Hi Guys
I am thinking of touring new Zealand on a hire bike next year. Has anyone done this? And is anyone interested in coming with me anytime Jan-march 2017?
Philip

Hi, I toured in NZ Soth Island (2010) for two weeks, hired a BMW 800 GS. I took my tent, so mostly camping, easy to meet people this way. I stayed in a hotel in Christchurch first and last night. Fantastic trip, loved every minute, weather was great, I met so many nice people. Bike hire was expensive, £ 1500 for 13 days. You will love the place, very like Scotlaand, some places reminded me of Scotland! Just ask me questions, feel free. I hope to back some day!

All the best

Tourman

I've done two bike trips to NZ - last one was three months over November December 2014 and January 2015 - shipped my own bike so can't comment on bike hire

There are thousands of kms of fantastic riding to be experienced - both road and off road

if you have enough time I recommend visiting both north and south islands

Tourist hotspots can get very busy over the Xmas holiday period which runs into late January and accomodation may be hard to get
There are plenty of campsites and also lots of hostel accommodation which is good value

Beware of the dreaded campervans driven by overseas visitors - has become a serious issue with many accidents and fatalities each season

Overall it's a wonderful destination for a bike trip - fantastic roads with little traffic beautiful scenery lots of natural attractions worth visiting and the locals are the most friendly and hospitable people you are likely to encounter anywhere

I toured the North Island for 16 days in February this year. I hired a bike starting in Auckland and only toured around North island. Great roads, helpful people and stunning places. A large bike is not necessary (I hired a Suzuki DL650). I took camping gear as from previous driving experience in NZ, I learned the camping areas are good and you need to be flexible. I also used cabins when rain was about but used to stay a couple of days and do local rides.

In Feb/Mar 2017 I am shipping a bike to Christchurch to tour the South Island. I will again be using camp sites/cabins/ B&B or motel depending on rainfall. I will head clockwise or anticlockwise depending on the weather however I would prefer to tour the southern part of the island before it starts to get too cold. It was very rainy in South Is in Feb/Mar this year I noted when monitoring the weather.

The school children go back to school in Feb and so accommodation can be a little easier but you can get caught out by the number of (very) popular events that are on that soak up available accommodation.

Getting your own bike to NZ can require a bit of work but I wanted to experience that also (as well as spending more time in NZ. From Australia the break even point for hiring vs shipping is about 11 days.

Happy to supply some info from my experience of NZ if you want to PM me. The experience is very positive (one reason for going back!)

Mal

As mentioned of others above her - lots of nice roads both on and offroad, campsites are plenty and in general cheap (use Wikicamps NZ to find them) but be prepared for days with rain and heavy weather - so plan to stay in B&Bs, cabins, hostels and pubhotels when the weather gets bad.

I rode 10 weeks/12 k kms in NZ, march-may this year but I bought a bike there as I thought the rental prices was very high. Its also very easy for a foreigner to purchase a vehicle in NZ. Its of course good to have a friend there who can help with the sale if the bike isnt sold upon your date of exiting NZ. So you dont have to sell it dirt cheap.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Keep an eye on the nzta.co.nz web site, since the earthquake the SH1 is partially closed, so you cannot easily travel from Christchurch to Picton. The inland road will be slow but scenic, however, it's now the main logging route so not so great as it could be.
Unless you want to tour both islands, flying in and out of Christchurch is a great idea and the south island is the best of the two for motorcycle riding
I live in Welly and would be happy to help / meet others if passing through

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Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

Doing it in early April, renting a CB500X out of Christchurch for eight days. Plan is to do it counterclockwise:

Day 1: CHC > Arthurs Pass > Franz Josef
Day 2: F.J. > Queenstown
Day 3: In and around Q., do the whole jetboat thing
Day 4: Q. > Milford Sound, overnight cruise there, last of my booked accommodations so far.
Day 5: M.S. > Invercargill?
Day 6-8: Back to CHC via the Catlin mountains probably? Dunedin? Anything else?

Bringing my rainsuit. Tips, tricks, offers of a first round welcome (second one's on me).

HELLO . !
just a wee thought .

why travel 30 hours on a plane.. when( if you live in england) you can go up the west coast of Scotland !
Met loads of bikers there from New zealand !!

Why do you think those guys traveled 30 hours on a plane?

because they dont have wings !

counterclockwise ... probably headwinds .. certainly over Arthur's Pass.
clockwise .... probably tailwinds

thanks for getting in touch, only just read your tour. Sounds great!

I didn't know you could get an overnight cruise at Milford, so if you haven't yet booked, google Doubtful Sound instead. It's on your route and they say it's more spectacular than Milford.

I am biased as I lived in Dunedin for 6 months, but Central Otago is a bikers heaven. Dunedin's peninsular road is very pretty, but not many use the back road

Pack waterproofs and warm clothing!
Autumn has started cold and wet & parts of the south island already have snow on the hills. It'll be spectacular no matter what the weather does

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Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

To get the best out of a tour of NZ, you have to watch both the weather forecast (especially the wind direction) and NZTA traffic reports for road closures (accidents, flooding, earthquakes and landslips)...

.... sounds an awful place to live, maybe this is why
https://youtu.be/_WTfgkYZ5qk

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Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way