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Boys and their toys
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Five men from Hyderabad toured Kiwi land on their mean machines! RENUKA VIJAY KUMAR finds out more...
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On their own Ravi, Madhav, Raghu, Shantanu, Rajeev and Mike- on the road and at the Shotover Jet
These men love super bikes and ride regularly in city over weekends or try to squeeze in day trips to surrounding areas, so when they announced a trip to kiwi land, it came as little surprise to close friends and family. The five men, Ravi Varma, Raghuram Reddy, Shantanu Reddy, Madhav Bhoopal and Rajeev Malve landed in New Zealand with the promise of adventure and the trip of a lifetime and 10 days later they were only wishing for more.
The five buddies embarked on a 10 day trip toured New Zealand on their super bikes, covering a total of 2500 kilometres on their bikes, while a support van with their luggage trailed them. The bikes or cruisers they used were Hondas or BMWs. They rode during the day and along the way stopped only for a coffee or a quick bite with stopover at night. Mike of South Pacific Bikers was their tour leader who accompanied them throughout the trip.
Ravi, says, “We rode 500kms everyday, basically covering South Island. On our way we stopped at Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph, which is glacier country.
Madhav Bhoopal, owner of Auto-tech says the best part about the trip was the scenery. “It was really scenic with the landscape and weather changing constantly. We drove through sunshine and heavy rain, through beautiful places like Queenstown, Te Anau and Mulford Sound. The roads are also well laid out and we didn’t see a single pot hole during our entire trip.”
The biking trip began at Christchurch with a stop at Franz Joseph, a day at Wanaka, two days at Queenstown and two more at Te Anau which was made the hub for all the day trips. Finally the trip wound up at Christchurch before they headed back home- to the annoyed wives who were left behind. “It was meant to be a ‘boy’s only’ trip. The logistics didn’t support partners!” says Madhav.
They hired a helicopter and landed on a glacier and on top of a floating iceberg, stayed overnight in a rainforest, indulged in some adventure sports and did a bit of pub hopping including a visit to an ice bar. Adventure sports were the highlight of their trip as they indulged in some extreme sports at Queenstown, the hub of it all. Bungy jumping, Shotover Jet, rides on All Terrain Vehicles and paragliding off a 3000 feet mountain. “The Shotover Jets were scary because the boat takes 360 degree spins and goes really close to the rocks,” says Ravi.
Each man added his bit to the trip. While Shantanu, of Sound and Vision, wowed even the New Zealanders with his helmet camera and other hi-tech gadgets that allowed for 10 hours of video recording, Raghuram was the only one who dared to bungy jump in to the freezing river. Other side trips included a steamer cruise Mulford Sound, where the glacier water meets the sea and visits to Salmon breeding farms and some of the country’s most famous vineyards.
When the exhausting, yet exhilarating ‘boys only’ trip came to an end, the men were already looking forward to planning their next one.
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