The South Island passes?

[Tank]

All,

Just reading a ton of ride reports and the motorcycle atlas looking at routes around the south island planning for my ever lengthening (in days) trip.

Question for all of you who have done some miles down there - which are the nicest passes.

My mate is on a tar top bike only - so gravel passes are out.

Haast pass is on my must do list.

How would you do 'rate' the other passes - is Lewis a nicer ride than Arthurs?

Is the Lindis a scenic wonder that makes it worth missing put on riding the south east corner Dunners / Balclutha etc ?

[Hitcher]

They're all good. And I think you need to ride each both ways to really understand them.

[MotoGirl]

I'm with Hitcher on this one. Haast is a must but Arthurs and Lewis have some good qualities. I liked about half of each pass, because both have their boring bits.

[vegeman]

yup, consensus from me. Lewis and Arthurs are different and worthwhile. Years ago, I went over arthurs, down to haast and on the way back to welly via the east coast, we detoured back through lewis and then back up through rainbow skifields etc...easy riding really.

Also going back from haast to wanaka, and then wanaka to queenstown, the crown range is easy as well, ie no gravel...so tar babys will be fine.

[Hitcher]

Don't forget the "pass" from Little River to Barry's Bay...

[Blackbird]

+1 with all comments. The Lewis is more sweeping than the Haast and we tended to go a lot faster through it. Arthurs is a mix of both. We went through that from west to east last time and it's tighter at the western end and tends to increasingly straighten out as you go east. The Lindis Pass is generally more open in tussock country where the Haast is tighter and the main part has rock walls close in to the road. The Buller gorge is similarly tight with rock walls in many places.

You won't be disappointed in any of them - all different, all fantastic. My only disappointment is that the only time I crossed Haast by bike, it was raining hard but still a great experience. All the other passes were dry each time I've done them on 4 wheels and 2.

[warewolf]

Question for all of you who have done some miles down there - which are the nicest passes.

My mate is on a tar top bike only - so gravel passes are out.

Probably best asked somewhere other than the Adventure forum then, to reach a larger more focussed audience.

[Cajun]

i personally enjoyed buller gorge alot

arthurs pass was good, would be better if wasn't as much traffic the day i did it, and the disco lights section wasn't very fun tho

[phoenixgtr]

1. Takaka Hill is brilliant.
2. Buller Gorge is awesome.
3. The west coast road all the way from Westport to Haast is to die for
4. The Haast Pass is a must do.
5. The Crown Ranges between Wanaka and Queestown are magic.
6. The Lindis Pass is an ok road but stunning scenery
7. Arthurs Pass is pretty cool
8. Lewis Pass is quicker but still fun

I wouldn't bother with the East Coast, especially from Chch down