.nz/get-access for info on the Rainbow, and
https://bit.ly/39K3kYa for the DOC page on the Acheron Road.
110 KIWI RIDER