Wellington strait escape

[mylodon]

Hello, I'm new here. Been in Wellington for about four months or so.

Are there any recommended places across the cook strait (from picton) for a weekend ride? I'm fine with finding my own way around but the offroad book i have is pretty out of date. Places i show up at are closed.

anything from gravel to single track. i can't do beaches well, i tend to sink down into the sand.

Also, is $50 for a bike ticket on the bluebridge / interislander the best you can get?

and i have a flatbed ute -- do they mind if you load something on the back. probably not, but with the klr up there it sits pretty tall. actually i'd probably leave the ute behind.

[NighthawkNZ]

Are there any recommended places across the cook strait (from picton) for a weekend ride? I'm fine with finding my own way around but the offroad book i have is pretty out of date. Places i show up at are closed.

The entire mainland is in your backyard... :)

[buggsubique]

Mate, I'm moving to Blenheim in December so will be looking for places to ride around the sounds & wider Marlborough, etc. Keep me posted if / when you intend to cross over and we can meet up. I lean towards the offroad / trail side of adventure riding but am more than happy to tame things down a bit. Still in Wellington till Dec though, so PM me your number and we can get into the akatarawas or south coast (where we can work on your sand riding!). Dane Foster and I ride reasonably often, plus there's a bunch of other dudes who have hooked up before to do the Akatarawas. Welcome aboard.

[marks]

plus there's a bunch of other dudes who have hooked up before to do the Akatarawas. Welcome aboard.

Always happy to make up a 3some or 4some or whatever if it involves the Akatarawas....

Welcome mylodon - look forward to catching up with you at some stage for a local ride..

cheers


Mark

[cooneyr]

Hello, I'm new here. Been in Wellington for about four months or so.

Are there any recommended places across the cook strait (from picton) for a weekend ride? I'm fine with finding my own way around but the offroad book i have is pretty out of date. Places i show up at are closed.

anything from gravel to single track. i can't do beaches well, i tend to sink down into the sand......

Welcome to KB. Keep an eye on the adv section as some of us Chch boys like to head to the north of the south often.

Places to ride - the list is pretty endless really but a few to start with.
Molesworth
Rainbow
Black Birch Range
Port Underwood
Taylors Pass
Onamalutu Road
Mangatapu Pass
French Pass (sea channel worth the gravel ride too)
Titirangi Bay
Cape Cambell
Cobb Reservoir
Anatori River
Porika Track
Breaburn Track
Maruia Saddle

When yorve ridden these let me know I'll tell you about some more :D PM me if you need maps showing where any of these are. LINZ has topomaps online here (http://www.nztopoonline.linz.govt.nz/) (then click on "New Zealand Mainland Only" blue box in the top left of the screen) which are searchable and should be of some help.

Cheers R

[warewolf]

Also, is $50 for a bike ticket on the bluebridge / interislander the best you can get?

and i have a flatbed ute -- do they mind if you load something on the back. probably not, but with the klr up there it sits pretty tall. actually i'd probably leave the ute behind.That's pretty much the price. No problem loading up your vehicle, it's a freight service after all. There's no height restrictions really, they carry semi-trailers and campervans.

But if you think 50 bucks for the bike is too much, go price up your ute!!!

[mylodon]

Hey guys thanks... cooneyr, i'll check out some of those routes -- i've been told by a kiwi that the only new zealand, is the south island, and so apparently i'll need to take a ferry to see new zealand, on the short weekends i have free.

i went to the Akatarawas area once... it had rained so the place was swamped, i didn't go far. i'd definately be up for returning for a group ride one of these weekends, hopefully some day not so wet.

[warewolf]

i've been told by a kiwi that the only new zealand, is the south islandThat's complete bollocks! There's plenty to see and do (and ride) on the North Island. For one thing, lots of more readily accessible volcanic features. On the South Island, there is often only one way to get from A to B, on the North there are heaps of choices and a lot more roads.

Sure the South is worth a look, I'm just saying don't write off the North.

Go have a look on advrider.com (http://advrider.com/) at some of Danger_Dave's write-ups.