10,000km, 4 weeks, 2 islands...

**gegvasco** · 6th May 2009, 22:51

Have finally nutted out the plan for my 4 week NZ riding extravaganza later in the year. I am hiring a V-Strom in Christchurch, running clockwise around the south island to the ferry, then running clockwise around the north island back to the ferry then one last day into Christchurch. Maps attached with red marking the route. It is ambitious (average of about 440km a day with 4 days off) but I reckon if I get even 80% of this done I'll be a very happy rider.

Any comments? Recommendations for places to drop in on the way?

**Supertwin Don** · 6th May 2009, 23:23

Sounds good - last November I did a run around - 6800kms in about 25 days.
Looks like you've missed out Bluff / Stirling Point - if you're going to do Cape Reinga, you might as well do Bluff! and go up to the top of Bluff Hill - magnificent view!
Arrowtown to Wanaka over the Cardrona is worth doing, and Hamner Springs is good for a soak.
Army Museum at Waiouru worth a visit, and the Te Manawa Museum at Palmerston North (if it's still got the m/c display going)

**Gremlin** · 6th May 2009, 23:45

Re bluff, yep, if you're doing cape reinga, you'd want to do bluff.

Looks like you have nailed most of the best roads of the country, west coast, you do probably want to go all the way to Karamea, the best bit is right at the top...

Re the distance, it depends... Are you used to riding those sort of distances every day? Mate and I did 6400km in 13 odd days, but we didn't bother stopping for many tourist attractions. We were simply down south for the roads.

You would probably need a bit of time for maintenance of the bike, not sure what service intervals the vstrom has, plus tyres (the South Island eats tyres faster than the North Island due to the materials used).

So, you do want lots of tourist attractions, or do you want the roads?

**LBD** · 7th May 2009, 00:25

Looks like you have most of it covered...Alexander to Roxborough is not on your map and is a nice ride.

Make sure your ride , te anau to Milford is a cruise not a race...250 km return, the BP servo on the main street/lake front has fuel containers available for bikes heading to MFD, though on the Vstrom you should be right.

**Hinny** · 7th May 2009, 07:02

North Island section: North from New Plymouth. If you hang a left at Awakino and go up the coast road to Kawhia you will see some magnificent country. About 10km of gravel. A lot is new seal.
If you can see the mountain clearly when in Ohakune the mountain road to the skifield is a must do.
South Island:North of Motueka go to Marahau. Great wood carvings on left near end of Harvey road. Start of Able Tasman track. Take Riwaka / Sandy Bay Rd. for trip back.
North of Westport. Great run up the hill to see the Denniston Incline.
To the end of the road past Karamea is worth the trip. Start of Heaphy track.
The road over the Crown Range South from Wanaka has the best seal in NZ on one section. Great views.
Seems a bit messy around Southland. H'way 94 is flat. 10km /100km it's all the same.
Catlins:Slope Point, Curio Bay, Thomas Catlins Hostel in Owaka and Nugget Point are recommended.
I prefer the Rainbow Rd., north from Hanmer Springs,over the coastal route.
You could take H'way 6 from North of Kohatu on your way South.Then take Tophouse road from 63 going North. Through Golden Downs to meet H'way 6 to Wakefield - Nelson.
This thread (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=86074) and Pete's Blog are worthy reads. He packed an amazing amount of travel into a short time, saw some great sights and had some wonderful experiences.

**gegvasco** · 10th May 2009, 10:58

Thanks for the responses guys. Much appreciated. Now to start working out where all these places are and adjusting route plans......Google Maps is about to get FLOGGED!!!

Speaking of which, I was amazed at how much of NZ has Street View. Often there are no high-res aerial pics yet there is a street view of the area. Had one or two occasions where I looked at street view to check out the layout of an intersection and almost fell off my chair because the scenery was so beautiful, like this one:link
Damn, NZ is a beautiful place. Can't wait to get there.

**gegvasco** · 10th May 2009, 11:18

Originally Posted by Gremlin

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Re the distance, it depends... Are you used to riding those sort of distances every day? Mate and I did 6400km in 13 odd days, but we didn't bother stopping for many tourist attractions. We were simply down south for the roads.

You would probably need a bit of time for maintenance of the bike, not sure what service intervals the vstrom has, plus tyres (the South Island eats tyres faster than the North Island due to the materials used).

So, you do want lots of tourist attractions, or do you want the roads?

I'm not a seasoned ironbutt rider but I'm not a short-distance guy either. I've done 1300km in a day including some twisty bits and the biggest trip I have done is 6500km in 3 weeks from Sydney to Tasmania, 90% of the tarmac in Tasmania, and back. Equates to about 4500km around Tasmania which is almost all twisty stuff. If it is open highway I can knock off 1000km in a day no worries. Especially on the V-Strom (I have one, hence my selection for hire). I can handle twisties up to 800km per day but I wouldn't want to be doing that for 3 weeks! So I have assumed over a prolonged period, 400-500 a day is going to be rather exhausting.

I tend to stay on the bike rather than stop at every opportunity (maybe 200km a hit) but I will be stopping for photos mainly to document the trip. With a 400km tank on the V-Strom, you normally only fill up in the morning and then once around lunch time and you are sorted for the day. So I had figured 400-500 a day would also be about as much as I could do in decent daylight (being Australian we have a fear of riding at Dawn/Dusk thanks to all the f$%^ing stupid roos!).

As for maintenance, 6000km servicings on the Strom. Have yet to discuss this with the hire company. It is unlimited KMs so they must have come across this before.

**Jantar** · 10th May 2009, 11:41

Your Strom is the ideal bike for what you are planning. Plenty of places where you can get it serviced (and it will need it), but you may struggle to get tyres to last the distance.

The length of ride you are planning each day is manageable with ease and will give you plenty of time to stop for photos. I have no trouble doing 900km days on my Strom (all in daylight), but that is without allowing any sightseeing time. So 500 km per day will be a breeze.

**gegvasco** · 10th May 2009, 11:51

Originally Posted by Jantar

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Your Strom is the ideal bike for what you are planning. Plenty of places where you can get it serviced (and it will need it), but you may struggle to get tyres to last the distance.

The length of ride you are planning each day is manageable with ease and will give you plenty of time to stop for photos. I have no trouble doing 900km days on my Strom (all in daylight), but that is without allowing any sightseeing time. So 500 km per day will be a breeze.

Thanks. I have only had the one road trip in NZ (Auckland to Waitomo in a car) so I am trying to take into account one-lane roads, 80kph and lots of twists in deciding how much I can do in one day. This sort of confirmation from those who know the area (and the bike!) is invaluable.

Yeah, the V-Strom is a great touring bike. Can handle almost all surfaces that you generally come across, has a long range, very comfortable and no shortage of grunt or manoeuvrability. Plus it can carry a heap of stuff. I did a lot of research into bringing mine over because it is well "farkled" and all the major touring I have done has been on that bike. But it was all going to be too hard. And in the end, when I added up the entire cost of the trip including all expenses such as airfares and accommodation, hiring was only going to add a bit less than 10% cost to the trip. It also saved me a couple of days mucking around in Oz dropping my bike off and picking it up (300km from home), quarantine cleaning and inspections etc, etc. By hiring, I get on a plane, arrive in NZ, pick the bike up and do the reverse at the other end, no hassle.

**Gremlin** · 10th May 2009, 14:10

It sounds like 4-500km a day shouldn't be a problem for you then. Don't know if you have visited before, but yeah, open road allowance of 80kph is about right for a tourist. Outside main centres, even SH1 is single lane for a lot of it.

Certainly sounds like you are planning it very well. Enjoy!

**Supertwin Don** · 10th May 2009, 18:22

FWIW - don't plan TOO well, NZ is a great place to stop and wander about - the "lookout point" is there for a reason.

**Squid** · 11th May 2009, 19:07

Originally Posted by gegvasco

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Have finally nutted out the plan for my 4 week NZ riding extravaganza later in the year. ....
Any comments? Recommendations for places to drop in on the way?

Looks pretty sweet man!! You'll love it.

I drove down the west coast of the South Island and over Hasst pass earlier this year for the first time and it was just awesome

All the best with your trip planning and hope to see a write up or blog on how its going when you do the trip.

**Hinny** · 11th May 2009, 21:37

Can recomend keeping up to date posts to a blog or this thread when you come.
You will be amazed by the hospitality of Kiwi Bikers. Touching base with locals is the best way to get the best experience of the area and people.

**Shadowjack** · 20th May 2009, 19:59

gegvasco, on a good day, a short trip up the Mt John Observatory road (near Lake Tekapo, South Island) will give you some outstanding views of the MacKenzie Country and the Southern Alps. The road up the mountain is sealed, steep, narrow, winding and worth it.

**Pixie** · 22nd May 2009, 07:49

Originally Posted by gegvasco

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Thanks for the responses guys. Much appreciated. Now to start working out where all these places are and adjusting route plans......Google Maps is about to get FLOGGED!!!

Speaking of which, I was amazed at how much of NZ has Street View. Often there are no high-res aerial pics yet there is a street view of the area. Had one or two occasions where I looked at street view to check out the layout of an intersection and almost fell off my chair because the scenery was so beautiful, like this one:link
Damn, NZ is a beautiful place. Can't wait to get there.

In theory every road in NZ was imaged for street view.Certainly,I haven't found any dirt roads that aren't viewable.