Bikepacking in New Zealand

[thenorthwind]

I'm in the incredibly jammy position of having a week to 10 days free in New Zealand in December, courtesy of a work trip.

I'd like to spend as much of this time as possibly riding a bike and seeing the country. I'm looking for good route with interesting, but not hugely technical, terrain.

I'm flying in and out of Auckland, so have a bit of a dilemma as to whether to start from there to cut down on travelling time and cost (since I'm already spending 4 days on a plane to get there and back), or fly to the south island where all the good stuff seems to be.

Rotorua seems the obvious destination from Auckland without flying, and I've been looking at the Tour Aotearoa route. Maybe include some of the Timber Trail (http://www.thetimbertrail.com/) and Great Lake Trail (http://www.greatlaketrail.com/) - I would usually try to avoid this sort of potentially sanitised and probably busy marked trail but I'm short of planning time. I could also hire a "proper" mountain bike for a day or too and do some of the more "serious" stuff round there.

I'm not sure what bike to take, or whether to hire.

Any advice or recommendations would be gratefully received!

[Blackhound]

I did the Tour Aotearoa earlier in the year as did Andy Lawrence who is also on here regularly. We never got to Rotarua but the Timber Trail was excellent as was the whole section from Matamata to the Bridge to Nowhere and Whanganui. Depends how much you want to carry. The timber trail is 55 miles or thereabouts but can't really recall seeing any other riders (other than TA riders). Not particularly technical but nice remote riding. The section after Matamata (Waikato river trail) could be fun on a lighter bike. I did not really enjoy it as I was tired and the bike was loaded but I am not a string rider particularly. Kept thinking how much more fun it would be unladen.

On the South Island the old ghost road looks excellent. There are some huts but it is slow going I believe, maybe a bit technical as well. I enjoyed the Rainbow Trail though.

Perhaps best suggestion I can give is to get hold of the Kennett Brothers book 'Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails' which will arrive remarkably quickly.

http://www.kennett.co.nz/product/classi ... le-trails/

It has 46 trails in there and will provide a good basis to your trip

[thenorthwind]

Great stuff, thanks.

What time of year were you there? It'll be midsummer when I'm there so I'm guessing a fair bit busier. The advantage being that I'll be able to get away with carrying less.

I looked at the Old Ghost Road - it looks excellent, probably an ideal level of technical riding for me - enough to keep it interesting, but manageable loaded. A bit of a "well worn trail" if you like, not particularly adventurous, but by the same token, that could work for me on this trip.

Will check the book out too.

Any recommendations for detailed maps?

[Chicken Legs]

Good advice from Kevin.
If you have ten days I would think you have time to ride the Tour Aotearoa route south of Auckland and have a day in Rotorua riding the single track stuff where it is easy enough to hire a bike for the day.
Internal flights are reasonably cheap in NZ but the North Island has plenty to go at.
Let me know if you want the GPX of the TA route.
Regards,
Andy

[SteveM]

definatly get the kennet bros book, lots of stuff around roturua and taupo, they are both within striking distance of Auckland

ten days gives plenty of time to get out there and back, are you taking stuff to actually bike pack or just looking for day rides ?

[SteveM]

also, look at the kiwi brevet and tour aotoroa groups on facebook, lots if friendly oeople there who will give you local advice and probably help you out on the ground

[thenorthwind]

Thanks Andy, I'll drop you a PM.

My plan is to take bike packing stuff, though not necessarily bike pack the whole time. Something along the lines of what Andy suggested - bike packing from Auckland to Rotorua/Taupo, then some accommodation there and maybe hire a bike to do some day rides from there. If I could arrange transport one way (between Auckland and Rotorua/Taupo) to allow me to explore the potentially more interesting areas in the interior, or let me take a more interesting route between the two, that might work. Need to investigate the practicality of that.

On the boring practicality side, any bright ideas for stashing luggage (possibly including a bike box) in Auckland?

Will check out the facebook groups. Already joined "Bikepacking New Zealand."

[Blackhound]

I was there mid February too late April (as was Andy). Kennett Bros book calls The Old Ghost Road the wildest ride in NZ and potential bad weather but all in the book. Of course that is in the South Islands whereas Rotorua / Taupo is on the North. Lots of options whatever you decide.

I downloaded OSM maps for my gps of the internet which worked really well - more detailed than I expected.

I tried to store a box in Canterbury at the IYHA hostel but they were not having it unless I was staying there. (I went off for a short tour to the South of the city)
Hotels are usually good if you stay either end of the trip with them.

[thenorthwind]

I'll probably download the OSM/OCM data as I use Viewranger, though I like to have a paper backup as a) it seems sensible and b) I'm a map geek and will take any excuse to buy more maps!

I was hoping a friendly hostel might agree to store some stuff if I stayed there before/after/both, but that doesn't bode well. A bike box is a bit more of an ask too. Maybe I'll have to treat myself to a hotel!

[SteveM]

ask on those fb groups about storing bike box, I'll be amazed if no one offers to help out, last time I went I got tons of help and places to stay through those groups, in fact three of those people are now good friends who I'll be staying with next time I go in January

[lionelrik]

Me and the other half did four months bike touring from the Cape to the Bluff! Amazing country, the people are so warm and friendly. Further to other suggestions on here you could also have a crack at the Alps 2 Ocean route (we did it in reverse and then headed to Canterbury) on the South Island. I think the Heathy Track is closed to bikes during the summer, but that might have changed. The Mountains to Sea route in the North was supposed to be good (we missed it as the track was closed because of landslides). The Timber Trail is a cracking ride as is the Dun Mountain Trail just outside of Nelson. Enjoy. Ones things for certain. You'll wish you had 10 weeks not 10 days

On taking the bike: We went for the big CTC plastic bag and pipe lagging method.(not 100% sure all airlines accept this), but it sure as hell made it easy to leave it at the hostel while we mooched around for 4 months.

Edit: The Queens Charlotte on the South Island track is also a must do! So many great memories!