I’m planning on going out to see relatives in NZ next March – we’re going for a month and it seems criminal not to take advantage of the riding out there. I’m hoping to do a fair bit so I guess hiring a reasonable bike is going to prove expensive. Having said that, we’ll probably have a stop over somewhere on the way back (Singapore maybe) so lugging my own bike round may be a pain in the backside.

Has anyone done anything similar who can offer advice/tips please?

Any info on riding in the area would be great too. Ta 🙂

I did a trip to NZ a few years back – only did the N Island & the trip was a lot of touring with a couple of bike days (Aukland, Rotorua & Wellington). So the choice was to either lug a bike round and not use it that much or hire, and we ended up hiring. From memory the Wellington bikes were the better sorted of the lot (I had to fix both bikes in Aukland myself – we were riding with a bunch of folks we knew so had access to tools to do it) – in wellington we hired from a place in Karori IIRC.

Vorb is a good place to post up about it & I think there are a few Wellington locals on here. Lots of trails on Makara Peak which is damn close to the middle of Wellington – think there’s a map on line but the guys in the shop gave us advice based on what to avoid based on the strength & direction of the wind (and our skills).

Have fun dude 🙂 I have never been as you know 😉

Get hte book from the Kennett brother to find routes the mountain behind the city isquite nice riding. Book is great to find some places

Thepurist – can you remember what you paid for bike hire? I’ve got a few links for bike hire in Wellington and it seems to be around $60 a day for a reasonable HT. That would start to get expensive over a few days.

Thanks the route tips too – I’ll try and look that book up hofner.

fbk – sorry not a clue what we paid. I think we only did 4 days riding out of a 3 week trip so it wasn’t that big a hit. Remember that if you’re taking your own bike you’ll need to clean it more than it’s ever been cleaned before to get it into NZ – they’re a bit picky about biological contamination.

If you go with Air NZ via US taking a bike is easy, I do it all the time. Via Asia is a lot more difficult with the teeny weeny luggage allowance. Costs nothing extra on top of the ticket (well unless they have changed the rules recently) the only real hassle is getting to and from the airport. You check it in at one end and pick it up at Auckland. Although you do have to lug it to the domestic terminal if you are flying on, but it’s only 1km and you can take a trolley.

Hmm – found a few few more threads on here re MTBing in New Zealand and, it sounds like I’m going to want to do a lot of riding (staying with my partners family so should be able to sneak off a bit).

It seems the recommended guide books are only really available in NZ too unless anyone knows different?

Hels – fair comment re the the US route, although Emirates give a 35kg allowance anyway long haul… decisions decisions!

Thanks for the helpful comments guys.

70kg via the USA. Two pieces, neither of which can be heavier than 35kg.

NZ Col is your man he will be along soon.

just mailorder the book from these guys http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/faq/freight.php

They ship internationally and they charged me like 3£ to send it to Europe and it took ten days.

Would look you up some routes but left mine in Belgium and still in France for a while.

Karapoti classic is also quite renowned.

I went on the ferry and did the queen charlotte trail its long way in one day but there is quite a good stopover afther two thirds track is not open all year to cyclists but march should be fine.

NZ has great riding though I like south Island most

For the bike check at airport they check so do wash it properly don’t forget to scrub under your BB scrub your tires and the underside of your MTb and Walking shoes. On the other hand my bike had several years of abuse and got in so don’t panick to much for some grease they don’t like sand as it might have seeds or some small kreeping animal in it.

Morning. Mud cycles in Karori hire reasonable bikes and it’s about 300m from Makara. There is a lot more riding than makara though and West Wind opened yesterday which has some purpose built stuff there as well. If you are based in Wellington then I would bring a bike as there is lots of sneaky riding you can get in as it is all easy to get to from town, or is in town.
Flying with bikes isn’t as much gaff as you think, even on a stopover. Check to see if changi has left luggage, most places do so just dump it there for your stopover. When you arr in Akl you clear customs then do a domestic transfer. Randomly they make you take oversize stuff across to domestic but it’s a 10min easy walk with a trolley so no dramas. I do it regularly with a bike in a hard case.
You will be able to get North and South books via GroundEffect or pick them up when you arrive. If you get really stuck I can loan you a bike in wgtn for a ride and happy to show you around as well, trust me you will be happy with the trails.

further to above
1) ensure your bike boots and gear are PRISTINE when arriving in NZ, the inspection guys can be kind or cruel depending. best not to try and hide anything from them, you wont get away with it

2) dont hire from the trailer guys at the main entry to Rotorua MTB area as the bikes are horrible – ( hire from in town) mine had no tread, no grips on the pedals and leaky shock, a bent seat post, and thats after i took the first one they gave me back… and see (3)

3) airlines lose bike boxes / delay them if they dont have space on the plane (hence why i had to do (2) ) mine was delayed 3 days, guess where, LONDON!!!!!!!! i was told when i arrived at US.

4) no offence to kiwi’s but if you’ve ridden black stuff in the UK, you’ll pee all over the NZ trails, they are mostly red grade at most –
Rotorua is soil based and is pretty sweet, Auckland is sandy based and rooty and is crap, go to Rotorua instead. Lake Taupo has some really great stuff, soil based too, and some non-dedicated area’s that are really nice trails, look for stuff around the Huka falls. Wellington has great stuff. non dedicated trails out in the country can be hard to find without the kennet book mentioned above.
South island – didnt race much there, although there are some good trails i hear.

5) dont ride on the road, at least not in AUCKLAND – car drivers hate you and weave into you and are very very aggressive.

I did mean to say that about customs, just declare it and then go through the red channel – the queue is always way shorter anyway. Generally make sure your bike and tyres are very well scrubbed. They do this for a reason so I never give the MAF guys any grief.

Not so sure about the black/nz trails comment. I’ve ridden many of the UK blacks (glentress, laggan, inners etc) and there are comparable tracks – deliverance in wgtn for example would be quite black. Anyway, details. There are some superb rides in the N of the S Island and easy to get to from wgtn – you can fly from wgtn to picton cheaply and they take bikes – wakamarina, kill devil, all the nelson trails. N Island is peppered – Rotovegas is great fun, Taupo aim for Craters of the Moon, between turangi and waiouru tree trunk gorge is nice as well. Feel free to email me if you want specifics.
I’ve ridden on the road for the last 12 years and while kiwi drivers are gash as long as you exercise the usual caution you’ll be fine. And thats Akl, Wgtn and ChCh.

Sorry about the NZ red/black comment, a little harsh in retrospect, i guess its what you rode and what your used to .
For sure NZ has great trails for all levels and the OP will have plenty of fun out there.
(although i still strongly feel AKL road riding is utter hell, having done it for 7 years.)

GF did aus with her Hard Tail last year for a month on Emirates,not much spare space but worth it to have your bike

Sorry about the NZ red/black comment, a little harsh in retrospect, i guess its what you rode and what your used to .

No offence taken, was interested in that comment as there is a perception some of the ‘trails’ are quite easy which i think is a reflection of Rotorua more than anything which are mainly swoopy, flowy goodness. I went riding with a guy who had expressed such an opinion and i took him down Deliverace – he pushed down large bits of it ! Surprised me and he did express some consternation that it didn;t quite meet the mould of what he had been told. As you say, depends what you ride as there are some super technical natural areas to ride in. And yeah, lots of it and mostly easy access.

I was fortunate enough to spend a few months out there with work and I was able to get a whole lot of riding in.

A number of points have already been stated but I’d reiterate:
– Bring your own bike rather than faff around with hire bikes. If you are in Wellington there are loads of cheeky trails direct from the city.
– Kennet Brothers book is THE definitive guide. Buy it from Ground Effect and they will ship it to the UK (my wife purchased it for me before I went). It’s a shame there’s no comparable UK guide.
– The Queen Charlotte Trail would be a great trip with your other half. Do it over 2 days and you can stay in a wee hotel that has a hot tub and you’ll still be able to swim in the sea at that time of year. A Water Taxi will take all your kit (and your other half if they don’t bike to the hotel).
– In my opinion NZ is all about Big Epic Days with amazing scenery, similar in style to Scotland only bigger Names escape me now
– 49 Traverse(?)
– Bridge to Nowhere – finishes with a Jet Boat ride.
– A couple in the top of south Island. A great ride from Nelson, 1 near Picton and another near Greymouth
– There was talk of Abel Tasman being opened to MTBers. NZCol may be able to advise?
– Comments about trails being easy… Not at all, head to south Island if you want something more challenging and as ststed Deliverance is quite cheeky especially with the wind. Fortunately the ratings are similar to the UK so you’ll know what you’ll meet on a NZ red… Unlike Canada but that’s another story.

Forgot to say, VORB is full of friendly people who will offer assistance etc.

Enjoy

RRD – Heaphy track has indeed been opened to bikes but only in the off-season i.e. winter. Great ride actually but verboten in summer.

Wow – thanks again guys. Some great info and I’m really starting to look foreward to the trip now. Looks like it’ll be worth looking into shipping my HT with me for flexibility, esp given the apparent easy riding from Wellington.

I did know about the hygiene/cleanliness thing. They tend to get twitchy when they see my occupation anyway so the bike will be spotless, along with everything else we bring 🙂

NZCol – when you talk about “cheeky” trails, what are access laws like over there? Are there certain tracks/rights of way you can and can’t ride on? There’s looks to be a fair selection of purpose built stuff around but I quite fancy some exploring.

Access is interesting – footpaths etc here are fair game if you are senssible about when you ride. I have never been approached in 12 years. More rurally the landscape means many footpaths are unrideable. Private land, usually farms more than likely let you access if you ask. White pages, station name and ring the owner or manager – I have never been refused. DOC tracks vary , no riding in national parks generally hence Heaphy comment. Drop me an email and I’ll whizz you round wgtn.