Touring New Zealand

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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mjr
Posts: 20308
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
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Re: Touring New Zealand

Post by mjr »

Racingt wrote:MJR, a number of main roads have cycle lanes marked on them. Which is good.

That's a step forwards. I only noticed cycle lanes marked in Wellington. None on the South Island, where the attitude seemed to be to direct cyclists in towns onto utterly unsuitable footways-with-signs which imitate the worst UK routes with horrible crossings like this one - as well as the cycle-signed narrow footway in the foreground, note people cycling towards the viewpoint emerge to cross blind from behind a fence on the far side of the splitter island:
Image

Out in the countryside, you were left to fend for yourself and play chicken with lorries across single-lane bridges.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Racingt
Posts: 142
Joined: 23 Oct 2015, 6:45am

Re: Touring New Zealand

Post by Racingt »

Yes, they seem very progressive. I’ve just seen a ‘bike repair station’ 200 meters awayiutside a fire station, with a cycle stand and a large number of tools held securely, but available for public use. Mainly Park Tools as well, no rubbish. All free for public use 24/7.

And the 600 rider end to end bike packing event that I referred to earlier, was mentioned in national news, so there is a good awareness of cycling in the country.
A couple more practical tips:
Free topographic maps are available on http://m.nztopomaps.com/
(Covers north and south completely free access)
Five day weather forecasts on http://www.metservice.com/maps-radar/ra ... cast-5-day
(It can really rain down here)

Cheers
Joanne30
Posts: 4
Joined: 8 Jun 2018, 7:39am

Re: Touring New Zealand

Post by Joanne30 »

Know that the car is king in New Zealand, only second to the behemoth that is a double length logging truck that will honk incessantly at you and drive close to make sure you understand their annoyance (this happened to me a few months ago and there was no cycle lane or pavement for me to be on instead in order to get out of the town I was in - Cromwell, South Island).

There are some amazing rides in NZ and you see a lot of cycle tourers, particularly in the Summer (Dec-Feb), so drivers expect to see cyclists on the roads, some people are just assholes about it. Some of the dedicated cycleways are gravel paths off the roads, such as the popular 'Alps to Ocean' and the Otago Rail Trail (both South Island), so consider that when deciding on the kind of bike you buy/take.

Some cities have or are developing their cycle routes, it is very hit and miss. Each town/city is different. I had no problem on the roads of Wellington which was nice.

One big bonus for New Zealand is always being able to find water fountains, free or very cheap clean public showers and toilets, and places to camp or find a hostel. Use the campermate app, it lists everything you might need day to day and I use it all the time.

If you are interested in more off-road cycling I highly recommend The Old Ghost Road (nr Westport - North West of the South Island), my partner and I did this in 2016 over 3 days. It is steep and requires a mountain bike, with some small sections unrideable, but it is a lot of fun. There are plenty of MTB hire companies nearby. You stay in wooden hut bunk beds overnight (with other hikers and bikers), and the views and star gazing are magnificent.

If you aren't planning to send your own bike you can get second hand ones on Trade Me and sell them again at the end of your trip - I did this on my first NZ trip in 2016, only lost about $50 which is nothing compared to what rentals would have cost for 3 weeks or additional baggage fees.
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