Ka Pai Kiwis

Well what a day. This will be a long one, sorry. We left early and had a lovely drive to the border. Picked up a bit of extra USD and on the way to the border we caught our first glimpse of the Caspian sea. And headed for the people at the Azerbaijan exit point. Played the bike passport game again!!!!!! Then they insisted all bags be x-rayed. Over an hour later we were cleared to leave Azerbaijan and across a bridge of no mans land. Salaam Iran. Reasonably straight forward with our visas but not with the bike. Absolutely no way could they admit the bike. Our guide was running late but the local fixers chatted away to us which was nice. Hossein our guide arrived and took charge of proceedings. A lot of waiting around but finally I got the go ahead to ride the bike to the loading dock where I tearfully said goodbye. We grabbed a very nice lunch at a small roadside cafe, big plate of fragrant rice and a very generous piece of chicken, water and coke for 3 - about $5. We are a real ...

It rained overnight, but was dry for us to pack. The clouds ahead were black and sure enough 30ks later we were on the side of the road pulling on our wets. Nice road we were going  along but due to the rain I had to move the phone into the tank bag which then steamed up, I couldn’t see the map on it. Consequently next time I checked it I’d taken a wrong turn. So small backtrack required and the map took us down quite a rough bit of tarmac, didn’t feel right and a couple of drivers coming the other way signaled this was the wrong way to be heading. So back again through this little town and sure enough maps.me turned us around to the rough road. A man helped us to navigate to a town that I knew was on the way, so we thought bugger it how bad can it be. Well a few kilometers later we found out, 25 km of potholes holding hands, some of them big enough to take us and the bike. Another clue which we chose to ignore was when we passed through a little village, all the men stopped th...

After breakfast we said goodbye to our new friends and headed to the border. Only feeling slightly seedy after last night, Robyn and I got  out in the nick of time, it could have got messy. At the border they asked if we had a drone, I said mate I can't even work the go pro properly, not sure he got that. Usual roundabout of  bike passport. That is the bike passport. No I want bike passport. That's all I have. Don’t you understand bike passport. Yes I understand bike passport but that's all I have. I think I’ll pre -record a message.Anyway we got there in the end. Ominous sign I thought. So we set off full of trepidation, at least I was. The stories of the Azeri traffic police are legendary and not in a good way. At one stage I pulled over to let a horse and cart pass me, I was so paranoid about not speeding.  The road was beautiful for the first 40km as we skirted alongside the Caucasus mountain foothills. We pulled over to get some local money and buy snacks...

Today was the day we were to go to Azerbaijan but we read about this town, Sighnaghi and as there is a border crossing nearby we thought why not. So we are in Georgia for one more day. So leaving Tbilisi behind, only 100km today so very easy. It is very hot today, I was just thinking about a water stop when I saw a couple of bikes on the side of the road. Pulled up and chatted away to a couple of German guys on hired V Stroms on day two of a six week tour of Georgia.  We headed through pleasant farming countryside and then quickly found ourselves in wine country. Miles and miles of vineyards and then the signs to the individual wineries just like Marlborough. Wine is big here, they are very proud of their wines and rightly so, the ones we have sampled are very good. No wonder they are concerned with Russian shenanigans at the moment, I think they buy most of it. Sighnaghi is a delightful town set high on a hill surrounded by its still intact old wall complete with lookou...

Our last day here and we are ready to move on. We spent the morning wandering around some sights we haven’t seen and then a stroll through the lovely botanic gardens. Bit close to the edge. The wise talking to the wise? Russia occupies two provinces in the north of the country. Its a complicated story but Georgia claims this is their territory and most countries in the world agree with them. Nauru is one of the dissenters, as if they would give a FF!  No prizes for guessing why.  Out for dinner again to the best food in Georgia. Who should sit down at the next table, two kids from Blenheim having a wonderful OE.  Altogether a good day. Should also mention the craft beer industry here is taking off. The main difference is it costs less than half NZ prices. Yippee!!! 

Quiet day today. Catching up on a few chores. Getting a haircut was a highlight $5. Noticed the fridge in the hairdressers was full of beer, unfortunately a bit too early in the day. Just had a chill day today. R&R. Still quite hot and humid. We did get a tour of the building renovations happening on the floor below us. 11 new rooms and pretty swish. The staff here have been very kind to us and the owner was very proud, and rightly so, of his hotel expansion. It is due to open next week and the word is we probably won’t be able to afford to stay here again. Oh well. We are keen to get moving again and will be heading off on the 28 th. Just got back from dinner. Amazing,  just a young couple who cook your dinner fresh as you order it. And man can they cook. This is food made with love. Robyn’s main course took 40 minutes to prepare. So soup, main course each, salad to share, bottle of water, 2 glasses of wine. $34!! Guess where we’re eating tomorrow night! We have se...

Bike day today. New tyres and an oil change. Tyres are still good but the next place is a long way away so I would rather have good tyres for the Pamir highway etc. We set off for the bike shop in heavy traffic, unfortunately my friend Tomtom doesn’t cover Georgia so its a combination of Google maps and Maps.Me. Must have circled Freedom Square about 6 times before I found the correct exit. I didn’t realise it was a double roundabout, one on top of the other. Ahhhhh. Anyway we got here in the end.  New tyres and fresh oil, big ups to Rushmores motorcycles Tbilisi for great service and good prices.  Ride home was less stressful but the phone is much harder to read than the Tomtom especially with the sun on it. The temperature on the ride home hit 40 degrees so straight to the shower for us. Our plans have proven to be very fluid as things have changed. It all started with a sudden and unexplained ban on motorcycles greater than 250cc entering Iran. We thought we...

Nice sleep in  although I went for an early wander up some steps to visit the Mother of Georgia and take in the view. After breakfast we headed out for a stroll and visited the Holy Trinity Church, quite an impressive building especially at night when the golden dome is lit up. Last nights photos Wandered about a bit more but it is just too hot, maybe only 30ish but high humidity making us very sticky. No health and safety here! 

Another lovely morning and a rare sleep in as breakfast wasn’t till 9 and we have only 200 km to travel to Tbilisi. Our hotel turned out to be a bit of Fawlty Towers and compared to where we are now in Tbilisi and completely overpriced. Never mind it was an experience. Nice travelling through a picturesque and steep sided gorge which gradually widened out to what must be the garden of Georgia. Orchards and horticulture everywhere in this very pretty countryside and every so often the remains of a primitive castle dot the landscape. The driving standards certainly kept me on my toes until we hit the motorway for the run in to Tbilisi where the driving standards improved somewhat, although we did pass the scene of one nasty accident. We found our hotel ok and it has turned out to be a gem!  Just as well as we have much planning to do for our re-route around Iran. View from the hotel room - not bad. Statue of Mother of Georgia. Honey in left hand, sword in right. We ...

We woke up to a beautiful morning. Lovely ride this morning, the road hasn’t got any better but it does seem easier earlier in the day. The scenery is just spectacular, we could be in Switzerland. We wound up and up with many switchback roads and a mild temperature. Finally at the top then a steep descent into a lovely fertile valley. Then again we began to climb more gently this time but we got to 2470 metres and it was a bit cold. Down again then up up up to 2550 metres and still the remains if the winter snows. The landscape dotted with shepherds summer cottages and the shepherds themselves tending their animals. Down again and then a very pleasant meander to the border. Could have stopped every 5 minutes for photos but press on we must. Border formalities were straightforward except once again the bloody NZ bike registration papers. Because everyone else has a passport like vehicle document it makes ours look like a fake. So this all took an hour and we had ...