Newsletter & Blog

THE SPMT BLOG - by Carole Lester (Owner/Director)

AUGUST 2022
It's great to be back out of hibernation and in full swing!  Bookings have just gone crazy and we're doing our very best to help everyone out. Please EMAIL rather than phone as we're not all in the office yet until the season starts fully in October. We're very  sorry to say farewell to David, our mechanic of twelve years,  however we're really pleased to introduce Nathan O'Brien as our new mechanic going forward, he's extremely knowledgable when it comes to prepping and fixing bikes, so if you see him lurking around in the depths of the garage say hi! 

Our daughter Kim Johnston will probably be your first point of contact. Kim's completely dedicated to sorting out a bike for you and answering all your questions and as Operations Manager, oversees the day to day running of the business.

Some of you may have noticed that we're unable to take on any more GPS Tour bookings and I'm so sorry about this.  For the past two years we've had many clients booked who have kept their deposits with us and have been patiently waiting for our borders to re-open.  Obviously we need to give these clients our top priority, so we have a two year backlog to get through, and in order to retain our high quality service we simply cannot accept any more at the moment. HOWEVER!  If you hire a bike from us we'll still give you losts of valuable information about the best route and lodgings. You will have organise this yourself, but think about the money you'll save!

A few months ago we were honoured with a Tourism Qualmark Gold accredditation, which, in the tourism industry, is the best of the best when it comes to providing a high quality, safe and reliable service, combined with doing our very best to care for our environment. Look for the Qualmark sign when booking up any lodgings, activities or attractions.

20TH YEAR CELEBRATIONS!
2023 marks the 20th year of South Pacific Motorcycle Tours - and we intend to celebrate in style!  We plan to join our January and February Burt Munro Challenge 2023 fully guided tours and have a ball - after all why should the tour guides have all the fun!  If you'd like to join us please flick Kim an email on office@motorbiketours.co.nz

FEBRUARY 2021
Who would have thought, we're FULLY BOOKED for the Burt Munro Challenge Tour departing Tuesday!  Many customers are on their own bikes and we have hired a few of ours, but the main thing is we're going and we're going to have a ball.  John Munro, a good friend of ours and Burt Munro's son, is once again giving us his time exclusively to us by giving a presentation and taking our lucky customers on a tiki tour of Invercargill to some special Munro family locations.  This is turning out to be a really popular yearly tour, if you're interested sign up now for February 2022.

Deposits and cancellations - some clients have asked us the current situation due to COVID.  Well it's easy, if you're serious about riding NZ and living the dream, then reserve your bike with a 20% deposit to show us you mean business.  Our cancellation policy applies which means you get a full refund (albeit a very small admin fee) right up to 60 days before you pick up your bike.  If you then can't travel due to a COVID-19 Lockdown or border restrictions we simply postpone your trip until such time as you can get here - easy! 

NOVEMBER 2020

Things have slowed down dramatically since March as we cannot enjoy the smiles on people's faces from overseas visitors while our borders are closed. BUT we're very grateful to have local bookings, and we're also busy with motorcycle service and repairs.  When the borders re-open we know we'll be busy, and we'll be ready!  We have such great customers in that we have a huge number of forward bookings, with everyone just waiting in the wings and looking forward to starting their engines just as soon as we can. 

JUNE 2020
There we were full steam ahead back in March having the best season ever.  Yours truly absolutely loving collecting eager riders from the airport or hotel each morning ready for the Ride of their life.  Kim absolutely loving the meet and greet hugs, Hayley absolutely loving sharing her itineraries, and David absolutely loving going over the bike controls.  Not forgetting Mike MD and Molly the cocker spaniel always lurking around! Then it started to happen, that awful thing called COVID-19.  Miraculously we had only a dozen or so riders needing to abort their mission, and with our help we managed to get everyone to the airport just in time for the last flights home before the big Lockdown ... except for one!

One of our returning VIPs,  David from the UK, had been loving his self-guided tour of NZ so much on Rosie, BMW 1250RT he just refused to go home!  We got him quickly relocated from the Bay of Islands to Christchurch just in time. I spent the whole day researching nice places  suitable for a long-term stay and at the last minute found a lovely cottage in a quiet location but within walking distance to the city centre, and hosted by one of our favourite Christchurch hotels.  David has thoroughly enjoyed his isolation time in the beautiful Christchurch Autumn,  riding around Canterbury on a Triumph Bonneville or a BMW 800GT, and calling in regularly for coffee and cake. David is due to fly back to the UK mid-July and we shall miss him. Fleur will be ready and waiting for you next summer David!    

JULY 2019
Our Operations Manager Kim recently spoke to Jim from Adventure Rider Radio and was interviewed for their Podcast! What a fantastic way to spread the word to like-minded bikers and encourage more visitors to Ride New Zealand and Live the Dream! Click Here and check out the Interview. Adventure Rider Radio is the most listened-to motorcycle poscast in the world and we're proud to be part of such an awesome community. Cheers guys!

• Another fantastic Season and the bikes are tucked up in the warm. We have two incredible Fully Guided Tours booked for 2020 and are excited to indroduce our Burt Munro Challenge Fully Guided Tour which will be a regular Tour each year! Our Friend John Munro (Burt's Son!) has given us his endorsement for the tour and has worked with us to ensure the best experience for our South Pacific Motorcycle Tours clients. February 2020!
• We have new ladies joining us no the fleet when the weather heats up, the new BMW F750GS, BMW F850GS, BMW R1250GS and BMW R1250GT! Well someone has to run in the new bikes! We are all very excited for the new toys to arrive.
• New Zealand is still top of the list of countries to visit and we couldnt agree more. Spectacular Scenery, Incredibly biking roads and our attractive faces, what more could you ask for! We love meeting new bikers and hope everyone leaves feeling like family. Come visit us and we'll show you!

• Winter is coming! Although things have slowed down a little here at SPMT due to the Winter creeping in New Zealand, we are still busy taking bookings for clients for the end of 2018, start of 2019 and even 2020 already!
• David our awesome Worhsop Manager went bike shopping and got his hands on two brand new BMW F700GS' and one new BMWF800, exciting! We like to keep our fleet with the best late model bikes to make sure you are getting the best quality riding experience here in the Southern Hemisphere! 

• Brrrrr!! It's getting chilly here in New Zealand and our ladies are tucked up inside in the warm as this season comes to an end. And what a FANTASTIC season it was! We met so many incredible bikers who we now call friends! We made some incredible memories on our Fully Guided Tours and had many happy return customers come back to join us for more GPS tours and Rentals, AWESOME!
• ONE Fully Guided Tour for 2019 to rule them all! You heard correct, in 2019 we will only be running ONE Special Fully Guided Tour only, our 16 Day Southern Alps Spectacular. And boy have we packed in the best of the best! Included are some fantastic activities and stunning locations as well as special evening dinners and much much more! 
• David is busy checking out new bikes to add to our fleet for next season so watch this space for new additions!

• HAPPY NEW YEAR! Where has 2017gone?!  We've been so busy with our tours and rentals, buying bikes, selling bikes, and generally having a ball. We've had visitors from all over the world and 2018 looks promising to be our best year ever. We welcome new Queenstown Agents Ana and Pico to the fold.  Situated in Frankton close to Queenstown Airport, we know you will be well looked after if you are picking up or dropping off a bike in this region. 
• More bikes! With now over 30 vehicles on the fleet there's got to be something here for you.  The Bonneville T100s are proving to be extremely popular and we now have three
• Our GPS Tours are definitely the star of the show and proving to be the way to go for discerning motorcyclists who want to see the very best of NZ but may not have the time to research, design and book.  That's what we do! 
• Talkiing of Tours, our special Omaka 'Warbirds' Tour with Australian Motorcyclist Magazine in April 2017 was an amazing success, huge thanks to The Bear Peter Thoeming for the superb editorial in the mag following the tour.  If you're interested in joining our fabulous Warbirds Over Wanaka Fully Guided Tour for Easter 2018 there are still a few places, but be quick!
• NEW TOURS FOR 2019 - We're announcing a fabulous 12 Day Fully Guided Tour which will take place in January and March 2019. If you're interested please express your interest now,  as we are always fully booked and it's always a first-come, first-served  basis.  Our Tour Guides, are OUR Tour Guides and we keep our tour groups fairly small (no more than 10 bikes usually). These tours will encapsulate everything that is uniquely 'UnZud' - our Kiwi, pengins and albatross, our fine wines and fresh cuisine, our rainforests, glaciers, lakes and mountains. All these iconic features are all to be found in the South,where our spectacular Alps spine the whole island, and yours for riding! So we're sticking to the Beautiful South which is what we specialise in. 
• QUALITY IS REMEMBERED LONG AFTER THE PRICE IS FORGOTTEN! Be wary of competitors who are either not based in the South Island, or do not even have a presence in New Zealand at all!  Ask about the age and quality of your chosen motorcycle, ask to see photos!  Did you know that ALL our motorcycles have names?  Each one is special to us, as it will be special to you. Our company offers a unique, five-star personal approach to service, regardless of whether you're just hiring for a few days, or on a three-week Day Luxury Bespoke Tour.
• Ride New Zealand ... Live The Dream ..... see you soon
  
  Look forward to seeing you here in beautiful NZ soon" - Carole Lester