New Zealand touring

[Alastairjmb]

I have an opportunity to cycle tour in NZ October/November 19. Will be hiring bikes and camping with the wife. Any hints or tips on routes or options much appreciated. We are on a round the world trip with 5 weeks in NZ. . Bring it on, late gap year
Happy cycling

[rualexander]

Not the best months for NZ.
Which city are you flying in and out of?

[Alastairjmb]

Fly into Aukland and out of Christchurch, hope to hire bikes but not take them on the ferry unless that's more of a problem.

[yutkoxpo]

I have an opportunity to cycle tour in NZ October/November 19. Will be hiring bikes and camping with the wife. Any hints or tips on routes or options much appreciated. We are on a round the world trip with 5 weeks in NZ. . Bring it on, late gap year
Happy cycling

Lucky you!

If you're not familiar with it, check out CrazyGuyOnABike.com Lots of information available in Journals with a very useful search function.

[Alastairjmb]

Thanks for this suggestion will check it out.
Getting exited about it already

[rotavator]

I have been there a couple of times but mainly hiking and sightseeing rather than cycling.

I found that privately run campsite are generally very good. They almost always have a building for cooking and eating in, which is especially useful if the weather is wet and windy and/or you only have a small tent. Campsites can become very crowded at holiday times so it might be worth checking out when the public and school holidays are and trying to avoid them.

Some settlements have municipal campsites that can be much cheaper than private sites but the one I booked into, (without checking first = big mistake) was pretty grim: windswept, hard baked soil and the permanent residence of the local down and outs.

Hostels are another option worth considering.

One nuisance to be aware of are sandflies. These biting insects live in sandy places especially on the west side of the south island. Unlike midges, they mainly go for ankles and lower legs so sandals and shorts are not a good idea in infested areas but tucking long trousers into socks is an effective counter-measure.

There are quite a few gravel roads especially on the the South Island that would be good for getting away from the tourist hot spots and tarmac, and may be do some wild camping.

Why don't you want to take the bikes on the ferry, I assume from Welllington to Picton?

[rualexander]

Auckland is not a great starting point for cycle touring.
Will you be able to hire bikes and return them to a different city?
North Island mostly too busy with traffic nowadays, but still some nice quieter areas, particularly the East Cape and the Wairarapa.
Perhaps you could get a bus from Auckland to Whakatane and start cycling from there.
Although, a good exit route from Auckland avoiding the traffic is to take the ferry to Waiheke Island and cycle to the eastern end and get the ferry to the Coromandel peninsula which is nice for cycling.
You'd then have a busy road for a couple of days or so getting from Waihi across to Whakatane.

[Alastairjmb]

Will be following up all the suggestions, very helpful to get a plan in place, still a work in progress. We will be mixing cycling with walking and sight seeing.
Thinking about focusing more on the South island for light wait cycle touring hopefully on gravel roads. For example thinking of hiring bikes in Dunedin and exploring via a round trip.
The reason for not taking bikes on the ferry was mainly to facilitate return to the hire shop.
Thanks so far, great to get practical feedback. Mrs not good with biting insects so defo trousers tucked in!

[simonhill]

I have toured on NZ 2x2 months.

Glad to see you are now thinking about where you can get a bike rather than where you can ride. Your best chances will be the new rail trails plus outdoor centres like Queenstown.

You may find some of these are one way rides with transport back options.

If going multi day you will need to think about carrying you luggage/kit.

Be prepared for some tough weather.

[Alastairjmb]

Read some journal reports on the rail trails, they look good for us an A to B trip, and l hope we could hire bikes close to one. We commute daily on country roads to work in all weather's, hope for good conditions but should be able to cope if we have decent outer layer. We are on a round world trip and travelling light as possible but will gear up to stay comfortable. Day rides will be an option if we have the opportunity to hire on spec when we land somewhere new such as Queenstown
An other potential cycling venues for us is Fiji (2 weeks) immediately prior to NZ

Alastairjmb

[simonhill]

You can always post any unwanted gear home to save carrying it with you on the rest of the trip.

[Alastairjmb]

Good point. We have lots of places to visit on our trip so that may be a necessary option to keep options available to us on our way round.