Ride thru South Island?

[amit]

from Auckland, want to ride thru the south island starting from the highest point to the lowest and back again. any one can recommend the best scenic routes to cover want to do it somewhere in Feb-march 2017, anyone from Auckland if you have done it before would you recommend to ride all the way to south island or shipping the bike to say Christchurch would be ideal.looking for some company to do this trip to the south island if any one is keen let me know and we can sort out the dates i am flexible, any tips do's and don's will help.thanks(Christchurch-timaru-oamaru-Dunedin-Milford sound-wanaka-queens town-Christchurch)

[pritch]

When I first did something similar to what you are considering I eventually decided on a figure eight route. I had wanted to do all the passes. I'm glad I did that then because Arthurs Pass has lost most of its motorcycling appeal now they have built that bloody great bridge thing.

The earthquake damage is a shame because SH1 either side of Kaikoura was my favourite part of SH1. The Lewis Pass and the West Coast highway are motorcycling magic though.

If it's still available the NZ Motorcycle Atlas will indicate the most interesting roads. By the time you are travelling SH1 may well be open again. In the event that the road isn't open you could travel down the West Coast and back up the east, over the Lewis Pass and back to Blenheim via Westport or Greymouth.

Some people plan over-arduous itineraries. I usually plan on four to five hours riding per day with a break in the middle for lunch. Many take a day off riding at the half way point down south for a break and to catch up with laundry.

Almost everybody rides to Wellington and crosses on a ferry. Take your own tie downs. There will be several threads here on organising for ferry crossings.

Have fun.

[FJRider]

Shipping the bike to ChCh may be the better way to go. The highest sealed road in the Sth Island is the Crown Range which is an alternative road linking Wanaka and Queenstown.

BULLSHIT .... !!!!! Through thee sounds route from Picton / Havelock / Nelson .... leads to brilliant riding roads in that area alone. The short time on the "busy" part south before the turnoff to Westport ... will not be a big deal (If he's careful). Then down the coast to Greymouth. The toughest option then is west coast all the was south on (near) deserted roads ... or over the Arthurs pass and down the inland scenic (highway 72) route.

By highest / lowest points .... I would think he means Northern / southern points ....

[jellywrestler]

Shipping the bike to ChCh may be the better way to go.

what the fuck are you thinking?
go to the south island, head queen charlotte sound to nelson, down through arthurs pass, best roads best views and traffic goes another way.

as for a lot of traffic, looks like they're from auckland, southisland traffic volume is about the same as auckland at three am.

[eldog]

from Auckland, want to ride thru the south island starting from the highest point to the lowest and back again. any one can recommend the best scenic routes to cover want to do it somewhere in Feb-march 2017, anyone from Auckland if you have done it before would you recommend to ride all the way to south island or shipping the bike to say Christchurch would be ideal.looking for some company to do this trip to the south island if any one is keen let me know and we can sort out the dates i am flexible, any tips do's and don's will help.thanks(Christchurch-timaru-oamaru-Dunedin-Milford sound-wanaka-queens town-Christchurch)

How do you plan to get to the Sth island?

there is another thread, at least one that looks at Sth island loops.

Bass is doing one, but he might be going direct to invergigil.
you need to plan your days travelling lengths so you have at least some time to look at the scenery and take that odd picture to remember.

i haven't done any Sth is bike trips.

molesworth station was recommended by a fellow rider a while back, but you will need to check road condition(gravel?) and if it's open

pity I can't tag along.

ps. If the timings right might travel with you as far as Palmerston North, if your keen.

[BMWST?]

the ferry trip is worth the three hours downtime....As other have said the alternative sh1 route of 63,6,65,7 will be busy with traffic lots of trucks ,but you can continue west after murchison through the buller gorge to the west coast,or go from Picton to Nelson them south and west from there.There is a lot to see on the west coast,the buller gorge alone is worth it

[eldog]

queen charlotte sound to nelson

This one I remember

[PistonBlown]

Firstly get yourself a copy of Mike Hyde's book Twistling Throttle New Zealand as this will give you plenty of ideas of roads you'll want to try to include.

I really wouldn't bother with the 'ship to Christchurch' bit. As others have mentioned SH1 north is closed and SH1 south is Christchurch is one of the most soul destroying roads to ride on a motorbike - flat, straight, heavy traffic and lots of speed traps when you do get frustrated (as the points on my licence will testify).

As others have already suggested from Picton I'd take Queen Charlotte Drive heading towards Havelock, Nelson etc. Lovely road and you'll miss the traffic, particularly if the guys on the ferry let you get off near the front, which they often try to do with motorbikes.

One thing that would useful to know is how many day's have you got available and how many hours/km's you like to do in a day?

For example if you've got plenty of time then there's nice little diversions you can take like Takaka Hill (which you'd do anyway if you really wanted to get up to the Northern most point) and Karamea Highway. But if you've got limited time you can still plan a route with plenty of good roads on it.

Personally I wouldn't bother including Christchurch on the route unless you specifically want to visit it. Not because there's anything wrong with Christchurch but the roads to it are not that interesting to ride.

[jellywrestler]

What the fuck are you thinking if you read his post again he said he was considering shipping his bike down to ChCh and going down the "EAST" and not the West Coast

if he said go jump off a bridge would you do so?

[kiwi-on-wheels]

I'm doing 3 weeks on rhe bike around the south island around Christmas, got to be in chch by new years, and heading down after the cemetry circuit racing. Kinda useful hearing peoples opinions, its kinda reinforcing my plans to go up and over to nelson then south from there in terms of traffic and scenery. Will be tenting where I can, so planning to really take the long way down. Just need to make sure my sleeping stuff is watertight, trying to dry a down sleeping bag is a bitch

[neels]

If you're wanting to go from northest to southest I'd be doing something like this, to avoid the mind numbing roads south of christchurch, and the traffic shambles on the lewis pass north of christchurch with SH1 closed. Takes in most of the best bits of motorcycling road.

[pritch]

Will be tenting where I can,

Don't forget if you're on the West Coast - and you should be - there is an annual rainfall just slightly less than Noah's flood. It isn't always raining and I have had brilliant weather, but I've also had the other kind where everything was soaked. And I do mean everything. A tent would be sheer misery.

The east coast should be more tent friendly.

When i was planning my last solo trip I used the Top Ten holiday parks map but stayed in cabins. You'd need to check if the one at Franz Joseph is operating but the Top Ten parks were all good. Well the Oamaru one was a bit ummm unusual(?). I think they used the architect that designed Alcatraz.

[Daffyd]

The Southern Scenic Route through the Catlins is a must. Goes all the way to Te Anau.

[amit]

If you're wanting to go from northest to southest I'd be doing something like this, to avoid the mind numbing roads south of christchurch, and the traffic shambles on the lewis pass north of christchurch with SH1 closed. Takes in most of the best bits of motorcycling road.

great , seeing everyone's feedback would skip Christchurch and start from picton instead

cheers