Yank touring NZ in Feb 2016 hopefully

[kuri77]

Hi Everyone,
I joined an OZ biker forum last year and then went to OZ this spring. I got a lot of great info, met some great people and rode some rides definitely not in the guidebooks. Had a fantastic time.
Hoping to get the same type feedback here. Am going to post my tentative route and would like anyone to comment especially if you know of a better alternative or whatever. Also want suggestions of any kind.
Am looking to stay out of towns except for the hotel if necessary. I live just out of LA so you can imagine my idea of a holiday is not hanging out in a city. To give you an example - wanted to see the Opera House in Sydney which almost every American is aware of but had no desire to drive in Sydney or stay there. So I rode in, parked on the sidewalk, took some photos and got out of town. Less than a couple of hours. No desire for nightlife, fancy restaurants and hotels or tours. My whole focus is the ride and every thing else is secondary.
Don't expect to do any camping this trip. Took all the gear for it to OZ and usually ended up where it was raining or the mosquitoes were as big as birds. We ended up camping once. Thru ADV rider I met a lot of great people who offered a room to sleep. Took up a number of them on that.
Allotted time is about 2-4 wks, I'm pretty flexible. First order of business is when to come. From what I've gathered so far mid-Feb is the best time to come weather-wise, highest prices on rentals but kids all in school after the first week or so. This is for a stem to stern tour so anyone not agree on the timing?
Well I will post again soon, glad to have found this forum.

[Maha]

'Thru ADV rider I met a lot of great people who offered a room to sleep'

You'll find that'll happen here without any hesitation, our previous home was huge and we accommodated a number of visiting riders offering a bed/shower/laundry if needed and a true Kiwi feed....roast lamb and Pavlova.
February onward is the best weather here in NZ.

[haydes55]

I have a spare couch or floor available in Hamilton if you would like.

You'll probably want to spend more time in the south island though.

[MD]

Welcome!
Yeah if your timing is flexible avoid school holidays i.e. avoid mid Dec to late January. Weather is usually more settled in Feb. but anything from Nov. onwards should be warm summer riding.

Small towns in NZ have great low cost pubs and motels to pick from. Pointless going through the hassle of camping to save a few dollars when travelling on a bike. Camping has so many hassles with gear to carry. Motels and bed and breakfasts = hassle free & more enjoyment. Motel rooms range from about $75 to $120 a night for a single person. I ride the South Island every December in a group and most motels sleep 3 to 4 a room, so they split the cost to about $40 to $60 a person

Wouldn't bother pre-booking rooms as this ties you to destinations and dates and you shouldn't have trouble finding a room in any small town. If not the next town is only an enjoyable short blast down the road. Riding NZ is follow the sun, follow the road you choose.

You live in LA so you better find somewhere to go practice riding a bike around a curve. We don't have straight roads here and we drive on the left hand side - rather important point inbound tourists are getting wrong lately to their death. I've driven in America and thankfully with so much traffic I was constantly aware of what side to drive on. Here the roads are remote and in places empty of traffic for ages which catches tourists out.

Best biking roads are top of the North Island -Cape Reinga is a blast, Coromandel Peninsula, East Cape and anywhere in the South Island EXCEPT down the east coast from Christchurch to Dundedin. In fact, that's our only bit of boring straight road. South Island is the most beautiful and has awesome riding roads, Golden Bay, West Coast through to the southern lakes. Christchurch is worth a visit though and has a great race track, oops, sorry public road that takes you out to Akaroa harbour. Two weeks will not be enough to cover both Islands and you will leave feeling short changed. Zig zagging across the South Island passes is fun; Haast Pass, Arthurs Pass and Lewis Pass

Keep us informed of your plans
Mark

[Bikemad]

Head to Amazon books and buy......"Twisting Throttle NZ".....by a chap Mike Hyde............it has 50 of the best rides in the country.......half on road half on gravel......you may want to hire/buy a dual purpose bike and string a ride together using both options to get around the country

[Tazz]

Any 'city' in NZ will be like a tiny village to you mate so I wouldn't fret too much Even our biggest can be navigated from end to end in about an hour.

Depending on life at the time can probably hook you up with a bed in Picton and can defiantly take you out for a spin on some of the decent local 'offroad' routes.

Feb is usually wicked weather wise. March can be too without the same level of tourists as the tour groups seem to mainly be done Jan/Feb.

<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/F8j1K8YylGcfA-kalikDCKbERZSzjYFtThKTqTvn_T8=w1280-h720-no" width="800" />

[russd7]

Welcome!
Wouldn't bother pre-booking rooms as this ties you to destinations and dates and you shouldn't have trouble finding a room in any small town. If not the next town is only an enjoyable short blast down the road. Riding NZ is follow the sun, follow the road you choose.
Mark

agreed except for the west coast of the south island, if planning on overnighting anywhere south of hokitika it pays to book in advance, and i would advize overnighting so you can take ya time and really enjoy the roads if it is dry and if it is wet it will be very wet so you will want to stop anyway.

anywhere in the South Island EXCEPT down the east coast from Christchurch to Dundedin. In fact, that's our only bit of boring straight road.

from timaru south is not bad but better off to head inland anyway, that mackenzie country is best ridden in the wee small hours of the morning on a moonlit night, totally awesome.

[neels]

The south island is covered in awesome roads, if the stars align would be more than happy to show you the way (or show you the map and try and keep up), can also offer a couch or floor for a night if needed in the evil flatlands of Christchurch.

Keep the posts coming with your timeframe, and look forward to some excellent riding.

[redleader]

Hi From the lower South Isl we have a spare bed in Clyde Central Otago if you need one and lots of info on back country roads and tracks you can do down this way, if you get this far look us up. Central Otago is the mecca for Adv riding in NZ.

[kuri77]

Hi All,
Just got back from a 3 week ride to South Dakota for the 75th Sturgis run. Over a million mcs there this year. Biggest ever. Pretty awesome time.
So now first to thank all of you who have posted and especially those already offering a place to crash. Very much appreciated. Guess the Ozzie welcome mat is not the only one wide open down under. I was happy to hear from the Ozzies how many had the same experience when they came over here. Nice to think we're holding our end up too. Guess we bikers are a pretty good lot wherever we are.
Going to the library this week to get a travel guide for general info. Already planned a route which is pretty much going around the coast of both islands.
Looks like I'll be coming Feb 2 til the 22nd. I know I could use another week but after looking at distances and comparing with our trip to Oz I think I should be able to ride most of the roads I want to. Not much of a hiker so any panoramas will have to be seen from the seat of my bike or at most from the other side of the road.
Except for the Dunedin road mentioned looks like I can't really go wrong with any of the paved roads. Maybe going thru Omarama, Clyde and Geraldine would be a good alternative to the flat road? This is reflected in the revised map below.

haydes55 - thanks for your kind offer would like to take you up on it if the timing is right for us
MD - thanks for the advice about pubs and rooms, I never pre-book unless no other choice, I'm hurt that you would think we have no curves here. Look up Ortega Highway which is 10 minutes down the road from me. Hundreds of squids out there every Sunday morning. Taking notes on your road recommendations thanks, I always end up feeling shortchanged because no trip is ever long enough
Bikemad - thanks for the book recommendation, however I don't plan any off road riding since I will be alone, yeah I know I'm a wuss but an uninjured one, my offroad skills are legendary and not in a good way
Tazz - thanks for the room offer, hope I can take you up on a ride together
russd7 - thanks for making me aware of possibly having to prebook in the south
neels - thanks for the offer and though I'm not into towns much since you live there I'm sure you could show me one interesting place in Christchurch, mc museum or ?
redleader - thanks for the offer too, about those back roads, if they are doable on a street bike and some one goes with me I'd be up to trying some of those but solo single track would be above my rider ability or desire

Below are my tentative maps. Only a rough guide and the first one is a revision of the last one based on your comments. Any major no-nos there?
My email is kurereyo at cox dot net if anyone wants to say anything privately or leave me their phone number for contact when I get there
When I went to Oz I was given less than great advice about who to get a sim card from. Hopefully you guys are unanimous about the carrier you'll suggest.
Closing for now and looking forward to your comments. Thanks, Chris

[FJRider]

Your first map plan is a good one ... but I might suggest from Tuatapere ... you follow the coast around the bottom of the south island. When you reach Balclutha ... follow the Clutha river upstream untill you reach Raes Junction ... then keep to your plan.


As for the north island ... You can't expect to see everything on your first trip.



You'll be back.

[kuri77]

Thanks for the route suggestions FJRider. Is Bluff worth the side trip? Or Invercargill? Did you mean the main road or the Tokanui Gorge Hwy as the southern route? Map A or B? As I said I prefer only paved roads when alone and the Gorge Hwy seems paved after google zooming. Is it paved all the way?

map A
map B

[MD]

Hi
That coastal route at the bottom of the South island, from Invercargill to Balclutha does have about 10 miles of gravel road. Reasonably well formed gravel road though and the rest is awesome riding with way better scenery than the inland route (Invercargill to Dunedin). Skip if it raining. The rest of your routes look good and all sealed roads.

I know time is always a premium but from Nelson to Golden Bay is also beaut with tourist gems like Farewell Spit and Pupu Springs near Takaka.

Our Kiwi Dollar has fallen out of grace with your Greenback so you're looking at a cheaper holiday now.

[kuri77]

Hi
That coastal route at the bottom of the South island, from Invercargill to Balclutha does have about 10 miles of gravel road. Reasonably well formed gravel road though and the rest is awesome riding with way better scenery than the inland route (Invercargill to Dunedin). Skip if it raining. The rest of your routes look good and all sealed roads.

I know time is always a premium but from Nelson to Golden Bay is also beaut with tourist gems like Farewell Spit and Pupu Springs near Takaka.

Our Kiwi Dollar has fallen out of grace with your Greenback so you're looking at a cheaper holiday now.

MD,
Thanks for the suggestions.
Been watching your tumbling dollar for some time, hence my trip. Looks like a chance of a lifetime so I'm grabbing it. Will try that 10 mile stretch of gravel but how about traffic? If I wipeout how long am I likely to lie there before some one comes along? Hopefully I can find someone to accompany me for that stretch. Where exactly is it and is there a way around?
Looked at the Nelson route, looks good but I bet only great after Riwaka right? I usually try to avoid roads that I have to backtrack on unless something really special like the 125 mile in and same out for Ayer's Rock. However, if I don't do the last part would you still recommend the Nelson to Motueka Valley Road from Lower Moutere back to Kohatu instead of the Nelson to Kohatu main road?
After google satelliteing it I think the stretch up to the Kairuru Farm Stay about 13 km ride looks worth the backtrack. However, if you think there are a lot of roads similar that I will be riding on further south maybe I'll pass.
Got some travel books and looks like the Lake Taupo region is worth visiting so I have to decide which side of the north island to eliminate on my way to Nelson or on the way back. Any suggestions from you or anybody?
Oh yeah, everyone on the Oz forum was telling me the beer to drink and as it turned out the first one we tried, Carlton became our favorite. How about you guys?

[Tazz]

The Golden Bay area is worth the back track bud.
Such comments are always a bit subjective, but it is often said that two of the best parts of the country are the top of the South Island and the bottom of it. At least one end is a 'must', and if you can do both that is a brilliant added bonus =)

Just Google image search some of the place names you see up there on the map and they'll either tickle yer fancy or not.

I haven't spent much time there but Taupo is pretty cool. Will be busy, but still cool.

Beer can be a bit touchy Monteiths is one of the better commercial drops you'll find. Micro breweries are pretty big in NZ though so depending what type of bars you like to hit there will be different beer in each area to try.