Touring New Zealand

[andrew549]

I'm thinking that my next big tour is going to be around New Zealand and wanted to know if anyone had any recommendations on where is worth visiting or avoiding, at the moment I'm planning on going over for about 2 months so hopefully I'll have enough time to see both North and South islands.

I currently don't have any real route in mind but was planning of trying to link up some of their longer cycle routes and would be keen to avoid major roads as much as possible. So any route recommendations would be great.

I was also looking at airlines and Singapore airlines looked to be fairly cheap but was wandering what other people had used and would recommend.

Thanks
Andy

[greyingbeard]

Avoid going via Los Angeles, at least don't stay there.
Take your time and see the sights properly, I doubt you'll do the whole of no in two months

[tatanab]

Going via LA is not a problem. You get put in a holding area while the aircraft is prepared. It means going through an immigration check but that was ok in 2006.

I've only been around South Island. For most of the time there is only one road, hence a main road, but there is very little traffic unless you chose peak tourist time (I went end of February). No specific recommendations, just look beyond the normal tourist stuff.

[iviehoff]

You'll actually find 2 months is a bit of a rush for a full tour of both islands, but it is plenty for a selective tour including elements of both.

The best roads are gravel. Many people particularly enjoy the Mavora Lakes road which is accessed by a boat from Queenstown, requires an overnight camp on the way. The Rainbow Road from St Arnaud to Hanmer Springs is another favourite, and cyclists can use it at all times, except when blocked by snow, and it requires an overnight camp. On the parallel Acheron Road there is some limitation to access, but it looks like it is open more than it used to be: see http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recrea ... h-station/ There are lots of great tracks in Otago, including quite a long signposted one heading W from Dunedin. On the whole S Island is better cycling, especially if you like the tracks, (including extremities, I have done this, though I don't recommend it to anyone because of the toughness of the portage http://www.rsf.org.uk/other-routes/156- ... dland.html) though of course there is the famous volcanic traverse route in N Island. I enjoyed a trip to Great Barrier Island, regular boats from Auckland, which you can cycle around for 2 or 3 days, to see what NZ was like before possums ate it. I also enjoyed cycling around the E cape and across the Urewera Nat Pk, and also around Northland, they make a change, though don't really rate on the spectacular scale. On the whole, places well mentioned in guidebooks are less interesting to cyclists than places hardly mentioned in guidebooks. A map and an off-road cycling guide will be more useful.

[greyingbeard]

Use a mountain bike

Auckland airport has a great bike assembly point just by the main entrance and bus stop

[pwa]

I live in Wales, and a colleague of mine once went to NZ for a month. When he came back I asked him what it was like. "A bit like Wales" was his answer! It seemed a long way to go to find a place like Wales.

[mjr]

Going via LA is not a problem. You get put in a holding area while the aircraft is prepared. It means going through an immigration check but that was ok in 2006.

By 2010, it was legendarily bad, so I went via HK on AirNZ, who I'd recommend if you can. The wine (NZ, unsurprisingly) is very very good.

I'd include St Arnaud as a very good place to visit. The glacial lakes are stunning.

I've only cycled around a bit of Blenheim (flat bits ), but I was taken on a road trip from Auckland to Wellington and walked around various towns and cities varying amounts (Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo, Palmerston North, Levin, Wellington, Picton, Nelson and probably others I've forgotten). As you might expect from a nation happy to victim-blame with a helmet law (whose PM is happy to cycle abroad without a helmet...), driving standards are rather poor, but thankfully motorists are few and far between on the South Island, so you can see them coming and get off the road without it slowing progress too much.

[hamster]

I live in Wales, and a colleague of mine once went to NZ for a month. When he came back I asked him what it was like. "A bit like Wales" was his answer! It seemed a long way to go to find a place like Wales.

I can't remember the last time I saw a volcano, fjord or glacier in Wales...

[Vorpal]

Going via LA is not a problem. You get put in a holding area while the aircraft is prepared. It means going through an immigration check but that was ok in 2006.

By 2010, it was legendarily bad, so I went via HK on AirNZ, who I'd recommend if you can

+1 for Air New Zealand, though I have only flown them via LA. Like tatanab, we were just put into a holding area while the plane was cleaned and refueled. We were given some snacks, and there were some vending machines. And, at least pssport check. I went in 2008. A friend of mine did the same last year. I think Air NZ flies that route on a frequent basis though I haven't checked.

I went to Australia after NZ, and flew back via Bangkok. That was rather nicer, and we got to wander around the airport, but we also had to collect our luggage and recheck it, then go through immigration. I think we had a 2.5 hour layover in Bangkok, and a 1 hour one in LA.

[honesty]

I flew over a few years ago on Singapore airlines on their then new A380. Fantastic flight and service (apart from having to jog the length of Singapore airport terminal to get to the connecting flight...) I would definitely recommend them as an airline as well.

[JackRabbitSlims]

Going via LA is not a problem. You get put in a holding area while the aircraft is prepared. It means going through an immigration check but that was ok in 2006.

By 2010, it was legendarily bad, so I went via HK on AirNZ, who I'd recommend if you can. The wine (NZ, unsurprisingly) is very very good.

I'd include St Arnaud as a very good place to visit. The glacial lakes are stunning.

I've only cycled around a bit of Blenheim (flat bits ), but I was taken on a road trip from Auckland to Wellington and walked around various towns and cities varying amounts (Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo, Palmerston North, Levin, Wellington, Picton, Nelson and probably others I've forgotten). As you might expect from a nation happy to victim-blame with a helmet law (whose PM is happy to cycle abroad without a helmet...), driving standards are rather poor, but thankfully motorists are few and far between on the South Island, so you can see them coming and get off the road without it slowing progress too much.

^^ this is complete rubbish.

I'm a NZer who lives in the Hawkes Bay Region. I work for a Bike Guiding / Touring Company and we specialise in 3-5 day Tours that take in the regions great wine and food scene.
We have an extensive range of dedicated Bike Paths and Trails in the Hawkes Bay and you can ride the region taking it all in within 3-4 days.....completely independent if you like?

If there are any specific questions you have about NZ and Bike Touring, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to help you out.

When are you thinking of coming out?

As above - the South Island is the best of the 3 Islands in terms of scenery and touring conditions. I would encourage you to spend the majority of your time in the South. Having said that, there are some wonderful destinations in the North and if you tell me your preferences for touring, I would be happy to suggest locations for you.

Cheers.

[simonhill]

No mention of when you want to go. It is a fairly short season and also the school holidays make things busy. For 2 months I'd recommend late Jan, Feb and March.

Youll also need to decide what you want to see and where you want to go. I love the way most people assume that you will be cycling the dirt of S Island.

I've been twice for a total of about 4 months and quite liked the N island as it had more of the Kiwiand indigenous culture. To say avoid the popular sights is OK as long as you don't want to see them. Personally I would recommend Rotorua and a string of other sites.

Plan carefully and you can see a wide variety of stuff, although backtracking is often a problem. Buses take bikes as do the very limited trains, so you can build this in.

Many Asian airlines fly east to NZ. I use Emirates, but Sing, etc are good. Flying via the US involves their immigration which is a bit of a hassle. Air NZ all the way via US is easier, but years ago I flew a combination of Virgin and United which involved carting my luggage to a new terminal. The US rarely has in transit transfers.

You can fly into one eg Christchurch and out of other eg Auckland. Also internal Air NZ flights are cheap and take bikes. Book local flights there or via the .NZ website (ie not the international one) as much cheaper.

[andrew549]

Thanks for the responses everyone, I was planning on going out in early January then returning in either late February or early March. The two months was only a rough idea as it will depend on savings and how much it's going to cost.

I was initially thinking of starting in the south Island then heading up to North Island later on. Although I don't know if this would be sensible way to do things as the season is so short.

[Paulatic]

I would assume you've read Josie Dew? If not why not? I love that girl [emoji4]

[simonhill]

South going North would be the logical choice. It will be getting cooler in the South island, while still much warmer in the north. I believe the top tip is classed as sub tropical.

From memory, I think the prevailing wind is SW so you would get that on your back.