Touring South Island October 2009

[bttlmstr]

Hello all, I will be visiting your lovely country in October this year with wife and family. During our time away from Western Australia I will be hiring a bike from Christchurch and intend to tour the southern areas of the south island for about a week or so. The family will be following in a motorhome/hire car.

Just enquiring as to 'must ride' roads in that area. I have been trolling the forum and have read several ride reports so have some ideas. We do intend to visit My Cook and Queenstown and will probably do Dunedin and or Invercargill. I love touring on a bike (rode Perth to Canberra and back a few years ago) so the further the better even if I shoot off and agree to meet the family somewhere later in the day, it's all good to me.

We wil be in Christchurch from the 15th and fly out from there on the 26th of October. Any information appreciated.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Any information appreciated.

If its a weekend I am free and not at a rally happy go through the Catlins with yah...

heaps of good roads in the south, heaps...

[LBD]

Being a sand gropher I expect you will be looking for green.

Catlins is nice, (Grew up there) but I would not call it special. Mount Cook is good to visit if the day is nice and you want to tick it off. Its nothing special if the weather is off. The Lindas pass is nice.

Invercargill is just a town down south. If you go there and to bluff, don't just go to thesign post but ride up Bluff hill for a great panorama.

My all time fav is the ride to Milford if weathers okay. After heavy rain all the waterfalls are flowing. Make a good day return trip from queenstown. Allow 4 hours each way and cruise not race the Te Anau Milford section. Real fruit Ice cream im Mossburn, Venison Pie at Miles better pies in Te Anau next to the BP servo on the lake front. (Note, there is no fuel at Milford, 250 km return. Dave at the BP will lend you a small jerry can to carry extra gas if you need) Time it for a 1.5 hour boat cruise with lunch.

Other great roads...Haast to Wanaka, some like Cardrona valley Wanaka to Qtn, for a ride with tight twisties. Avoid traffic commute rush hours on the cardrona, to many nut case car drivers commute on this road. Roxborough to Cromwell I like.

Around Dunedin theres the Palmerston to Ranfurly back to Mosgeil loop I enjoy.

Chch to west coast via Arthurs pass is enjoyable apart from the boring bit at the start...but then its nothing like the nullabor...

Further north Wesport to Greymouth via the coast.

Chch to picton via the Lewis pass. Buller gorges good. Really any thing West of and not including the main east coast road is pretty good.

We will be crossing paths, I arrive in NZ via Sydney on the 10th and leave on the 21st. Invercargil and Cape Reinga are on my interary inthat time...but alone mostly.

What bike will you be riding and where from?

[SDU]

Think LBD pretty much covered a lot off it. While in chch it's worth doing the ride to Akaroa. Also there is the inland road to Kaikoura & back down the coast rd in a day.
Post up a when you are ready to ride around here to see if any locals can join you.
Bring your thermals & wets October can switch from beautiful sunny days to being winter like again.

[bttlmstr]

Ok, on speaking to the better half we are getting things finalised. Looks like we will be leaving Chch on the 16th and heading principally west. Will go through Geraldine and make our way to Mt Cook. Later Wanaka, Arrowtown and Queenstown. Then do the 'U' to Milford Sound and all the way back again.
Don't know if this is all really possible in 6-7 days. I know the distance shouldn't be a problem but with the family in tow, that's where any difficulties might lie. I am perfectly happy being on the road a lot but the wife and 2 littluns (5.5 and 1.9 years) will want to be stopping lots.

Looks like I will be on a hired SV650.

[LBD]

Mate with 6 or 7 days, campervan and 2 nippers, might I suggest this....

When you arrive in Chch, get car and bike and ask some one knowledgeable for the west coast weather forecast. If it good for the next couple of days, then do the following circuit anti clockwise down the west coast. If the forecast looks wet on the west coast, travel clockwise, down the center and back up the West coast.

Assuming fine forecast...

Day 1) not to long, Christchurch to Bealey hotel/Arthurs Pass. There are good places to camp with the campervan all through that area. You can carry on through AP and down to otira towards Hokitika, Greenstone/Jade shopping and its whitebait season so white bait patties and chips should be on your west coast menu.

Day 2) Fox and or Franz glaciers should be your destination...or further. drive up to the glaciers...and walk a little if you want to get closer and better views. You could travel further towards Haast...camping ground at Haast. sunset from Haast beach is nice.

Day 3) Wanaka Cromwell or Queenstown...Qtn is a bit of a tourist trap. No camping except motor camps (Frankton Arm MC maybe) and $ Qtn is expensivish). There is a fish and Chup shop on the main Corner in Frankton cooks in Olive oil, one of the best in the country. Suggest the Camper travels through Cromwell not the Cardrona Valley.

4) Bike to Milford, Camper too if your wife wishes. There are several tourist busses heading to Milford from Qtn daily as an alternitive. Or you may want to go seperate ways forthe day. Te Anau would be an option for the night knocking 2 hours off the travel for the day.

5) Depending on where you stayed, Te Anau? Head for Lumsden, Riversdale, Rays Junction Roxborough Alexander Cromwell. Or Qtn?, enjoy QTN maybe a trip to Glenorchy and Paradise, or a trip on the Earnslaw the old steamer accross the lake and back...If your budget is up to it have dinner accross the lake and return on a later sailing..

6) Over the Lindas pass to Mount Cook/ Tekapo. Then back to Chch today or tomorrow....

Just a suggestion, and from most places you can do some good add ons with the bike...ie

-Otira Jacksons, Lake Brunner Hokitika.

-Haast to Jacksons Bay 40 km each way....if your wife wishes take the camper to Jacksons bay and get a feed at the takeaway on the beach...mind the sand flies...its a lovely but rather straight sealled drive through tall bush and across magestic rivers

-Queenstown Cromwell Wanaka Cardrona loop the other way around.

Look at the map you will find others.

One alterntive after Milford is to Dunedin then Oamaru and up the waitaki to Omarama and on towards Mount Cook

Whatever you do, have a good visit...

[ruamoku]

Damn shame if you didn't ride Westport to Karamea over the Karamea Bluff, one of the best rides in the country IMHO, if you're over on the West Coast.
Ah, so many good rides, so little time.................

[Hinny]

Damn shame if you didn't ride Westport to Karamea over the Karamea Bluff, one of the best rides in the country IMHO, if you're over on the West Coast.
Ah, so many good rides, so little time.................

First bit is a bit gnarley but then it becomes fantastic.

[McJim]

Here are some vids of the area on a bike.

http://www.youtube.com/NZMcJim

hope you enjoy

[bttlmstr]

Well, we are here in NZ and it certainly has been a bit of an eye opener. We have decided to book another car with the bike as after seeing some of the roads in the North Island, the missus is rather hesitant about driving a large vehicle trying to pursue me on a cicle, HAHA. Looks like we will be doing a slightly circuitous route but it should all be good. Can't post up all the details right now as at a public terminal with none of my stuff with me.
Thanks for all the responses to date. It has helped a lot.
I will post up a ride report later on too.

Rob and the soon to be picked up SV650.

[bttlmstr]

Well here we are in Te Anau. Rode today from Arrowtown via Queenstown. Qtown is definitely a tourist trap but we still went and rode the jetboats.
Off to Milford tomorrow and then will be travelling up the west coast as there has been yet another change of plan.
The ride out of Qtown along the water was fantastic. Does it ever stop raining in Arrowtown, LOL?
Was unlucky to get done though on the way to Te Anau. The SV seems to love cruising at 113kph and the blue and yellow was behind a truck going the other way. Drat and double drat. Another $80 gone. Ho hum.
Glad I brought all my wet weather gear and thermals. LOL.

[LBD]

Mate, sound like you got caught in some of the same shite weather I did.....

Was the weather kind to you to Milford?

The Cop who booked you in Te Anau was likely Phil....not a bad bloke, became a Cop to ride police bikes which he did for more than 20 years....

Look forward to your last installment

[Hinny]

The Cop who booked you in Te Anau was likely Phil....not a bad bloke...

Booking him for 113 ....... Not a bad bloke.......Have a beer.

[LBD]

Booking him for 113 ....... Not a bad bloke.......Have a beer.

Know what your saying....but what speed was he slowing down from?

[Hinny]

Was unlucky to get done though on the way to Te Anau. The SV seems to love cruising at 113kph and the blue and yellow was behind a truck going the other way..

Know what your saying....but what speed was he slowing down from?

It would appear he was traveling at what many consider to be a safe speed for bikes. ie. a couple of kph more than most cars.
Pretty dumb move to ping him for what might be considered defensive driving.

Going to the mountain recently we were passed by a V6 Highlux. He seemed totally paranoid about exceeding the speed limit no doubt courtesy of the Highway Patrol around Nat. Park. They police it like a bunch of rabid terriers.
He stuck outside us for an eternity at, I guess, a touch under 110 .
Talk about policing making life on the road dangerous.

This could be one of the reasons that the 'Speed Kills' program seems to be such an abject failure. Paranoia about getting 'caught' overriding common sense.
IMO the less time you spend on the other side of the road the better off you are.