South Island Cycle Touring, West Coast
The cycle ride from Westport to Picton alongside the mighty Buller river goes uphill but is not too demanding. It is 97.7 kilometers to Murchison. In Murchison there is a reasonable selection of places to stay. On the road from Westport a lookout needs to be kept for logging trucks although there is not a lot of other traffic and it is a great ride alongside the river.
From Murchison you then go to St Arnaud which is 63.5 kilometres away. Again it is a good ride with little traffic.
At St Arnaud there is accommodation and Lake Rotoiti and the area is a popular tramping and skiing centre. About 7 ks north of St Arnaud on the right is the road to the Rainbow ski field and Rainbow station which then leads onto the Molesworth Station.
The Rainbow and Molesworth Station Ride
The
ride from St Arnaud to the Picton ferry is 129 kilometers but the good
news is that the road goes downhill for most of the way and includes the Marlborough vineyards where 77% of New Zealand's wine is produced.
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| Mightly Buller River |
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| Lake Rotoiti |
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| Downhill to Picton |
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| Picton |
South Island Cycle Touring, West Coast
The first thing that needs to be said is that the west coast of the South Island has a high rainfall with an average of 3,639 mm precipitation a year spread over most months of the year so there is a fair chance of rain at at some stage during the ride.
It is 121 kilometers from Haast to Fox Glacier and then 23.6 kilometers from Fox Glacier to Franz Joseph Glacier and then 134 kilometers to Hokitika. There is then 38.9 kilometers between Hokitika and Greymouth and a further 101 kilometers from Greymouth to Westport making a ride total of 417 kilometers.
The ride between Greymouth to Westport through Punakaiki is one of the highlights.
The west coast is a great road to ride on with a low traffic density apart from the tourist buses and has spectacular scenery.
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| Bridge near Haast |
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| Punakaiki Coastline |
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| Punakaki Coastline |
Up the coast on a narrow but not busy road
