Places to stay on the West Coast?

**awayatc** · 8th December 2016, 05:25

+1 on book a batch....

Only smallish problem is you need to be at least a day or so ahead of yourself booking...

Had some great places for reasonable money....
Some even with a garage to park bikes

**FJRider** · 8th December 2016, 09:34

Avoid Queenstown ... just turn off at the bottom of the Crown Range road and go over. In and out of Q'town will cost you an hour and a half ... even if you don't stop. Parking there is a bitch (even for bikes) and traffic is worse.

Haast Lodge and Backpackers in Haast village (2 km's short of the bridge) is good. Go much further and it will be a long day.

Spring Creek Holiday park north of Blenheim is good too.

Methven is a good place for accommodation too.

Remember ... it is very likely the Lewis pass route from Blenheim will still be the only "shortest" route to Christchurch then. The route IS a good motorcycle road ... but not with current vehicle volume of heavy trucks ripping the road up. Add accidents/road works/campervans into the mix ...

Back track through Inungahua/Reefton and do the Arthurs pass. Most likely it will be quicker. And more fun.

**tigertim20** · 8th December 2016, 10:03

Originally Posted by FJRider

Avoid Queenstown ... just turn off at the bottom of the Crown Range road and go over. In and out of Q'town will cost you an hour and a half ... even if you don't stop. Parking there is a bitch (even for bikes) and traffic is worse.

Haast Lodge and Backpackers in Haast village (2 km's short of the bridge) is good. Go much further and it will be a long day.

Spring Creek Holiday park north of Blenheim is good too.

Methven is a good place for accommodation too.

Remember ... it is very likely the Lewis pass route from Blenheim will still be the only "shortest" route to Christchurch then. The route IS a good motorcycle road ... but not with current vehicle volume of heavy trucks ripping the road up. Add accidents/road works/campervans into the mix ...

Back track through Inungahua/Reefton and do the Arthurs pass. Most likely it will be quicker. And more fun.

We have a free place to stay in Blenheim with family, so we are sorted there.

and yup, we won't go right into queenstown itself, no reason to.

We have both ridden arthurs pass before, so looking to go places one, or both of us havent been as much as possible, not too worried about the quickest way, its a boys week away from the wives and kids, don't wanna rush it!!

**eldog** · 8th December 2016, 13:28

Originally Posted by FJRider

Inungahua/Reefton more fun.

SI Roads are much better than NI ones from memory

**ellipsis** · 8th December 2016, 13:39

...as Neels has mentioned, Whataroa Pub is great, old school West Coast and near Haast...great food too, last time I was there...

**PistonBlown** · 8th December 2016, 14:34

Can't offer any help on accommodation as I've not stopped at the places your stopping at each night but agree with mulletman that you've picked a really good route there that happens to include many of my favourite bits of road.

Only thing to be careful of is that with SH1 closed some of your day three route will be on the new main route that the lorries etc are using - you'll be ok if you time it right with the ferry traffic but just something to keep in mind. There's also been warnings about the 63 and the potholes that the extra traffic has caused. By Feb/March it could be in a bad way.

After Tekapo are you doing the diversion to Mt Cook?

**russd7** · 8th December 2016, 20:02

sounds like a good ride Tim, but i don't see many roads that you wont have ridden, they are fun roads tho.
as a side note, there is a motel/cabins some where between haast and fox (possibly around bruce bay, memory slips at the moment) that we stopped at when i picked the wing up in nelson. the rain was comin down in sheets and i was soaked and just stumbled apon it.

enjoy

**tigertim20** · 9th December 2016, 09:52

Originally Posted by russd7

sounds like a good ride Tim, but i don't see many roads that you wont have ridden, they are fun roads tho.
as a side note, there is a motel/cabins some where between haast and fox (possibly around bruce bay, memory slips at the moment) that we stopped at when i picked the wing up in nelson. the rain was comin down in sheets and i was soaked and just stumbled apon it.

enjoy

beleove it or not, Ive never actually got round to riding the lindis. Most of the rest is stuff I have done, Ive ridden the west coast from haast up to greymouth. Driven further north but not ridden it.
Most of it is roads my mate hasn't been on.

Pigroot weve both done a few times, but its a lovely road, and crown range, well, be silly not to ride over the crown range!

**snodpete** · 9th December 2016, 13:39

Originally Posted by russd7

...there is a motel/cabins some where between haast and fox (possibly around bruce bay, memory slips at the moment)...

enjoy

Probably this Motel in middle of nowhere - would make shakedown Day 1 of your ride more manageable - especially with the 'conditions' we sometimes get on the 'Coast

**russd7** · 9th December 2016, 17:35

Originally Posted by snodpete

Probably this Motel in middle of nowhere - would make shakedown Day 1 of your ride more manageable - especially with the 'conditions' we sometimes get on the 'Coast

yup that be the one, real basic and carports to park under and the hosts were awesome

**husaberg** · 9th December 2016, 20:49

Originally Posted by FJRider

Avoid Queenstown ... just turn off at the bottom of the Crown Range road and go over. In and out of Q'town will cost you an hour and a half ... even if you don't stop. Parking there is a bitch (even for bikes) and traffic is worse.

Haast Lodge and Backpackers in Haast village (2 km's short of the bridge) is good. Go much further and it will be a long day.

Spring Creek Holiday park north of Blenheim is good too.

Methven is a good place for accommodation too.

Remember ... it is very likely the Lewis pass route from Blenheim will still be the only "shortest" route to Christchurch then. The route IS a good motorcycle road ... but not with current vehicle volume of heavy trucks ripping the road up. Add accidents/road works/campervans into the mix ...

Back track through Inungahua/Reefton and do the Arthurs pass. Most likely it will be quicker. And more fun.

Err arthurs pass, hes going to Haast.
Detour from Inagahua up to westport and then down to Greymouth, One of the worlds best rides.
Actually take an extra day and explore the road to Karamea as well.

**granstar** · 9th December 2016, 22:05

Karamea road

**FJRider** · 10th December 2016, 08:15

Originally Posted by husaberg

Err arthurs pass, hes going to Haast.
Detour from Inagahua up to westport and then down to Greymouth, One of the worlds best rides.
Actually take an extra day and explore the road to Karamea as well.

Haast was only the first day, the third day was south from Blenheim. The recent earthquakes removed a few route options for all those heading south.

The Lewis pass is now bumper to bumper (each direction)... around 300 truck/trailer combinations on the road each day. A similar number of camper vans. Plus the usual car traffic diverted from highway one. Those using this route can expect delays/stoppages due to frequent accidents and road works. Not to mention the slow speeds of tourist traffic. The road surface is getting chewed up too ...

**husaberg** · 10th December 2016, 10:04

Originally Posted by FJRider

Haast was only the first day, the third day was south from Blenheim. The recent earthquakes removed a few route options for all those heading south.

The Lewis pass is now bumper to bumper (each direction)... around 300 truck/trailer combinations on the road each day. A similar number of camper vans. Plus the usual car traffic diverted from highway one. Those using this route can expect delays/stoppages due to frequent accidents and road works. Not to mention the slow speeds of tourist traffic. The road surface is getting chewed up too ...

Err yes, Yet in between the Blenheim anD Hasst there is no need to use either the Lewis or Arthurs Pass.
He should take a detour ride through the Motueka Gorge over to Collingwood as well.

**husaberg** · 10th December 2016, 10:07

Originally Posted by FJRider

Haast was only the first day, the third day was south from Blenheim. The recent earthquakes removed a few route options for all those heading south.

The Lewis pass is now bumper to bumper (each direction)... around 300 truck/trailer combinations on the road each day. A similar number of camper vans. Plus the usual car traffic diverted from highway one. Those using this route can expect delays/stoppages due to frequent accidents and road works. Not to mention the slow speeds of tourist traffic. The road surface is getting chewed up too ...

Err yes, Yet in between the Blenheim and Hasst there is no need to use either the Lewis or Arthurs Pass.
He should take a detour ride through the Motueka Gorge over to Collingwood as well.
edit oh the other post Whoops

Originally Posted by tigertim20

good to know re: franz, as we were planning a stop there.

the initial plan we had was a little optimistic for a 4 day trip so we are making changes and working it out from there.

The current iteration looks something like:
day 1 dunedin - palmerston - pig route - alex - cromwell - queenstown - crown range to wanaka - haast - franz josef.

day 2 franz josef - charleston - inangahua - glenhope - motupiko - wakefield - nelson - blenheim.

day 3 blenheim - inangahua - reefton - waipara - rangiora - sheffield - glentunnel - mount somers - geraldine.

Day 4 Geraldine - tekapo - omarama - lindis pass - cromwell - alex - lawrence - milton - waihola - taieri mouth - dunedin.

still no need there is nothing noteworthy on that side of the island.