What originally started out as planning a holiday to New Zealand, has now turned into a 6 week bike packing trip, landing in Aukland and then working my way down through the North Island, crossing to the South Island and down through to Queenstown, going mid March to late April 2014.

I’m after some advice on where to bike, I’ll be packing fat (probably my one one fatty – the JDF) and hoping to bike on the coastline as much as possible, carrying my own kit, bivying and staying in hostels/camp grounds when I start to smell.

Rough plan of places to visit…..

Aukland (Woodhill park and Black Sand beaches)
Kaitaia
Whangarei
Coromandel peninsula
Rotorua (blue/green lake, wakawarewa trails, kerosene creek, uplift shuttles)
Taupo (W2k, k2k, moirangi track)
Tongario (42nd traverse, john macdonald traverse)
Wellington (Makara park)
Nelson
Marlbrough Sounds
Queen Charlotte track (last 2 sections open)
(Heaphy track will be shut to MTB’s when i’m there 😥
Black point
Hanmer Springs
Craigeburn / Flockhill
Hokita (Maori creek)
Christchurch (port hills)
Alexandra
Naseby forest
Wanaka and sticky forest
poolburn
Pisa range
Dunstan traverse
Down the coast and round and up to
Queenstown / Milford Sounds (heli biking)

Suggestions please! I’m currently on the lookout for the Kennett brothers guide book, if anyone wants to sell me one?
http://www.kennett.co.nz/product/classic-new-zealand-mountain-bike-rides/

Not sure if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, but I like to think big!!

Bike wise, I’m thinking John Deere Fatty on BFL’s with frame bag, seat pack, fuel pod, feed pack and lightish rucksack on my back, not riding with the bike fully loaded all the time as I want to shred some trails 😯

What’ve I missed! ❓

You pretty much covered it. Wet weather gear and sun cream for when the sun does pop out – it will eat you alive.

eh…are you planning on riding “to” all of these places or put the bike in a car/van?

Don’t underestimate the size of the country and how massively hilly it is!!! we had a car for the trip and spent DAYS driving to and from places.

I think you’ll struggle to tour round all these places by bike in 6 weeks.
I’m just back from a 3 week holiday to NZ and visited most of the places on your list and I felt we rushed it and it would have been nice to focus our visit to a particular area.

Next time I go, i’ll be cherry picking places to go ride. Good luck…I’m well jel!

Any best time to visit, generally dry and warm?

Now is their summer. The chairlift in Queesntown shuts during the really busy period around new year. it’s open now though…just as i bloddy get back! 🙂

we had torrential rain for about a third of our trip so pack water proofs but also prepare for very hot days. The sun is particularly intense and you can burn very easily if you don’t have sun screen.

PaulGillespie – yep planning to ride (said it might be ambitious!!), which places would you rate highly and cherry pick then?

If you’re riding on the road I’d recommend hi-viz. NZ driving can be shocking.

We are going to be there from 10th March onwards, flying into Auckland.

MTB isn’t a priority of the trip, but we plan to rent some bikes and hit up a trail centre or two!

If (when!) I was heading back… I’d land at Auckland, pick up van/car hire, drive to Rotorua to meet NZ friends and ride some of the trails I never got to ride the first time. Then head to Wellington for Makara bike park and some other local stuff.

Ferry from Welly to Picton then drive to Nelson. Stay at Nelson for a week maybe as i never got to ride there and hear that there’s a big biking scene there.

Then head to Queenstown and spend as much time here as I could. There’s a couple of bike parks, shuttle runs, trail centres and heli biking. Can recommend Vertigo Bikes (LBS) for advice, shuttles,and heli biking.

Heard good things about Christchurch biking (from an ex pro DHer friend) but bike hire was awkward for us and timings didn’t work out. There is a gondola but it’s not really for bikes. See here for more info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58risha18Zc
http://www.singletrack.org.nz/
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/cityleisure/recreationsport/sportsrecreationguide/mountainbiking.aspx

I’ve a few biking friends over there so I’d speak to them first to see about more off-piste non-touristy rides. There’s also a lot of multi day stuff staying hut to hut that would be great to do. If you do this you need to check that it’s ok to ride on the trails, some are not open to bikes or only open during certain periods. I think the Heaphy track is winter only to bikes.

NZ has a very big MTB scene so see if you can get info from NZ bike clubs or a NZ STW type website.

If you’re short of time, you could miss out the North island completely.

I found that trails there were either DH or XC focussed, not really much in the middle (just my experience). The trails I rode at Rotorua were “ok” but nothing special. I found it quite XC focussed (very undulating and pedally) but I believe there are more AM/DH trails further up the hill…hence I want to return to give it another bash.

Also saw some good trails on Tomata peak near Napier but this is a bit out of the way and might not be worth the visit alone.

These guys will help you out- really good community, looked after me well when I was there;

http://www.vorb.org.nz/

And here is the best ride I did in a year there;

The Whakamarina Track

Proper wild, good for a bit of bikepacking action.

Enjoy, you lucky man!

First point, I would strongly suggest rethinking your schedule. Not saying you can’t do it, just you will be doing a lot of riding and not a lot else, including sleeping.

for info Taranaki to Coromandel is c250miles. and took all day to drive, stopping sight seeing etc. Depending on how fit and what you want to do that could be 2 days or 5 on a bike.

Or alternatively Cape Reinga to Wellington is 650miles. I think 90 mile beach is worth seeing.

New Zealand is bigger than you think. I think it is worth seeing the rainforest in the north the mountains to the south of Taupo, the Coromandel etc.

See you have some time order the book from these http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product/BOO/CLA/ shipping was negligable when I got it. Its great riding. Thoug are you planning on pedaling it al or touring with a car or camper I did it by camper bike in the back a year or 4 ago great six weeks.

You utter, utter, utter, utter, utter, bar steward.

I could highly recommend Kaikoura, as I always do on NZ threads.

Think you might want to scale down the distance a bit though. NZ is big and sparesly populated. Maybe schedule things so you have a travel day followed by one or two noodling around days.

edit: reading your list, I reckon you might want to chop that list in half. Stick to one island.

See – I thought 6 weeks to do all that – no chance.
Then I started looking at your list and wanted to add bits that I really loved!
Doomed.
I don’t think you’re going to get it all done, but it feels wrong to chop huge lumps out of it.
If I was going to drop anything it would be Aukland and the south coast of the south island.

Edit:Some pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tryingtimes/sets/72157600313570756/

I am a kiwi. Don’t stick to one Island !! But the distances are too far. I’d suggest not going North from Auckland (nice as it is it’ll just take too long), and don’t hang about in Auckland (I’m from there, left 8 years ago, but it’s just a not that interesting mid size city) get yourself straight to coromandel and do your coromandel rotorua taupo tongariro bit, then get yourself to Nelson by not cycling (the lower north island is large and tedious). If you have to drop bits in the South Island the priorities to keep should be Wanaka / queens town / Milford.

Thanks for the advice guys, keep it coming! 🙂

Aye, thought I might be chewing off a bit too much, particularly as im no roadie whippet and I’ll be on the fat bike so 50 mile transfer days, terrain and topography dependent will be about right.

Alex – where would you add? 😉

Matt – liking your suggestions!, head to Coromandel/rotorua then down to Nelson and into South Island. Or I could just fly into Christchurch then start heading North in a big anti-clockwise loop round to Queenstown.

Whakamarina and Kaikoura

As a photo teaser, here’s the moonlander in Switzerland over New Year…

And a little video I made (crap edit sorry!)

Blimey – that ridgeline in the video looks a bit treacherous!

Add? Mt Cook, Kaikoura, Karamea (don’t do that though unless you can come down the Heaphy though).
I wasn’t on bike though – campervan.

How long will your tyres last on the road? Can you get replacements?

Tyres will be fine, for the miles and trails, I’m probably going to take my Krampus