Hello from the States

[axil]

Hi all,

I am recently retired and will be coming to NZ for 3 months of touring about starting in January.

I am finding great information on here, particularly in the Visitors forum. I'm sure I will have lots of questions.

[caspernz]

Welcome to the KB funny farm! :sunny::sunny:

You'll find NZ is a lovely place to tour around, even better if doing it by motorcycle of course.

The scenery isn't bad for taking nice pics either...

333290

[axil]

Thanks, caspernz. It looks beautiful and I am really longing forward to it. My friends who have been there tell me it is the best riding they have ever done.

I have a deposit on a used bike with Red Baron in Auckland.

[Laava]

Nice one mate, if you are heading up to the far north, I am always up for a ride so if you have the time, send me a pm on here.
ps, you sure you are not the other "axzle" just trolling...again?

[axil]

Will do Laava. Where are you located? I fly in and out of Auckland and have not decided whether to do Northland at the beginning (mid-January) or the end (early-April) of the trip. I am booked at an AirBnB for a week in Auckland, so will be looking to do some day trips once I get things sorted with the bike.

Don't know about this other "axzle".

[axil]

Will do Laava. Where are you located? I fly in and out of Auckland and have not decided whether to do Northland at the beginning (mid-January) or the end (early-April) of the trip. I am booked at an AirBnB for a week in Auckland, so will be looking to do some day trips once I get things sorted with the bike.

Don't know about this other "axzle".

[Laava]

I am near whangarei, bro do yourself a favour and don't waste a week of motorcycling in auckland! Lol! It is about 160 km from auck to whangarei and plenty of unpopulated awesome biking roads. Much like the rest of nz. You will be spoilt for choice

[Maha]

Don't know about this other "axzle".

I wouldn't worry, he doesn't know about himself half the time either.

There is a thread about riders favourite North Island roads, some maps have been included.
https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/100516-Your-Favourite-Road-(North-Island)

[<G>]

I am near whangarei, bro do yourself a favour and don't waste a week of motorcycling in auckland! Lol! It is about 160 km from auck to whangarei and plenty of unpopulated awesome biking roads. Much like the rest of nz. You will be spoilt for choice

Yes! The ride and road to Cape Reinga is amazing - do it :2thumbsup:

[axil]

I am near whangarei, bro do yourself a favour and don't waste a week of motorcycling in auckland! Lol! It is about 160 km from auck to whangarei and plenty of unpopulated awesome biking roads. Much like the rest of nz. You will be spoilt for choice
I don't have much pre-booked, but I thought I would need a week to find a bike and get it sorted, as well as adjust to riding on the other side of the road, so I committed to a room for a week in Auckland. That was before I worked out a purchase from Red Baron. Oh well. It looks like I can get to some good roads for day trips before hitting the road or the rest of my trip.

A trip up to Cape Reinga is definitely on my list. Any advice as to whether it is better to do this in January or April? I have heard some places get very busy in January.

[axil]

There is a thread about riders favourite North Island roads, some maps have been included.
https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/100516-Your-Favourite-Road-(North-Island)

Thanks for the pointer, Maha. There is a ton of info there to digest. I will start finding those roads on my maps. Thanks to NZ Open Maps, I can do that on my computer and load the routes onto my GPS, which I will be bringing with me.

I found an old book, Great Escapes, Motorcycle Touring by Peter Mitchell, with lots of suggestions. On another thread here I found a ref to Twisting Throttle NZ and I have that on order from Amazon.

[Laava]

I don't have much pre-booked, but I thought I would need a week to find a bike and get it sorted, as well as adjust to riding on the other side of the road, so I committed to a room for a week in Auckland. That was before I worked out a purchase from Red Baron. Oh well. It looks like I can get to some good roads for day trips before hitting the road or the rest of my trip.

A trip up to Cape Reinga is definitely on my list. Any advice as to whether it is better to do this in January or April? I have heard some places get very busy in January.

Any time is good up north but busiest in xmas to two weeks of Jan. Good to see you have spent a bit of time researching. What didi you buy?

[caspernz]

Thanks for the pointer, Maha. There is a ton of info there to digest. I will start finding those roads on my maps. Thanks to NZ Open Maps, I can do that on my computer and load the routes onto my GPS, which I will be bringing with me.

I found an old book, Great Escapes, Motorcycle Touring by Peter Mitchell, with lots of suggestions. On another thread here I found a ref to Twisting Throttle NZ and I have that on order from Amazon.

Great to hear you've been doing your homework! There tends to be a backlash against folks who post on here asking the very basic stuff without having had a look for themselves :niceone:

As a rule of thumb, the busiest period in holiday spots is mid Dec to mid Jan, then once the school holidays are over at end of Jan you'll find it a bit quieter.

Even with your first week in Auckland, no shortage of places to go whilst you get used to riding on left hand side of the road. Be no shortage of guys willing to give you some pointers in terms of good roads etc. Have fun!

[axil]

Thanks. I am certainly open to all suggestions. We have no hard and fast plans other than spending the first week in Auckland and the last two weeks of February syncing up with friends in Christchurch who will be touring the South (CC across Arthur's Pass, down the west coast, Queenstown, Milford & Doubtful Sound, Ivercargill, and Dunedin; I expected we will be doing some of those places twice).

BTW, we have done lots of two wheeled touring, but this trip is way, way, way longer than anything we have done before.

I will be picking up a Sprint GT for the trip.

[Moi]

A thought... the Waikato Branch of Ulysses Club plans a 1000km "treasure hunt" each year, the ride for 2018 is round Northland. It's not a rushed ride, you stop and find the answer and then move on. Past rides have been through some interesting country on enjoyable roads.

Here's the link: https://ulyssesclubwaikato.wordpress.com/northern-odyssey/

Imagine that past ride routes will still be available if you enjoy being sent on a "wild goose chase" where the wild goose is found!

[axil]

A thought... the Waikato Branch of Ulysses Club plans a 1000km "treasure hunt" each year, the ride for 2018 is round Northland. It's not a rushed ride, you stop and find the answer and then move on. Past rides have been through some interesting country on enjoyable roads.

Here's the link: https://ulyssesclubwaikato.wordpress.com/northern-odyssey/

Imagine that past ride routes will still be available if you enjoy being sent on a "wild goose chase" where the wild goose is found!

That sounds like fun. I think we will sign up. Thanks, Moi.

[ZackTyler]

Welcome to the forum! Cheers!

[gonzo_akl]

Hi all,

I am recently retired and will be coming to NZ for 3 months of touring about starting in January.

I am finding great information on here, particularly in the Visitors forum. I'm sure I will have lots of questions.



Hi,

The dates might not work for you, are you aware of this event at the other end of country.

https://www.burtmunrochallenge.co.nz/

Cheers

[FJRider]

Hi,

The dates might not work for you, are you aware of this event at the other end of country.

https://www.burtmunrochallenge.co.nz/

Cheers

Why would the dates not work for him .. ??? The world (ok NZ) does not stop for the Bert Munroe ... :shifty:

New Zealand will still be open to visitors ... he may even go himself.

[gonzo_akl]

Why would the dates not work for him .. ??? The world (ok NZ) does not stop for the Bert Munroe ... :shifty:

New Zealand will still be open to visitors ... he may even go himself.

Only because he arrives in Auckland in January and the burt is in the first week of feb at the other end of the country. So it may not fit with current route they have planned. Of course plans can change if an event of this type appeals.

The rest of the reply makes no sense to me

[FJRider]

Only because he arrives in Auckland in January and the burt is in the first week of feb at the other end of the country. So it may not fit with current route they have planned. Of course plans can change if an event of this type appeals.

The rest of the reply makes no sense to me

I am well aware of the dates of the Bert ... and the dates he will be in NZ. but you have not explained why you think the dates would not work for him. A motorcycle rally at the other end of the country shouldn't affect his plans in any way. Unless of course ... he might like to attend.

[russd7]

, as well as adjust to riding on the other side of the road, .

thats good thinking, do some riding where there is a lot of traffic to remind you what side you need to be on. i think when there is very little traffic it would be very easy to forget what side of the road you need to be on. we have some awesome riding in New Zealand so enjoy it.

and as has been said already, the Burt Munro rally is on in feb and well worth attending, if you haven't heard of it google it, it is a big rally by our standards, lots of other rallies on round that time of year as well

[McJim]

Only because he arrives in Auckland in January and the burt is in the first week of feb at the other end of the country. So it may not fit with current route they have planned. Of course plans can change if an event of this type appeals.


Speaking as a foreigner who has spent a fair number of years travelling both Islands I would recommend spending about 25% of the trip in the North Island and 75% in the South Island. I have lost count of the people I have spoken to that regret splitting their trip 50/50 and wish they had allowed more, much more time in the South Island.

It would therefore be easy to nail the North Island in a couple of weeks and head off to the mainland!

Jus' sayin' :P

[ellipsis]

...Burt Munro...

[axil]

Apologies for not getting back on this thread for a while.

We are counting down the last few weeks before our trip - lots to do before we leave. And we are definitely ready to be out of here. The last few days have seen the temperatures down around -10C.

Thanks for the info on the Burt Monro rally. That would be great to go to, but I don't think the dates will work out for us. Since my last post, we have firmed up a few more details of our trip. We are now planning to spend the first few weeks on the N. Island and head down to the S. Island the first week in February, staying with friends in Upper Hutt for a couple of days before we cross over. In mid February we will be meeting up in Christchurch with some other friends from the States who will traveling with us for two weeks. That will put us in Invercargill near the end of the month.

What we do after that is more or less open. The general plan is that we will start heading back towards the north of the S. Island and try to take in the places we didn't get to on the way down. We would then cross back over to the N. Island sometime in mid March. On the way down we are planning primarily to tour down the west side of the N. Island and on the way back go up through the central region and east coast. I am thinking we will spend the last week or so in Northland.

BTW I have driven a car on the left side of the road in the UK and Australia, but have never ridden a bike on the left. Any thoughts on whether it is more or less challenging to ride on the opposite side on a bike or in a car?

[caspernz]

BTW I have driven a car on the left side of the road in the UK and Australia, but have never ridden a bike on the left. Any thoughts on whether it is more or less challenging to ride on the opposite side on a bike or in a car?

Liking your plans, at least you've got the rough outline sorted :woohoo:

Riding on the other side of the road you're used to? Oh it's not that hard, the main thing that I tend to notice is the camber of the roads. For example you'd be used to the bike needing relatively little input to turn right when you drive/ride on right. Do this same turn from the left hand side of the road, and it feels like you need a bit more counter steer. And vice versa of course. All minor stuff though, soon get used to it.

Enjoy your travels :2thumbsup

[Akzle]

.

BTW I have driven a car on the left side of the road in the UK and Australia, but have never ridden a bike on the left. Any thoughts on whether it is more or less challenging to ride on the opposite side on a bike or in a car?

the whole "keep left" thing is more of a polite suggestion, rather than rule.
not many drivers here do it all the time...

[axil]

Casper, good point. I hadn't really thought about the road camber difference.

Thanks for the warning, Akzle. :lol:

[pete376403]

Apologies for not getting back on this thread for a while.

We are counting down the last few weeks before our trip - lots to do before we leave. And we are definitely ready to be out of here. The last few days have seen the temperatures down around -10C.

Thanks for the info on the Burt Monro rally. That would be great to go to, but I don't think the dates will work out for us. Since my last post, we have firmed up a few more details of our trip. We are now planning to spend the first few weeks on the N. Island and head down to the S. Island the first week in February, staying with friends in Upper Hutt for a couple of days before we cross over.

Are you coming to Upper Hutt via the Waiararapa? One of the best hills in the North Island (Rimutakas) is between the 'rapa and the hutt.

[axil]

Are you coming to Upper Hutt via the Waiararapa? One of the best hills in the North Island (Rimutakas) is between the 'rapa and the hutt.

Pete, I hadn't picked out a route yet. I will be coming in from the west and plan to leave on my way back towards Auckland on the east via SH2, with a side trip to Castlepoint, up to Hastings & Napier.

Maybe something like this. Comments and suggestions for other possibilities would be most welcome.

[pete376403]

On your map, the blue line heading north from Upper Hutt is the Rimutaka hill road and into the Waiararapa. If you are stayng in the Hutt for a day or two then over the hill and out to martinborough, up the back way to masterton then back down the middle, and back over the hill is a nice round trip.

[Moi]

Going out to Lake Ferry, down the western side of the lake, and Ngawi are a great ride and worth visiting - both on the south coast.

The last Northern Odyssey went round that area - if you'd like I'll find the route directions and send them to you. Might give you a bit more to explore in that area.

[axil]

Pete and Moi, thanks much for the tips. That looks like a nice ride. I also notice that there is a road, White Rock Road, from Martinborough toward Tekaukau Point and beyond to Ngapotiki. On my map it looks sealed except for one short section. Worthwhile? I will be passing through this way twice, so it would be easy for me to add in an extra day for riding around the area.

[axil]

I came down through Rimutaka Hill on Monday. It would have been a nice ride if the wind gusts had not continually tried to slam the bike off the road and into the side of the mountain. :( Next time I will know to check the weather first :brick: