Touring NI SI Jan/Feb 2011

[BritBiker]

Hoping someone could give me an idea of the weather we might find (I mean what's usual) in Jan/Feb on a 16 day tour from Auckland to Christchurch via Queenstown/Dunedin.

We are thinking about rain fall, and how wet weather prepared we should be.

[The Baron]

Hi. Sound like just the right time of year for your ride. Summer. You must get some rain on any ride but it will be warm at that time of year so use rain over pants not heavy winter rain gear.
Summer jackets and summer gloves etc.
Keep an eye on metservice.com for NZ weather.

[NighthawkNZ]

Pfffft... tis only water...

However it is a good time of year to do the touring and the summer weather is settled by then...

But as always take your wet weather gear... Murphy says if you take it you won't need it, but if you don't you will be caught with out it...

[Genie]

Think the most important think to be aware of is the idiot tourists that you will be sharing the road with. Stay safe and have an awesome ride.

[Jantar]

We are experiencing a La-Nina weather patern this year. That means draught for most of the country. Particularly dry in the center of both islands, fewer westerly conditions (they are what brings rain to the west coast), and generally warm. As January and February are normally our most settled months anyway, I would predict that you should have great riding weather.

[Gibbo89]

Think the most important think to be aware of is the idiot tourists that you will be sharing the road with. Stay safe and have an awesome ride.

Are you saying they are idiot drivers too because they are tourists from London?! :facepalm:

tisk tisk

That time of the year I would take wet weather gear if I had lots of room. If not, then just water proof summer riding gear should be sweet, just take a thermal instead if its gets a bit nippy. Shouldn't be really at that time of the year.

[BritBiker]

Thanks for all the replies. Good to hear that the weather is usually good. I know we'll see a big range of temperatures and some rain, you always do touring but we're escaping the winter so anything above 5 degrees and sunny is a bonus.

I'll be wearing a Rukka Airpower which is usually perfect for summer rides, and a very light water/windproof jacket/trousers in case we're in mountains or it's windy/raining.

I got the impression we'll hardly see anyone, 4m people on two islands that size and mostly in the cities!

Only other question is about security, do we need to lock everything up all the time, i.e. viewpoints/short walks etc. Normally we carry helmets and jackets but it seems like everything is a walk from the roads and the gear is quite heavy.

[Jantar]

.....Only other question is about security, do we need to lock everything up all the time, i.e. viewpoints/short walks etc. Normally we carry helmets and jackets but it seems like everything is a walk from the roads and the gear is quite heavy.

In the cities, and popular tourist spots I would lock everything up. In the more remote areas there is no need to. Most people in NZ are honest, but there are a few who make a living out of ripping off tourists, so use your common sense and you should be fine. When my wife and I go on some of those short walks, we normally leave the helmets with the bike and carry (or wear) our gear. Everything else is locked in the panniers.

[NighthawkNZ]

Only other question is about security, do we need to lock everything up all the time, i.e. viewpoints/short walks etc. Normally we carry helmets and jackets but it seems like everything is a walk from the roads and the gear is quite heavy.

Always wise to lock and load... oh wait... ummmm, I mean just lock up yah gear if you can.

though on saying that it does depend where you are, out in the what whats, walking to see something... or in the middle of town...

I have been known to leave my helmet & gloves (sometimes keys) on the bike with no issues, but I live in Dunedin and I wouldn't do that in Auckland... Basically bit of common sense.

[puddytat]

I wouldnt leave any of your stuff unlocked or unattended in the North Island full stop as there's always someone lurking in the trees:yes:
South Island is way betterer but all cities are alike world wide as in there lurks the undesireables waiting to take advantage of the unwary:shit:

[BritBiker]

Looks like we will need a bit of security then, we will probably not have any spare room in the panniers to lock up helmets and jackets which we would normally do.

The guys we are hiring from say they leave jackets and helmets on bikes outside of towns, looks like the lidsafes from pacsafe could be useful anyway.

[puddytat]

You can always approach locals & or shop owners & ask to leave gear with them too.(where practical)

[BritBiker]

You can always approach locals & or shop owners & ask to leave gear with them too.(where practical)

Thanks for that advice. NZ sounds relaxed/friendly in comparison with London/S.E. England.

[puddytat]

Yeah we still sort of are, but we're getting more anal .Its a by product of Globalisation.:yes:

[BritBiker]

Sad but true, everywhere starts to seem the same. Looking forward to some empty roads, sun and sea though.

[sinfull]

Nooooo don't do it !!!!!!


Oh ok if ya insist !!! I'll put ya up and feed ya (for a night or two) take ya where ya wanna go while locking ya pathetic belongings up lol, does ya mrs insist on showering every bloody day ? if so i'll find ya a friggin water fall ! or some deoderant if she's over you as much your are her ! Then we can get down to some good bloody riding once the stink settles !
Lower north Island ! Bed here till i think ya should move on !!! take you on a tour of some nasty roads if i think you can handle, or some not so nasty if i think that's where yr at ! What ever, but you'll get drunk if ya drink or you'll feel welcome if ya don't ! (feraslongasithinkyashould)
What's yr name

[puddytat]

Yeah man , youll love it. Roads are a tad dodgey in places in the Sth Isle,crap surfaces in some areas & quite a few corners surprise you with a decreasing radius....if theyre posted at anything under 70kmh then pays to be a tad wary. The fuzz are pretty keen on ticketing for anything to. Theres some good threads on here to in regards to "the best" roads & routes as well. . Youre coming here at the right time , weather wise.
Have fun mate!!

[BritBiker]

@ sinfull Thanks for that, sadly we are missing the lower corner of the NI.

We have planned and booked all the overnights so we might be stuck with routes to some degree, I will have a look at the threads though.

Interesting that you mention road quality because I mostly ride in London so it's the road users not the road that's trying to kill you. I will have to be careful.

We deliberately set our mileage low because the speed limits and road quality. I will be very surprised if I manage not to get a ticket, especially if they use forward facing radar on the cars. All my speeding tickets are from handheld roadside radar.

[Highlander]

We have planned and booked all the overnights so we might be stuck with routes to some degree, I will have a look at the threads though.

.


Post up a bit of an itinery and you might find some from here keen to join you / show you around when in their neck of the woods.

Some great roads to cover and you are probably hitting the best time of year here.

[CRM]

Looks like we will need a bit of security then, we will probably not have any spare room in the panniers to lock up helmets and jackets which we would normally do.

The guys we are hiring from say they leave jackets and helmets on bikes outside of towns, looks like the lidsafes from pacsafe could be useful anyway.

Lid-safes are great. Also use a mesh version over my pack and riding gear if in a place where there is a risk. They're small and easy to pack and a great deterent. There are remote places where you may think you can leave stuff unattended but as someone said there are those who target these kind of spots to rip off tourists. Generally I find in a more public place no-one will touch your stuff.

There's an excellent New Zealand Motorcycling atlas (by Hema) which gives good backgrounds and suggested routes. Well worth getting before you come and have a good read. What sort of bike(s) are you hiring?

[BritBiker]

Just picked up the 80l pacsafe, can chuck two lids and a jackets in it and it waterproofs the pillions rucksack.

Starting to look forward to the trip now, we are doing it on Electra-Glides, although both of us normally ride BMW's.

Starting from Aukland, doing the Cor Loop, then down to Taupo for 2 days, Wellington, Nelson (2 Days), Reefton, Hanmer Springs, Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Queenstown (Flights to Milford Sound), Dunedin, Fairlie, Christchurch.

I'm sure we'll be sad to leave.

[pritch]

I was thinking that itinerary was missing some wonderful roads but then I remembered ElectraGlide...

The South Island Roads are generally great except a couple of times I've struck roadworks that had no warning signs. Ah well, it stops you getting constipated...

[BritBiker]

We felt obliged to book ahead because it's high season, and we still struggled to get our first choices at the weekends. We picked a route based on 3 hours a day riding time, we have toured at 6 hours a day in the US but it got very tiring.

We want to have time to enjoy the beaches / vineyards.

It looked like there was only one road a lot of the time based on the road atlas we have. Ordered the motorcycle atlas a while ago but not arrived in time to plan with it, so we might be stuck with the planning we have.

Trying to sort out points of interest on route at the moment, will be doing that over the next couple of weeks. Most of the tour book stuff is in the North Island and we deliberately shot through to get time to cover the SI.

[NighthawkNZ]

It looked like there was only one road a lot of the time based on the road atlas we have. Ordered the motorcycle atlas a while ago but not arrived in time to plan with it, so we might be stuck with the planning we have.


Maybe to milford and back but most there are few hidden gem motorcycling roads... :-)

Stay off State HWY 1 as much as you can there are a lot better riding roads than that.... When in dunedin let us know and we might see if we can organise to show some roads here and there...

[BritBiker]

We are flying to Milford from Queenstown, Heli back hopefully. So we will miss the Milford road.

We had planned to go Taupo - Wellington on Hwy 1 (I think) as we wanted some time in Wellington to get a flavour. We set off quite early for the ferry next day. What's a good alternative that gets us there in 3-4 hours?

Been reading another thread about bikers driven off the roads by cars driving in the middle of the road. :shit:

We are staying at a winery in Dunedin, might be time to meet up and ride out. We will have ridden from Queenstown that day, how long a ride is that?

[Jantar]

.... We will have ridden from Queenstown that day, how long a ride is that?
Queesntown to Dunedin is between 3 and 12 hours depending on the route you wish to take. What day are you planning this? I may be off work and able to show some amazing country.

[Highlander]

Queesntown to Dunedin is between 3 and 12 hours depending on the route you wish to take. What day are you planning this? I may be off work and able to show some amazing country.

You do that too? :facepalm:

My Family thought I'd lost the plot when I covered just over 400km to go for lunch 20km from home. :woohoo:

[BritBiker]

Feb 3rd, we had planned our days around 3-4 hour rides. The other rider really wants to take it easy but we'll have to see what state of mind we're in by then. Last trip was 10 days 3,500 miles which was tiring at times.

If the road quality and weather are good 3.5 hours a day will be easy it might be nice to meet up and ride some more. If it's been raining and lots of twisty roads/long days on the way down we will be shattered and looking to put our feet up.

Just had a look at the map, that is one day where some local knowledge would be great, there seem to be a lot of options as far as roads between Queenstown and Dunedin.

[Jantar]

You do that too? :facepalm:

My Family thought I'd lost the plot when I covered just over 400km to go for lunch 20km from home. :woohoo:

You know me Sir Jym. Why ride only 20 km when you can get a whole half day out of it? :yes:


Feb 3rd, we had planned our days around 3-4 hour rides. The other rider really wants to take it easy but we'll have to see what state of mind we're in by then. Last trip was 10 days 3,500 miles which was tiring at times.

If the road quality and weather are good 3.5 hours a day will be easy it might be nice to meet up and ride some more. If it's been raining and lots of twisty roads/long days on the way down we will be shattered and looking to put our feet up.

Just had a look at the map, that is one day where some local knowledge would be great, there seem to be a lot of options as far as roads between Queenstown and Dunedin.

In that case I'd recommend Queenstown - Cromwell - Clyde - Omakau - Ranfurly - Middlemarch - Dunedin if its fine. Queenstown - Cromwell - Alexandra - Milton - Dunedin if its raining. Mind you if it is raining there'll be dancing in the streets in Alexandra. :woohoo:

[NighthawkNZ]

My Family thought I'd lost the plot when I covered just over 400km to go for lunch 20km from home. :woohoo:

I live about 2.5km from work... but have been known to take 4 hours and 400km's later to get home... :blink:

[NighthawkNZ]

In that case I'd recommend Queenstown - Cromwell - Clyde - Omakau - Ranfurly - Middlemarch - Dunedin if its fine.


Whats wrong going that way in the rain??? :blink:

tis only water I keep saying... :facepalm:

[BritBiker]

Thanks for the routes, are there any good side routes/anything good to see on the way?

[Jantar]

Whats wrong going that way in the rain??? :blink:

tis only water I keep saying... :facepalm:
There is nothing wrong with it. Just 20 minutes longer. :innocent:

[BritBiker]

Is the George King Memorial Drive worth doing? it's just outside Dunedin.

[Jantar]

Thanks for the routes, are there any good side routes/anything good to see on the way?
Well lets see:

Queenstown to Cromwell there is the bungy bridge. A great stop to watch people throwing themselves off the bridge. Plenty of wineries along the way. Then stop for a photo of the fruit in Cromwell.
Cromwell to Clyde is alonside Lake Dunstan. Observe the land stabilisation works to avoid a tsunami causing landslide into the lake. Stop at the Clyde lookout and take in the Clyde dam and power station.
Clyde to Omakau. Have a look at the unique bike fence. Stop to soak up the atmosphere (and a speights) at the Chatto Creek Tavern.
Omakau to Ranfurly. Just lovely roads and desert like scenery. Observe the difference where land can get water (from irrigation). Oh watch for the car that might travel this road in the late morning.
Ranfurly to Middlemarch. Twists and turns like you wouldn't believe. Stop for lunch at Hyde, you won't be disappointed. Possibly 2 cars on this road.
Middlemarch to Dunedin. More great roads and the land gets progressively greener. Take the George King Memorial Drive if you have time. Not a great road on Harleys, but doable if you take it easy. Great views as you come down the hill towards the Taieri Plains. Cross the Taieri River at Outram (or call into the glen for a swim). Take 3 Mile Hill into Dunedin.

[NighthawkNZ]

Is the George King Memorial Drive worth doing? it's just outside Dunedin.

Yes... its not a bad road, if you like that type of road... it has some tight twisties, but where as staying on the Middlemarch/Dunedin road it is more of the open sweepers and a lot faster... Depends what you are after...

George King Memorial Drive does have some good spots for photos though, as you go down into the gully and you see the road going up the other side... :-)

[Jantar]

Is the George King Memorial Drive worth doing? it's just outside Dunedin.
See my previous post. It is a narrow winding road with a few tricky tight corners. Great on a sports or adventure bike, but hard work on a cruiser.

[MaxB]

One thing no one may have told you is that at this time of year the UV burn time is less than 10 minutes. So if you are going to the beach or riding with exposed flesh you will need a good sunblock.

I would reconsider the Milford Sound road, it really is one of the worlds best rides. Or maybe do it another time.

[BritBiker]

How long is the Milford sound ride from Queenstown and back? We might reconsider if it's really that good, but surely plane/boat/heli is a good day off the bikes!

Point taken about the sun, I don't usually ride with bare skin ever. I think it would be uncomfortable for 2 weeks with the wind and sun blasting my skin, also 1 mistake and the shock from skin loss can kill you.

[Highlander]

You know me Sir Jym. Why ride only 20 km when you can get a whole half day out of it? :yes:




I live about 2.5km from work... but have been known to take 4 hours and 400km's later to get home... :blink:

Would be rude not to.

Was talking to someone who just realised I was a motorcyclist the other day and they asked how far I'd ridden in a day, 3-400km? They just about fell over when I said "more than once I have done that before Breakfast." :woohoo:


How long is the Milford sound ride from Queenstown and back? We might reconsider if it's really that good, but surely plane/boat/heli is a good day off the bikes!



Google Maps makes it just under 600km return.
The Tourist busses make it a FULL day (from memory in the order of 14 hrs including a boat trip on Milford Sound).
Very scenic road well worth the effort to travel it but wouldn't imagine it being a fast trip on cruisers.

Would reccomend dropping Mr Jantar a line, he is one of the good guys, and would make a good tour guide.

[BritBiker]

@ jantar

Thanks for the run down of that ride, it's exactly what I've been hoping to get sorted for the rides we are doing.



We decided to organize and guide ourselves this time as we had done the guided thing and found it a bit restricting, of course it's part of the fun freewheeling, and part of the excitement planning.

[Jantar]

I've just checked my roster, and 3rd Feb I'm working day shift at Clyde power station. So when I see a couple of motorcyclists looking down at me from the lookout I'll pop out and give a wave. :2thumbsup

[BritBiker]

You'll probably hear us first!

I'll be sure to stop and wave.

[geoffm]

The Millford road is most good in the dry - not so common on the Wet Coast - I have only ever had it fine once. Last time I was there, I went in the afternoon on brilliant day and stayed the night at the backpackers. I recommend it - all the buses and traffic were going the other way. Allow plenty of time to enjoy the view.
I also shared a sightseeing trip with some Yank biker tourists in a Cessna flying budgie- highly recommended - much better view than the boats. The trip down to Invercargill from Te Anau was good as well via Riverton. The Riverton pub was a good overnight stop

[BMWST?]

re security of jackets i have heard that one way of securing jackets is to thread a cable lock through the sleeves then lock to bike...Hope you have nice trip.It will be sure to rain and or be windy at some pint of your trip

[UKDave S]

UUURM not read all this long thread but when are you over, I go on the 15/2 and am doint south in second part of Feb with a few friends so if you are still there I will let you buy me a beer Dave S