Auckland - Wellington 250cc Trip --Tips for a newbie--

[The_Dover]

the more exposed parts of exmoor and dartmoor would be fucking good on a sprotsbike too I reckon....

most of rural UK would be good on a bike though.

[pritch]

South Island:
East coast roads or west? or are both so good, best to do 'the loop' ?

Better to do a figure eight? For instance: Picton to Greymouth / Greymouth to Christchurch via Arthurs Pass / Christchurch to invergiggle via the Caitlins (sp) / Invercargill to wherever on the West Coast then across the Lewis pass and up through Kaikoura and back to Blenheim..

Of course a South Island trip involves many more dollars than a trip around the North.

[Squeak the Rat]

* What should i take with me? tools? first aid?

Duct tape.

quack

[McJim]

the more exposed parts of exmoor and dartmoor would be fucking good on a sprotsbike too I reckon....

most of rural UK would be good on a bike though.

The bit that would be naff is round ol' London town. A lot of the towns and villages in the home counties are only 1km apart so you barely get to open the throttle but you're back in a 30mph zone.

The great thing about the South Island on a bike is the lack of traffic. Personally I'd try to avoid "Helen's Drag Strip" down the East Coast - it's loooooong and straight (south of Ch'ch)...not fun on a bike and there are a lot of stock trucks on the road so be prepared to get sprayed with nervous cow shite. In short - avoid the plains and stick to the twisties.

[Disco Dan]

further updates of my tour of New Zealand can be found here now:

http://homepages.woosh.co.nz/dsoutha...w_zealand.html

[sunhuntin]

im lookin at heading south later this month for burt munro's rally in invers. what are the petrol stations like, distance wise, down there? im worried about running out! LOL. i know for milford sound to fill up in te anau, cos m.sound charges heaps.

dan...if you come to wanganui, im at bp by the swimming pool. if your coming down from new plymouth, ill be the second bp you see. always happy to have a yak with kber's.

[centaurus]

Planning a long distance bike ride with a friend of mine, Auckland to Wellington after my university exams finish sometime after 13th Nov.
...............

* Any particular roads/routes that i should take?

Between Auckland and Wellington, on the west coast I would really recommend the motorway/road no. 3: Hamilton - Otorohanga - Te Kuiti and then directly towards the coast (Awakino), then on the coast through New Plymouth to Wanganui (keep west of mount Taranaki) and then Wellingon.

Between Te Kuiti and Awakino you have a natural reserve (read extraordinary views) and at Awakino where you reach the sea, if it's a sunny day it's just like a small paradise.
From New Plymouth to Wanganui (on the west coast) it's motorcycle country - the road is winding, and full of hills and valleys. If it's sunday chances are you will see a lot of bikers on the way.
From Wanganui you exit into the main way - road gets boring.

On the East coast, from Napier to Wellington, I strongly recommend a detour between Waipukurau and Masterton: keep east of the main road. There is at least one alternative route: narrower (between farms) but sealed and in good shape. The road is windy and the scenery is extremely beautiful. Allmost no traffic at all, however there are a few places with high risk of animals on the road (it's a secondary road). You don't have to keep east all the way to Hamilton. Somewhere along the way you can rejoin the main road.

And yes, if you're coming to Wellington, don't forget to try the Rimutaka road (if you're coming from/to Masterton, you will pass the Rimutakas anyway )

Wish you a good trip with lots of sun and no accidents. I like traveling miself. There is nothing else better than traveling.

[Disco Dan]

im lookin at heading south later this month for burt munro's rally in invers. what are the petrol stations like, distance wise, down there? im worried about running out! LOL. i know for milford sound to fill up in te anau, cos m.sound charges heaps.

dan...if you come to wanganui, im at bp by the swimming pool. if your coming down from new plymouth, ill be the second bp you see. always happy to have a yak with kber's.

cheers for that, will do

Whats the Burt Munro rally? loved that movie, very inspiring do you have any more details??

[sunhuntin]

here ya go dude. http://www.burtmunrochallenge.southl.../theStartLine/
everythin you need to know. lol

just to add....the road between wangas and hawera [new plymouth road] was very windy the last 2 times ive been up...first time was on the bike...even the two up beemer in front was being blown sideways. and last time was as a car passenger. so watch the wind along there. i have ridden in worse, but it is tiring, and youll need to be alert.

and every last sunday the local triumph club has a ride, so chances are youll run into some of them!

[slimjim]

did eight weeks around thee main land on a CD175, but helped as i was living in lower takaka, O those were the day's(nope after ww2) haha

[Disco Dan]

Route updated...

http://homepages.woosh.co.nz/dsoutham/

[TLDV8]

...................

...and thats the south island?!

It's not just the scenery....Small town NZ is the way it used to be...Kiwiana...The smell of fresh baking and pots of tea...Woollen vests,smiling faces and cherry greetings.
South Island and the Mainlander's.

[frogfeaturesFZR]

Mate, anywhere out of the'big smoke' is great. It's a fantastic country, pity most people don't experience it.

[clint640]

Looks good, you'll have a ball, a couple of points:

I'd stay on hwy 2 down into Welly, you don't want to miss the Rimutakas do ya? Going down the east side of the South, consider a bit of a loop inland between Chch & Timaru if you have the time, it's pretty flat & boring going down the coast. Hug the coast from Dunedin to Invercargill, the recently sealed Catlins route is damn good.

Nice work on the website too BTW!

Cheers
Clint

[Disco Dan]

Looks good, you'll have a ball, a couple of points:

I'd stay on hwy 2 down into Welly, you don't want to miss the Rimutakas do ya? Going down the east side of the South, consider a bit of a loop inland between Chch & Timaru if you have the time, it's pretty flat & boring going down the coast. Hug the coast from Dunedin to Invercargill, the recently sealed Catlins route is damn good.

Nice work on the website too BTW!

Cheers
Clint

yeah, i keep hearing about the 'rimutakas' ? enligten me !
route can be changed of course, i just saw that loop on my map and followed it around with a black pen!!!