Cycle Touring in New Zealand

New Zealand Cycle Touring Routes

This blog includes details of the cycle touring routes that I have ridden over the past few years.
The objective of this blog is to provide cycle tourers with information on the best cycle touring routes in New Zealand.

From my experience there are different types of cycle tourists. Some are keen on achieving goals such as riding from the North Cape to the Bluff while others may concentrate on seeing the best scenic parts of New Zealand. Which ever group you fit in this blog should provide you with valuable information to enable you to plan your route.

Part of the enjoyment of cycle touring is riding on roads that have adequate shoulders or have low traffic volumes and the blog includes strategies to avoid busy roads that have high traffic volumes and inadequate provision for cyclists,

In planning your cycling route it is important to have an idea of what to expect on the ride and based on the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words images of what you will see on the cycle routes have been included. The route descriptions are not intended to provide a turn by turn route description.

To give you a general idea of what to expect when cycling around New Zealand the links below show images and descriptions of some of the rides that I have done. I have included the Nevis and Molesworth rides in the South Island. These rides are on shingle roads and while the scenery is magnificent there are some significant climbs. You can stick to the tarmac and still see lots of great scenery.

Happy pedaling!

Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail

This is a ride which starts at Mt Cook in the South Island and ends up At Oamaru on the east coast. The ride features some of the best South Island high country. There are sections of the ride which could be done on their own if you have limited time. We started in Twizel and rode up to Mt Cook and stayed there overnight. The ride up to Mt Cook started off very well until we got to the first point on Lake Pukaki. We then headed into what could be only described as a fierce gale and its strength was such that we did not move when going downhill without pedalling.

My ride video:
Alps to Ocean New Zealand

We returned to Twizel on the same road that we went up and did not do the helicopter ride to get to the other side of Lake Pukaki which is the official route of the Alps to Ocean ride.

The next day involved going to the Lake Ohau lodge which included a track alongside Lake Ohau which was excellent.

The South Island high county is very inspiring with big hills and mountains everywhere. There was a climb out of the Lake Ohau lodge and a downhill which is very enjoyable although rocky in parts and best done on a mountain bike.

Cycling around the Manawatu

In November 2019 I did a series of rides in the Manawatu from Cheltenham which is a very small town with a population of only 66 but with a hotel. Cheltenham is only 12.9 kilometres from Feilding which is 20 kilometres from Palmerston North.

We stayed at the hotel and did local rides each day and this type of cycle touring can be described as a hub tour. The rides we did included both tarmac and also shingle surfaces on demanding backcountry roads with lots of uphills.
One of the main advantages of a hub tour ride is that you do not have to put up your tent each night and breakfasts and dinners can be catered for in the hotel. We found that the Cheltenham hotel is well set up to cater for cycling groups.
These are the three routes that we did from Cheltenham:

Cheltenham East 

Route:

 ·  Turn right onto Coulters Line -6.1 km

·  Turn right to stay on Coulters Line - 11.7 km

·  Turn right onto Ridge Rd -14.0 km

·  Turn left onto Branch Rd -14.9 km

·  Turn right onto Finnis Rd - 21.9 km

 Ridge road as the name suggests runs along the ridge is shingle and is a hard but an interesting ride.


Cheltenham North 

This route includes a visit to Kimbolton and Apiti and then a return along and old friend Ridge Road. All in all a hard day but includes great scenery.

Route:

·  Turn left onto Haynes Line - 3.4 km

·  Turn slight right onto Levett Line - 7.0 km

·  Turn left onto McBeth Road - 11.3 km

·  Turn left onto Flyger Street -20.4 km

   Cheltenham West

 This route incorporates a visit to Feilding.

Route

·   Turn left onto Mckays Line - 3.1 km

·  Turn left onto Makino Rd - 6.2 km

·  Turn left onto Reid Line W - 13.9 km

·  Turn right onto Pharazyn St - 15.2 km

·  Turn left onto North St - 17.0 km

Tour of Wairarapa

I recently completed a 9-day tour of the Wairarapa which had some very interesting rides incorporated in it. Some of the ride highlights included:

•  Ride to Featherston and then over the Rimutuka Rail Trail and then back to Lake Ferry. We got a ride to the western side of the Rimutuka Rail trail so that we could return back over the rail trail.
• Lake Ferry to Cape Palliser and back 
• Lake Ferry to Martinborough
• Martinborough to Masterton climbing Admirals Hill.
• Masterton to Riversdale
• Riversdale to Castlepoint.
• Castlepoint back to Masterton. 

 The highlights for me included the ride from Lake Ferry out to Cape Palliser and the ride over the Admirals hill returning from Martinborough to Masterton. Admirals Hill is a gem. It was a reasonably hard ride but very scenic especially on such a brilliant day.

Wairarapa Tour maps and Images

As a member of the Auckland Cycle Touring Association I take advantage of the expertise of the members in designing really interesting cycling rides with like minded cyclists all at a budget cost.

Flying with a Bike

There are some important things to remember when travelling by air with your bike.

• The first thing you need to know is the policy of the airline you are travelling with in relation to the carriage of your bike and in particular to the weight maximum allowed per passenger. Their sporting goods carriage policy can usually be found on the airlines website.  Not all airlines have the same weight restrictions so check that the airline you are thinking of using has a reasonable maximum for each passenger before booking.

• Airlines usually require bikes to be carried in a bike box while some airlines are not so strict and will allow bikes to be wrapped in plastic. This is good option when on the return journey as it may be difficult to source a bike box from a bike shop. While my wrapping does not look that good it has served its purpose well with the advantage that it less likely to be thrown as is the case with a bike box in my experience.

•  It is very important to weight your bike and all your panniers and to know your exact combined weight before you get to the airport to ensure that you do not exceed the airline overall weight limit. If you exceed the weight restriction the charges on the excess will be very high. Of course if you take to much gear you will also have to carry all of your gear on your bike which is another strong incentive to take the minimum in gear on your bike tour.

• You need to include all of your bike gear such as pumps and tools and cooking gear in the panniers and not in your carry on luggage. If they are in the carry on luggage they will almost certainly be confiscated by airport security. And of course you cannot carry cooking gas bottles or similar on aircraft at all. You need to research the availability of these items at the destination where you start your cycle tour.

Bike wrapped in plastic with panniers bag

The New Zealand Great Rides App

The New Zealand Cycle Trails project has resulted in the creation of dedicated off-road cycle trails in both the north and south islands. Originally the cycle trails project was intended to create a continuous cycleway from the North Cape to Bluff but this was not realistic given New Zealand's topography.

 What has been created are cycleways in the regions and these projects have had a significant impact on both the local and national economies and no more so than for the struggling rural regions faced with declining populations. The cycle trails are located in some of the most scenic parts of New Zealand with accommodation and cafes along the way catering for all types of riders.

The good news is that there is now an app for both Android and  Apple IOS devices that provides detailed information and maps on each of the New Zealand cycle trails.   This is a well-designed app that is easy to read which is important when you are on your bike. You can download only the rides that you want to and all of the information that you will need to do the ride can be found in one place and is available to you while on the ride. You can find out all the essential things you need to know about each ride with the minimum of effort.

Cycling around Northland

 There are options for cycling around Northland. The first consideration is where to start the ride. If you are cycling up from Auckland I strongly advise against cycling up the main road to Whangerei as the carriageway is to narrow to provide a shoulder for bikes and the high volume of cars and heavy trucks. It is better to take an alternative route or to catch a bus from Auckland and to start your ride in Whangerei.
Route from Auckland North:

http://newzealandcycletouring.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/cycle-touring-out-of-auckland-north.html

The first option to see Northland on a bike is to ride the Pou Herenga Tai Twin coast cycle trail which goes from the Bay of Islands to the Hokianga Harbour. Details of this ride can be found on the following link. It will give you a good taste of what Northland has to offer.

https://www.nzcycletrail.com/trails/twin-coast-trail/

If you wish to see the whole of Northland then the following route will allow you to do this.


I have just completed a 750 kilometre ride around Northland that started in Whangerei and went up the east coast and then to Cape Reinga and then went down the west coast to Dargaville. From there we cycled back to Whangerei. There are some big hills to ride up but there are some great beaches and places to stay on the route.

On the first day from Whangerei to Whangaruru we went on a back country route which avoided the main road.  It was shingle which can be difficult to ride on.

If you stay at camping grounds these usually have choices of camp sites and huts which are ideal for cycle touring. On the second day we headed to Kerikeri a distance of 76 kilometres and on the following day we rode to Matauri Bay. This is a great beach with a camping ground on the foreshore. There was big hill out of Matauri Bay as we headed to Cable Bay via Russell and Waitangi.

Matauri Bay

There is a spectacular coastline to ride along and there are some big hills. We then rode out to the Karikari Peninsula which is a very worthwhile optional side trip. From there we went to Awanui on our way up to Cape Reinga.

Cape Reinga is the place to start if you are doing an New Zealand end to end cycle ride.

After you have reached the top it is time to head down the west coast to Dargaville and there some very interesting places and towns to visit. You need to catch the ferry from Kohukohu to Rawene. Opononi is a very attractive seaside town. On the way down this coast again there are some big hill climbs.

Opononi

 We rode the 82 kilometres from Dargaville on back roads wherever possible to avoid the traffic.

This round trip while fairly demanding because of the hills was a excellent cycle touring route provided you have sufficient time to enjoy the towns and beaches that you visit. It is best done at a leisurely pace.

My Northland Ride Video: