Auckland-Christchurch. Advice please?

[EatOrBeEaten]

I've promised some distant (and biking) relatives of mine that I'll go visit them over the Easter weekend. They live near Christchurch, they're keen for me to bring the bike down so they can kick the tyres etc. etc. Me, I'm pretty stoked about taking the bike on a LONG run out and it seems like a good opportunity to do some exploring of the mainland on the Kawasaki over the holidays

However, I'm a n00b and therefore anxious to sidestep any obvious idiocy on the road, so here's my idiocy online.

a) going at nana speeds due to the L-plate, roughly how long will it take me? I'm figuring I'll need a stopover somewhere, any recommendations? What can I expect in terms of roads/traffic?

b) what's the weather like in this part of the world in early April? If it's going to be bollocking it down then I'll have a rethink.

c) Awesome roads/sights/places worth checking out on the way back? I'll be on school holidays then, so I'll have a bit of time to check out awesome stuff.

Of course, if anyone's going south (fnar) on the 9th/10th April then let me know, would be nice to have some company :)

[imdying]

a) Don't travel at nana speeds; you'll be less likely to get squashed by some impatient arsehole

b) weather is fine, just bring your wets anyway... if nothing else, they're excellent at keeping cold winds at bay, seriously

c) zillions... are you coming down the middle or the east coat? I recommend the middle :yes:

[EatOrBeEaten]

By nana speeds I meant the speed limit, haven't kept to the 70kph rule after my first introduction to Auckland motorway traffic.... O_O

Good to hear about the weather too, it's my birthday in April and I was getting concerned I'd be celebrating in shhitey Autumn weather :(

Recommend away, all I got so far is "Go to chch, get spoiled a bit and fuck about on trailies for a few days. ride home." :laugh:

[Gremlin]

Plan at least two days for the trip, depending on which route you take (and whether you turn the trip into the holiday).

Auckland to Wellington is 620 odd km, at least 7 hours non-stop of riding, it depends how many km you're comfortable to do a day, or how many hours you want to ride a day.

South Island, you can go straight down the east coast, one day easy. Or you can go west first, take in the likes of Queen Charlotte Drive, maybe a visit to Takaka (just google all these places).

Then you can go further west, to the west coast, via Buller Gorge (stunning) or head south through Springs Junction and Lewis Pass. Then you can go straight to Christchurch, or detour through Waiau and do Inland Rd or Leader Rd.

Or you can be GiJoe, find yourself in Bluff and realise you took a wrong turn, and do it all over again.

[Bren]

If you are leaving Auckland for this trip I have one bit of advice...Dont go back!:Pokey:


seriously though If ya need a place to crash for a night our place is always open to KBers. We are in Otaki, just outta wellington...1 hr away from fery terminal

[EatOrBeEaten]

Really? That'd be awesome, will get back to you nearer the event :)

Gremlin- cheers for the info. Wasn't planning on going the GIJoe way, but I'll bear his wisdom in mind...

[AllanB]

Once in Picton, I'd head North West to somewhere like say Kaiteriteri Motorcamp (just North of Motuekua). Spend the night there in a cabin or caravan and relax on the golden beach :sunny:

Head South via Tapawera Highway - now either continue down the Lewis Pass or head over to the West Coast for the night (Westport or Greymouth). If you are not going to the West Coast continue to the Lewis Pass and consider spending the night in Hanmer Springs - relax in the thermal Hot Pools and take away the days aches. Be sure to go to a internet cafe and post pictures of you in your swimmers!
Hanmer to Christchurch is only about 150-160 kms of easy riding so you can arrive at your friends still feeling alive!

When in Christchurch a must do is the Akaroa GP, sorry scenic road. POst on KB and see if you can organise a guide over the hill who will ride at a sensible pace!

When heading back, shoot up the East Coast to Picton, stopping in Kaikoura for a feed of chips on the beach. Maybe you'll see a whale.

[SlashWylde]

Hey there. I have it in mind to ride down and visit friends in ChCh over the Easter break.

I'd probably want to head straight to Wellington over the course of a day, catch a ferry to Picton and stay the night in a backpackers. I'm interested in the possibility of heading down the middle to Hanmer or down the west coast to Greymouth then cutting accross to ChCh through Arthurs Pass(have to do some research on attractions of different routes).

I'll know closer to the time whether I'll be able to get away from work on the Thursday, so might be able to keep you company.

[skidMark]

Fuck travelling most of NZ on a long weekend, asking to be taken out by a retard holiday driver.

[EatOrBeEaten]

Cheers to AllanB, will definitely check those rides out!

Slash- let me know nearer the time, maybe sort something out!

Mark- good point, though it'll make a change for dicing with rush-hour death...

[Iain]

A day or two before you go check www.metservice.co.nz. They have a "rain radar" that shows expected rain over areas by the hour. It has served me well and been accurate on my trips. check the areas and times you will pass through so you know whether to expect rain or not.

Iain

[AllanB]

Fuck travelling most of NZ on a long weekend, asking to be taken out by a retard holiday driver.

Yeah, a issue. To be honest I pretty much kept off the bike over Xmas due to excessively heavy traffic.

One thing in the South Island however is that on the open road the vast majority of car drivers stick to the legal limit.
Unfortunately they also tend to doodle along in groups of little 'car trains'.

[Squiggles]

a) going at nana speeds due to the L-plate, roughly how long will it take me? I'm figuring I'll need a stopover somewhere, any recommendations? What can I expect in terms of roads/traffic?

Do it over two days at least, i've just come back from welly in a day and it gets pretty tiring and long.



b) what's the weather like in this part of the world in early April? If it's going to be bollocking it down then I'll have a rethink.

I use metvuw.co.nz & look at their forecast charts, pretty damm good for up to 7 days out... weather is "normally" alright



c) Awesome roads/sights/places worth checking out on the way back? I'll be on school holidays then, so I'll have a bit of time to check out awesome stuff.

Get ya picture taken with the gumboot in taihape... and go to te papa

[gammaguy]

i do the AK-CH run all the time,on a bike(its my job)

I can say the main thing is not to push yourself too hard,if you are tired,stop and rest.it takes a lot of concentration riding a long way.

Make sure your bike is fully serviced and sorted re tyres chain etc.there are few bike shops in the south island outside the main centers,and things never break down during business hours.even if you find a shop in rural NZ chances are it wont stock much road bike stuff.

Make sure you wear good gear and remember in april in the mainland,and thru the central north island it can get COLD and WET very easily and quickly.

Consider going down the east coast thru hawkes bay its usually warmer and drier and there are less trucks about(though still a few)

i could go on but half the fun is discovering it all for yourself

have a great trip and be safe:rockon:

[EatOrBeEaten]

Well, now that Old Man Eobe is coming over, this has become a two-week odyssey. :D :D

He wants to take two/three days down to Wellington (to allow for jetlag from his epic journey here), then bolt down to Chch from the ferry and then take the scenic route back, seeing anything interesting. That's a LOT of time to go see awesome things!

Is there an NZ By Bike or similar book that I can peruse? I have been charged with sorting out a route and itinerary, gawd 'elp us!

[TimeOut]

Is there an NZ By Bike or similar book that I can peruse? I have been charged with sorting out a route and itinerary, gawd 'elp us!



The "New Zealand Motorcycle Atlas" is really good. I got mine at Paper Plus

[EatOrBeEaten]

Sounds perfect, cheers :)

[Gremlin]

gijoe has one... and to be honest, we looked at the areas we were covering on gps software, picked semi main routes that didn't look boring...

When we cross-referenced it to the book, we had pretty much picked out all the routes :clap:

I think the book does have a bit more info tho, but its handy indeed, if you don't know the roads. How many days do you have for going from chch north?

Going south, depending on the number of km you want to do, auckland to gisborne, and gisborne to wellington (via back routes with wimbledon), or via the east cape/forgotten highway

[Mystic13]

- Book the ferry early for the long weekend. Take ur own tie downs.

- www.metservice.co.nz is great like someone said. Where it comes into it's own over metvue is you can call up the forecast, then the rain radar and compare the two. The forecast is usually pretty accurate in terms of what will happen it's just the timing that will be out. By comparing the two you can see how soon or late the rain is and make decisions. As an example the worst I've seen is the forecast being out by 7 hours from the night before to the next morning. When everyone thought it would rain it turned out to be a brilliant days riding.

- If you don't have plastic rain coats for wearing over the top then buy some. I prefer the two piece. They keep you dry and keep you warm. I've been through the dessert road when it's been sleeting (could have made a snow cone off the screen) and other riders I were with were complaining of seriously freezing to the point that a couple stopped early just to get a hot shower. I've also done Aucks to Wellington with 7 hours of rain. Plastic is your friend. I actually enjoy bad weather riding.

- My general rule for riding somewhere is if there are two routes, look at the sky and choose a direction based on which looks drier and take a moment to see where the clouds are going. I've found some really interesting roads like this. Sure I've also found roads to nowhere and on one occassion a road to where I just came from but it's the ride...

- As for holiday weekends it's not as dangerous as people say because us riders tend to use secondary roads. And for some reason cars look for the most major road in the area.

- I don't tend to stop at planned locations but stop when it feels right. Going Aucks to Christchurch I'd be planning to stop at Picton. If there is riding with a destination over a few days then it's just stop when we feel like it. Then you can go for wanders down roads and find the hidden gems. Of course you run the risk of turning up in a town with no accommodation. That just makes the ride more special because someone will always put you up. (Or you're sleeping under the stars).

Most of all just have fun.

[Mystic13]

I also carry the "(North Island) Complete Drivers Atlas With Indexed Country Roads". There'll be a South Island one I guess.

This map allows me to get lost on the smallest of back roads and if I'm ever in doubt the road I'm on is in the book and I can find the way out. You can also get a good sense on the map about which roads are gravel (It doesn't say that in words but it seems to change the road colour on the map where the road turns to gravel in my experience.

The HEPA Motorcycle map is great but the "Complete" map allows you to plan your own back of beyond routes.

[pritch]

That's a big trip but do-able with good planning. SH1 is usually to be avoided but the stretch from Picton to Christchurch has an interesting texture with several ranges of hills and a great coastal stretch either side of Kaikoura.
It's a really nice ride.

There is a ton of advice on KB about using the ferries, a lot of it conflicting. You pays your money and you takes your choice. You do need to have your own tie downs - and know how to use them. Easter will be busy on the ferries.

The weather should be OK in April, but it can rain anytime. At least you are on the right side of the Ranges.

Have fun.

[SDU]

When you get to chch don't forget to introduce yourself to the locals, by meeting up for a ride or drinks.

We're not all scary:msn-wink:

[EatOrBeEaten]

loads of good stuff here, thank you all :)

In talks with The Old One, he's thinking about travelling to SI Wednesday 15-Wednesday 22, so we should get the ferry stuff ok. that gives us half a week either side on NI. Will get the atlas today and have a poke through it.

No tie-downs on the ferries? For real? O_o.

[Tank]

No tie-downs on the ferries? For real? O_o.

I will be back by then and have just purchased a couple of new sets of tie-downs - you are more than welsome to borrow mine to save you buying some.

[EatOrBeEaten]

I will be back by then and have just purchased a couple of new sets of tie-downs - you are more than welsome to borrow mine to save you buying some.
Cheers mate, that'd be awesome :D

I'm still pretty amazed at the lack of tie-downs on the ferry though- seems outrageous!

Oh, and bought that atlas today, cheers for suggesting it TimeOut :)

[testastretta]

If you are wanting to take a fairly direct route from Picton to Christchurch .Just south of Kaikoura by the golf course head inland to Waiau via Mt Lyford.From Waiau head east back to SH1 through the Leader Valley(Alpine Pacific Triangle)Although this takes out some of the best of the coast road this detour has some great twisty bits and the traffic is very light.The road surface isnt the best but alot of fun can still be had.:woohoo:

[EatOrBeEaten]

If you are wanting to take a fairly direct route from Picton to Christchurch .Just south of Kaikoura by the golf course head inland to Waiau via Mt Lyford.From Waiau head east back to SH1 through the Leader Valley(Alpine Pacific Triangle)Although this takes out some of the best of the coast road this detour has some great twisty bits and the traffic is very light.The road surface isnt the best but alot of fun can still be had.:woohoo:
Cheers :) So much good advice on this thread and via PM :D

*takes notes*

The ride report will be thing of beauty, it might even be worth reading! ;)

[tigertim20]

Id recommend taking the east coast, awesome road, and forget the 70km restriction!! The road will be bloody busy around the easter time, so go a day or two early, to avoid some of the madness.
The weather from Picton-Christchurch will be generally pretty awesome, Enjoy the ride!!
I lived in Chrsitchurch for 12 years and Blenheim for 9, and travelled the road bout 2 times a month on average, youll enjoy that road!
Good Luck!