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Biking Trip Of A Lifetime - Nz17


Skids

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Hi guys

Mrs Skids & I are planning “the biking holiday of a lifetime” around the other side of the world to New Zealand in Feb 2017. We are booking with VFR New Zealand for about a 3-week visit, but exact length & dates are flexible. I plan to book a 5th Gen as they don’t do the 7th Gen and as they’ll be fairly standard bikes, I’d prefer a standard 5th to a standard 6th for 2-up plus luggage.

I know Feb 17 is a long way off just yet but we want to make the most of the time available to build up an itinerary of roads to ride & places to visit so we get this-once-in-a-lifetime trip right and so I’m looking for some suggestions from folk who have ridden these roads and visited these places (rather than someone who has read a review somewhere).

So far (and these are very tentative plans and can easily be changed), we are planning to arrive in Christchurch and spend a couple of days in a 4* hotel, see the local sights, relax and try to lose the jet lag. Then we pick up the bike and spend the next 3 weeks or so touring the South Island. We don’t anticipate pre-booking accommodation every night, we'll see what's available where we end up but would like to have 2 or 3 breaks with a day off the bike so would also be looking for towns worth staying in and suggestions for accommodation (b&b/hotel – no camping thanks).

I have identified some good roads but would like some locals to not only confirm these but also suggest some more "must do" routes if possible and also places to avoid, if any. In no particular order:

Christchurch to Akaroa including the northern loop.

Arthur’s Pass

Balclutha to Invercargill

Te Anau to Milford Sound (have been recommended staying in Te Anau for at least a day)

Glenorchy – Queenstown – Wanaka – Haast Beach – Karamea

Mt Cook

Nelson to Puponga

Okiwi Bay

Is it worth trying to squeeze the North Island in? We’ve heard some good things about Wellington and its locale. I don’t think we’ll have time to do the whole island but maybe just a few days around the southern part???

Suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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When I went with VFR NZ (2010 ? - somat like that anyway) I was not allowed to take the bike off the South Island ... something about insurance cover I think. The shop manager said it won't matter, there's lots to see on the S Island, and he was perfectly correct. I did a rather hurried figure of 8 on the S Island of about 2000 miles, and it took me two weeks. With a couple of days off, and taking things a bit easier three would not have been a stretch.

Highlights of my trip ...

The run up to Mt Cook

post-12877-0-59110700-1434798736.jpg

The southern minor road between Balcultha and Invercargill (very freindly Honda dealer in Balcultha - explained to me how to open the rear seat of the 5th gen I had !)

Fabulous day between Queenstown and Greymouth, through the mountains and up the W coast road

post-12877-0-79137800-1434798294.jpg

Nelson to/from Puponga, playing tag with the lady on the KTM over the pass

post-12877-0-70972000-1434798304.jpg

An ice cream in Okiwi Bay (the approach road was fab as well ...)

post-12877-0-69461400-1434798318.jpg

I went early in the season - end October / begining November as I recall - it was shoe-horned in to the end of a work contract I had in Australia. I didn't book any accomodation other than a hotel in Christchurch for arrival and departure. I didn't even know which direction I was headed until I looked at the weather report in the newspaper the day I arrived.

Think about jet-lag - it wasn't a problem to me as I travelled from Oz, but I would definitley need a couple of days to clear my head if I was travelling from the UK.

You've probably heard the stories about the police and speeding - they are all true ! Be careful, and if anyone flashes you slow down ! I found that cars were very helpful to bikes in general - pulling over and letting you get past on mountains, etc. The only ones to watch were the RV's - which I understand are generally despised by car drivers. As I was early season there weren't many of those around anyway.

Oh, and watch out for the railway tracks on the bridges S of Greymouth !

If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to help - just PM me. I'd love to go back - I had a great time. Remember to look at the *two* Britten's in Casbolts shop when you pick your bike up !

-- Chris

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Chris

Thanks very much for the above. :beer:

I may well PM between now & departing with some Q's, thanks for the offer.

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Please adopt me as your son and take me along???? I will ride any bike, not fussy...

Many :-)

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Indeed a trip of a lifetime Skids...always been a dream of mine to just visit NZ, much less ride it. Loved Chris' write up, look forward to others posting up their experiences.

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That should be a fantastic trip! Very cool your wife wants to be part of it(on a bike) :beer:

BR

She's regularly on the back of the 1200, she loves it. I am very lucky, but we are part of a group of mates who's better halves like to go on the back with us.

I promise I'll do a write-up when we return.

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It's been 20 years since I visited NZ (both islands) - they have fantastic motorcycling roads. You're going to love it! The one thing that threw me at first were the preponderance of 1 lane bridges (maybe that's changed since). At first I would come to a stop and then crawl across - but after a few days I would give glance to see if there was traffic and just proceed normally. The people there are warm and friendly. Man that's going to be a great trip!! :cool: Post up lots of pics!

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I'm lucky enough to live in NZ, sadly in Auckland on the North Island, rather than the South Island. However I took a family vacation around the island in 2014 in a rental car, and travel there regularly for work.

The SI is blessed with the big scenery, big mountains, big lakes and only 25% of the national population, so you get fabulous open roads with little traffic. As you're from the UK you will be driving on the correct side of the road but be warned we get a lot of tourists from other countries who get this wrong, mostly in the wide open SI roads, and sadly they are over-represented in accident statistics.

If I can be of any local assistance I'd be happy to help.

My favourite parts of the SI would be the entire West Coast from Nelson to Westport to Greymouth to Haast to Wanaka. Stop at Punakaiki Rocks, Fox or Franz Josef Glaciers, the whole road is biking heaven but don't forget your wet weather gear, it rains a LOT. From Wanaka the Cadrona Valley Rd to Queenstown would be awesome on a warm day. Pretty much all of Central Otago would be great to ride and it has a much drier climate, I really like the look of Mosgiel to Ranfurly, but there's no bad roads in the area. Christchurch sits on the Canterbury Plains and as it sounds its not the most interesting area, but there are some great inland routes that keep you closer to the main ranges. From Nelson the trip out to Collingwood return would be fabulous.

OK maybe I should be doing this myself!!! Actually there's plenty of good roads in the NI as well, I don't have to travel far at all.

There's an apparently good motorcyclists road guide for NZ that by coincidence I have requested a few days ago from the local library, if it looks any good I could scan some bits for you.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

Terry

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Thank you Terry, your post is much appreciated and yes to the scans please.

As we get closer to the date, I may well PM you with some Q's.

Cheers. :beer:

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Just bought Twisting Throttle New Zealand for some more tips. There are a lot of dirt roads suggested in here so we need to be careful to give those a miss!

Also bought the Lonely Planet Guide.

Anyone know of any other recommended reads?

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The dirt roads aren't that bad - actually just unsealed gravel, not dirt, and many of them give you access to places you can't get to otherwise, like the West Coast glaciers. And the 5th Gen is great for these, courtesy of the linked braking system - just use the rear brake. On the West Coast (especially around Haast), watch out for sandflies (you'd probably call them midges) - they're voracious and even insect repellent doesn't seem to bother them much.

Another good guide is "New Zealand Motorcycle Atlas", designed specifically for riding bikes around Aotearoa (and compact to fit in a tankbag). I used to live in Christchurch, and have toured around the Sarf Oilund (Te Wai Pounamu) a bit, albeit mostly on four wheels.

You'll mostly be OK not booking accommodation ahead.

Yes, there's lots to see in the North Island (Te Ika a Maui), but if the rental company doesn't let you cross the Cook Strait it might get complicated having to arrange another rental from Wellington or wherever.

Any other questions, just ask.

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For midgies,

use Avon Skin So Soft

and whisky!

post-8974-0-57504500-1435228639.jpg

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The dirt roads aren't that bad - actually just unsealed gravel, not dirt, and many of them give you access to places you can't get to otherwise, like the West Coast glaciers. And the 5th Gen is great for these, courtesy of the linked braking system - just use the rear brake. On the West Coast (especially around Haast), watch out for sandflies (you'd probably call them midges) - they're voracious and even insect repellent doesn't seem to bother them much.

Another good guide is "New Zealand Motorcycle Atlas", designed specifically for riding bikes around Aotearoa (and compact to fit in a tankbag). I used to live in Christchurch, and have toured around the Sarf Oilund (Te Wai Pounamu) a bit, albeit mostly on four wheels.

You'll mostly be OK not booking accommodation ahead.

Yes, there's lots to see in the North Island (Te Ika a Maui), but if the rental company doesn't let you cross the Cook Strait it might get complicated having to arrange another rental from Wellington or wherever.

Any other questions, just ask.

Thanks m8.

I've been looking for copies of that Atlas but Amazon is quoting a ridiculous price!

Dutchy - as ever, thanks for that! :beer:

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Yeah I'm not having any luck finding that Atlas here either. The copies that the library should have are apparently "missing". I blame the tourists!

I'll keep hunting here, might get lucky in a local shop.

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Just bought Twisting Throttle New Zealand for some more tips. There are a lot of dirt roads suggested in here so we need to be careful to give those a miss!

Also bought the Lonely Planet Guide.

Anyone know of any other recommended reads?

Skids I just got a library copy of Great Escapes (as seen on the web link for Twisting Throttle) and I'll scan that this weekend and share it with you somehow.

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Yes indeed, I've done this about 20 years ago. It's a three day tramp, starting from Te Anau, ferry across the lake to the trailhead, up over the Mackinnon pass, ends at the aptly named Sandfly Point across the sound from the Milford Sound road terminus. If you like walking this is a classic.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Just bought Twisting Throttle New Zealand for some more tips. There are a lot of dirt roads suggested in here so we need to be careful to give those a miss!

Also bought the Lonely Planet Guide.

Anyone know of any other recommended reads?

Skids I just got a library copy of Great Escapes (as seen on the web link for Twisting Throttle) and I'll scan that this weekend and share it with you somehow.

Terry, that would be awesome, thanks. Dropbox should work fine if you have it. We're off to Greece today for a week lazing in the sun so no hurry m8.

Skids,

It is not a road, and I've never been there, but this is supposed to be one of the nicest hikes

in the world................

http://milfordtrack.net/

LookingHard

"Hike"........"hike"........????? Are you being serious???? :goofy:

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Here's a Dropbox link. I scanned the North Island and South Island sections only, the rest was ( IMHO) filler that you don't need.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8s7ucv3dpuciquu/Great%20Escapes.pdf?dl=0

Cheers

Terry

You Sir, are a star! :beer:

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Here's a Dropbox link. I scanned the North Island and South Island sections only, the rest was ( IMHO) filler that you don't need.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8s7ucv3dpuciquu/Great%20Escapes.pdf?dl=0

Cheers

Terry

Nice thanks.

Roll On ..

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Planning is nearing completion. We've booked all the accommodation. I know I said we'd leave some dates open but the more we booked, the harder it was to find spaces so we've gone and booked the lot. It removes some flexibility but many of them are free to cancel the day before so if the weather is particularly bad or good, we can change the itinerary.

 

Day 1/2 - chill in Christchurch, adjust body-clock

Day 3 - collect VFR, 125 mile easy ride around Banks Peninsula to the east of Christchurch, check out the bike, no luggage.

Day 4 - 202 miles up highway 73, 72 past Lake Tekapo & Pukaki, possibly up to Mt Cook then down to Twizel.

Day 5 - 303 miles (via Mt Cook if not already done) via Alexandria to Dunedin.

Day 6 - chill in Dunedin.

Day 7 - 176 miles to Invercargill via The Catlins.

Day 8 - 103 miles to Te Anau via Riverton.

Day 9 - day trip via boat & coach & boat to Doubtful Sound.

Day 10 - 133 miles to Queenstown.

Day 11 - chill (Shotover Jet).

Day 12 - 228 miles to Franz Josef Glacier via Haast.

Day 13 - Back to outskirts of Christchurch for a weekend with family friends.

Day 15 - 214 miles to Greymouth via Arthur's Pass.

Day 16 - 207 miles to Nelson via the Buller Gorge.

Day 17 - 174 miles to Takaka & back to Nelson, maybe do some sea kayaking.

Day 18 - 210 miles to Blenheim, via Okiwi Bay & Kenepuru Head. TYRE says over 7 hours for 210 miles so we may have to cut that one down a bit.

Day 18 - chill in Blenheim (winery visit.....hic).

Day 19 - 82 miles to Kaikura - early start to get there in time for boat ride to (hopefully) see dolphins.

Day 20 - 112 miles back to Christchurch.

Day 21 - hand VFR back.

Day 22 - fly to Singapore, 3 nights there then home.

 

A grand total of 2506 miles!

 

If any locals or previous visitors have any further suggestions/improvements, please let me know.

 

Next decision is which kit to take? My Rukka is brilliant in the cold & wet but can get a bit stuffy when it gets to the mid-20s deg C. I recently bought a new Knox vented jacket, warm liner & a pair of Draggin jeans. They are good down to low-teens deg C and could easily go much lower with my one-piece waterproof coverall. But it's a pain stopping to get changed if it does rain & the coverall takes up valuable luggage space. The Rukka will be bulky to pack & carry for the flights though. Any advice? Likely temperature ranges in Feb on South Island? Mrs Skids will be taking my heated gilet so she's sorted.

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1 hour ago, Auspanglish said:

Don't forget to take a poo at Tekapu!!

 

 

My sides, my sides. Stop it, yr killing me. :laughing6-hehe:

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