Our Route:

Picton to Blenheim 36km

The ferry docks at Picton and you are straight into wine country. Warm days are likely and the terrain is agreeable so make to most of a nice short ride and enjoy some Marlbrough region wine at the end of the day.

Blenheim to Kaikoura 125km

As the route heads to the coast, look out for seal colonies basking within meters of the road. Take a boat trip out to see the seals, albatrosses or wales at Kaikoura which is a picturesque seaside town.

Kaikoura to Cheviot 84km

Moving back inland over some small hills takes you to the small village of Cheviot. The small independent campsite there is cheap and friendly.

Cheviot to Christchurch 116 km

A longer day with some climbs in the morning, then a long flat afternoon lets you coast into Christchurch.

Christchurch to Queenstown

There are well documented cycle routes that take you across the country to Queenstown but because we were short of time we got the bus. Atomic Shuttles run a daily service and for an extra $15NZD they will attach a trailer to the back of the bus which will take your bikes. Make sure you secure and protect your bikes in their trailer though as they will get bumped about quite a bit during the journey.

Queenstown to Wanaka 120km

Leave the skydivers and jetboats of Queenstown behind and head back east. A shorter route will take you straight over the top of a ski resort, or the longer route, via Cromwell is flatter and more manageable. Fans of giant objects can keep their eyes out for the giant fruit sculpture outside Cromwell.

Wanaka to Makarora 62km

A gentle route takes you around the two lakes and around some impressive hills. There are some DoC campsites further on than Makarora but you’ll probably want to save Haast pass for another day.

Makarora to Haast 85km

Riding over Haast pass from the south is the easier option as you start from 300m at the south end and reach sea level at the other side. Any riders coming the opposite direction are likely to look a lot more worn out. This takes you into National Park territory, and the scenery becomes a lot more interesting. The felled farmland disappears making way for rainforest, waterfalls, rivers and mountains. Make sure your breaks are working before you attempt the descent down the other side. The depressingly small town of Haast seems to exist only to house travellers in between more interesting places, but provides useful in that respect at least.

Haast to Fox Glacier 127km

A long ride, but relatively flat terrain and prevailing winds from the south west should make this a breeze. Highway 6 is used almost exclusively by tourists, so is quieter than a lot of other roads and it takes its time to wind through the forests, lakes and mountain passes. Spend some time at fox Glacier if not to see the glacier then to visit walk around the forest trek after dark to see the glow worms.

Fox Glacier to Franz Joseph Glacier 27km

The three peaks between Fox and Franz Joseph make the short journey more impressive than the mileage may suggest. Climb and descend  three times before a final long run into another glacier town. The jury seems to be out on which glacier is the best of the two, which probably means you can take your pick.

Franz Joseph to Ross 110km

There are plenty of small towns like Ross dotted along the way. Towns which sprung up with goldmines and are now clinging on to passing tourist traffic. Try our gold panning or buy some local jade if you’re interested in that kind of thing.

Ross to Jacksons 97km

Jacksons is the last stop before the big climb up Arthur’s pass. It also has the nicest campsite we have stayed at yet – beautiful mountain views and really well kept facilities. You’ll need a good rest for the climb the next day.

Jacksons to Arthur’s Pass 35km

With gradients up to 16% it’s a  small mercy that this is a short day. The steepest parts of the climb are at least short, and the view back down the valleys on a clear day are splendid. The summit is over 3000ft – that’s higher than Ben Nevis (for UK readers) and easily the highest point of our route so far.

Arthur’s Pass to Springfield 87km

Picturesque ride through al;pine valleys, before another climb up Porter’s pass and in to Springfield. Look out for Castle Hill Rocks before Porter’s Pass where some of the battle scenes in The Chronicles of Narnia were filmed. Apparently, Springfield used to have a massive doughnut sculpture inspired by their namesake town in the Simpsons. The doughnut was burned down, so they have replaced it with a tractor tyre painted to look like a doughnut. That’s all you need to know about Springfield really.

Springfield to Christchurch 75km

A fairly dull ride over the Canterbury plains is made easier by the downhill grade all the way. Christchurch is still trying to piece itself together following the devastating earthquake in Feb 2011. The city is very much open for business to tourists, but just double check any facilities you see in guidebooks to make sure they are still operating.

See also:

Cycling New Zealand: North Island

Cycling New Zealand: Tips

Imodium

Our Route:

Auckland to Miranda 109km

Nice ride around the harbour in Auckland and over the rolling hills to this small coastal town. Free use of the thermal pool at Miranda Holiday Park where you can soak your tired limbs.

Miranda to KatiKati 94km

This is where New Zealand’s favourite soft drink originated. Look out for the big concrete models of L&P bottles on your way out, and try some, it’s really pretty nice.

Katikati to Rotorua 95km

Rotorua is frowned upon by the locals as a tourist trap, but the bubbling mud pools and thermal vents are amazing. Look out for camp sites with thermally heated tent pitches.

Rotoroua to Taupo 91km

If you want to do skydiving or bungee jumping on the North Island, then Taupo is the place to go. If you get the time there’s a nice walk along the river to Huka Falls.

Taupo to Turangi 57km

The southerly wind blows all year round, according to the locals which makes the flat-ish ride more challenging, but it offers stunning views of the lake which is actually an active volcano.

Turangi to National Park 63km

Ride past volcanoes and mountains looking out for Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. National Park is a ski resort which offers plenty of accommodation options and a good starting point if you want to hike the Alpine Pass.

National Park to Wellington

The TransAlpine train runs the length of the North Island. Pick it up at National Park to miss out several hundred more miles of farmland and fast-track to the South Island where the scenery and terrain gets a bit more exciting.

See also:

Cycling New Zealand: South Island

Cycling New Zealand: Tips

Route Guides

Pedallers’ Paradise by Nigel Rushton is a self-published set of two books comprehensively covering the cycle routes around each of New Zealand’s North and South Islands. It’s difficult to get hold of outside of NZ so plan on picking a copy up in one of the bookshops in Auckland or Wellington. The author’s website lists stockists. If you’re used to the turn-by-turn directions offered by books like Bicycling the Pacific Coast then you may find Pedallers’ Paradise a bit lacking in detail, and more confusingly laid out. However it offers options for almost every route you might need, it has gradient profiles which are useful and lists amenities in each town. It’s not a perfect guide, but is certainly the best of the slim list of guides available. You will also need a decent map to accompany the guide. Kiwimaps produce a good set of map books, we used the Compact Travellers Atlas.

Camping

The Department of Conservation  provide a small network of state camp sites which vary in facilities from basic (running water and drop toilets) to full service (hot showers, kitchen, hook-ups). You can pick up a DoC list of campsites at any iSite (tourist info centre).

The private campsites are generally very well provisioned, compared to what we were used to in the UK and US. They will usually have a kitchen with cookers, sinks, microwaves and sometimes plates and pans too. Often a lounge, laundry and pool too. These private sites charge per person, usually between $15 and $20 each.

Wild camping is technically allowed public land unless otherwise signed, but in practice is almost impossible to find. A better option is to ask a local farmer or homeowner if they’d mind if you camped in their field, and being a friendly people, they will often let you.

Weather

You can look as carefully as you like at prevailing winds and long term forecasts, but the truth is that New Zealand’s weather is changeable and can be very windy. Just take a look at Wellington’s new art installation. The West coast of the South island is covered with beautiful rainforest which makes for fun riding but it’s also a testament to the amount of rain which falls here each year. They measure the rainfall in meters here!

Our Routes

For details of the routes we took, take a look at

Cycling New Zealand: North Island

Cycling New Zealand: South Island

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