Our 7 day Motorbike South Island New Zealand Trip - Experiences

For our itinerary ... 7 day South Island trip itinerary
For our planning and decisions 7 Day South Island New Zealand Motorbike Trip - Planning

Our 7 day South Island New Zealand motorbike trip - planning and considerations

How long is a piece of string?

When I speak to most people about a bike tour of the South Island, they recommend 10 to 14 days if not more. I had 7 days of leave available and a small window of opportunity before the weather turned which I am told is in late April. To miss this window would be to delay the trip to later in the year or, a more likely scenario, next year. Riding in the South Island during the snow season can be very dangerous for bikes and the snow can come until as late as October/November. So with my biker comrade, we decided to make hay while the sun shines and ride as far South as we could in 7 days including the return trip. 

Our bikes..

I ride a 2007 Suzuki Hayabusa GSXR1300 and my comrade in handlebars rides a 2007 Suzuki Boulevard M109R 1800cc. The Busa is [very very] quick on the straights and enjoyable in the corners although with a long wheel base and cautious rider you'd more enjoy other rides for quicker corners if that's are your thing. It is a comfortable "tourer" and could have the bars raised slightly if one was planning to primarily tour on it. It can be tiring under 110kmh but begins to simply purr anywhere from 120kmh and the faster it goes the safer it feels. The M109R is surprisingly light for its sheer presence but as my comrade stands over 6 feet tall and hardly complained of a sore butt, it must be pretty comfy to ride. It has great straight line grunt and, although I once followed one who handled twisties like a pro, it doesn't lend itself to sharp corners, especially with the fatter back tyre that wants to straighten up on itself.   But with even with the thinner back tyre on now, its rider is equally as cautious as I am, so neither of us is over zealous in corners.

We chatted to many fellow biker tourers mostly on adventure bikes who were having a great time. Some were campers and others took motel rooms but all were real adventurers.

Rooms and accommodation...
Of course camping would be the cheapest option but several factors weighed against this for us. Firstly, we are not regular campers so the idea of pitching a tent at dusk was not appealing, added to which were likely days of adverse weather. A biker friend told me about a wonderful "pop-up" tent he used but hadn't yet provided any details. Secondly, the additional weight and space of tents may be a minor consideration given the new light weight technology but was still a negative. So we looked for rooms. The mate who did Harley tours said that, unlike a larger party, as 2 bikers we'd be able to just call ahead to the next stop the day before and book a place. NZ has a quaint and workable "Top 10" accommodation system which means that any lodgings included on the list meets basic standards of cleanliness. The idea of a room to throw the bags and dirty socks down on was, at our age, just too appealing and we opted for that. We decided to pre-book as we are both accountants and just couldn't cope with the uncertainty of not having booked. We found great deals on Bookings.com and Expedia . As it turned out I got one stop wrong and booked for the following night in error but the receptionist was very helpful and sourced us another room nearby at a similar rate which was well below the website advertised rate.

Some places had shared ablutions but even these were very clean with warm water. Others had their own en-suite shower/toilets with Sky TV.

Our rooms ranged from NZD $85-$110 which, when shared between 2 is a fair deal. All rooms were 2 singles or double/single.

Despite this, if you love camping or cost is a major consideration, then by all means go the with the camping option. We met a rider from the UK in his late 60s who had travelled the world and loved camping. By international standards, NZ must offer one of the safest camping environments anywhere on offer and even given the high NZ dollar parity it would be a cheap option by any standards. One other option, given the great Backpacker culture that exists in NZ, is to consider these as they are in all the major tourist areas and offer rough comfort without having to pitch tents.

Fly & Rent or Ride our own bikes?

With only 7 days to ride, the rides from Auckland to Wellington and back needed to be factored in as they are long distances in comparison to many of the South Island legs. Included in this decision is the 3½ hour ferry trip which runs at scheduled times and usually runs late, as we discovered. The obvious choice if these 2 days are critical deal breakers, is to fly down to the South Island and rent bikes. We love our rides and, since we haven't yet ridden South of Gisborne/Napier region, we decided to enjoy this North Island leg as part and parcel of the adventure. 

East to West or the other way?

Perhaps instinctively, or maybe just from what others have shared, we decided to ride from Picton to Nelson and down the West Coast then back up through the East Coast. This turned out to be a great route but I could now easily do it the other way if it worked better for planning. There seems to be no obvious reason to prefer one direction over another. 

What we wanted out of the trip...

Obviously we wanted this to be a memorable trip in its own right as 2 white collar biker dudes with plenty of daily routine now riding off into the sunset to the theme tune of Wild Hogs, but it was also a bit of recce for when our wives, who ride their own bikes, can ride with us. The M109R rider wanted a casual ride with gentle twists and long straights. He wanted to stop and take photographs so ideally wanted to ride about 3½ - 4 hours a day in the saddle which, with photo, coffee and food stops would be about 5-6 hours travel. The Busa rider wanted long straights, twisties to lean and open up in, and was happy to be riding 4-5 hours a day as he only takes pics on his phone and just needs time to post his progress on social media.

Going the distance..

So the next decision we had to make was where to go and how long to ride daily. Apart from the Auckland/Wellington legs which we decided we'd ride like 2 banditos on the run, once on the South Island, we had decisions to make around what a comfortable day's ride would be as this would dictate how far we could travel overall. The M109R rider had "researched" that a comfortable day's ride would be 350-400km which would be about 4-4½ hours in the saddle adding say 2 hours for stops and sight seeing at some "must see" places.

I was initially more ambitious but then I decided to think through some of my proposed distances to some North Island equivalent rides I've ridden and realised that every day at these ambitious distances would leave us quite tired and unable to take in the stunning scenery we'd heard so much about. So we agreed to reasonable distances each day with one or two days longer riding.

What to see, what to miss..?

Two of my biker acquaintances who know the South Island well were both unfortunately on their own SI trips - one at the Queenstown HOG rally and the other on his annual ride with his wife for 3 weeks, each on their own Harleys. He used to do Harley tours so would've been a wealth of local knowledge. Our initial thoughts were to go as far south as the glaciers and then head back and up and criss cross the inland passes to the other east coast, but after checking out biker forums we decided that it made sense to do the Haast Pass down to Wanaka and then back up to Christchurch. Although close to Queenstown it was never on our agenda for this trip as that is most certainly worth its own few days of exploration itinerary. 

Weather expectations...

Weather forecasts showed several cold fronts moving across the entire South Island from South West heading Northwards so it was unlikely to expect to avoid these unless we stayed somewhere as it passed which was not the plan. Our hope was that if we encountered these, we'd be riding through them heading South. Mostly this is what happened and the weather was kind to us, considering this. The worst weather was probably our first day on the North Island and then later I made an individual dash for Aurthur's pass and hit rain, fog and mist on the way up. Apart from that we really just rode through a few patches of light rain from time to time.

I was warned by a local biker when heading out to the Kaikoura Coast to Blenheim that there can be extreme winds and I could see what he meant when we hit gusts that you fight from one direction and that then suddenly turn and gust in the opposite direction causing dangerous veering; and this was on a "not windy" day according to him!

Road and traffic conditions...
The road surface was, for the most part, excellent, although the actual surfaces vary which is great as some seem to be designed for grip even in the rain. Certainly they seem better overall than the North Island which I'm guessing is due to higher traffic volumes up North. North Island roads are well maintained but you can catch them just pre-repair or during repair, both of which results in non-ideal riding conditions. Another pleasant surprise was roads were frequently banked (cambered) at the correct angle, unlike the North Island which, for some obscure reason, are angled down so that you feel like inertia in every corner is spinning you off the road. A pleasant surprise for us was the combination of long, long, long stretches of straight roads with brilliant meandering corners and the odd sharp bend thrown in to ensure that at the end of every day you felt like you'd had a really complete biking experience. For some reason NZ is seen as a great cycling option but with the high trucking volumes, single lane narrow roads and high tourism volumes I simply have no clue why. We saw several cyclists and I felt quite sorry and afraid for them. Once a truck almost took one out in front of me and the cyclist was left shaking his fist having been forced onto the verge of the road as an "overtaking" truck realised there was an oncoming car and neither would slow down. There has been much press publicity of late about foreign national tourists causing road accidents by driving on the wrong side of the road but we didn't encounter any serious issues in this regard. I was also warned that Campervans are now an issue to bikers as they travel in convoy at close distance which don't allow of overtaking but again, we had no issues in this regard and found plenty of safe places to overtake without putting ourselves or other vehicles at any risk.

I must say, having recently watched  Henry Cole on the Travel Channel doing "the world's best motorcycle rides" where he did Australia and New Zealand, I can't believe New Zealand isn't more popular as a biker destination for serious Australian bikers. From the programmme and the way he raved about NZ it seems like it should be a "bucket list" destination. Certainly the for the Australian trip he seemed as if he had to make long roads through desert storms arriving at little tin shacks in no-man's-land look interesting whereas the praise rolled off his tongue for the Kiwi trip and he even referred to it as his new benchmark. Here he says it's one of the top 3 rides he's done!

Our final itinerary...

Our itinerary is here South Island itinerary  

Our Experiences...
Our experiences are here South Island Experiences

Itinerary for 7 day motorbike trip of New Zealand South Island

Following on from our planning, here's our itinerary:

Laka Matheson

Akaroa, Banks Peninsula

Monday*: Auckland to Wellington [7h47m 637km] **see Ferry comments

Tuesday: Picton - Nelson - Westport [4h46m 346km]

Wednesday:  Westport -  Greymouth - Franz Josef Glazier [3h32m 273km]

Thursday:  Franz Josef - Fox - Wanaka [3h32m 285km]

Christchurch

Laka Wanaka

Friday: Wanaka - Twizel - Takapo – Ashburton [3h58m 348km]

Saturday ***: Ashburton - Christchurch - Banks Peninsula - Christchurch [3h44m 250 km]

Sunday: Christchurch - Kaikoura - Blenheim - Picton [4h32m 337km]

Monday 30/3/15 - Wellington - Auckland via Whanganui River Road [9h 684km] 

Total planned above: 3,160km 
Actual : M109R 3,175km / Hayabua 3,408km including Arthur's Pass peak

*Auckland to Wellington:
Coromandel turn off sh27) 

Waharoa (sh27) 1^st Fuel stop Started to drizzle there.

Matamata (sh27)

Tirua (sh27) – spotty the dog and antique shop and our stop back from Taupo with the girls

Tokorua (sh 27) -  lots of rain, even bought rain pants at the local Suzuki.

Turned off to SH41 and missed Taupo

Kuratau (sh41)

Turned back onto SH1 at Turangi then the desert road through to ( fuel stop and had a good Burger king Wrap)

Waiouru SH1

Taihape SH1

Hunterville SH1 – put fuel in but can’t recall the place.

Bulls

Foxton

Wellington (Fuel and Ferry)

**Ferry: We decided to catch the Bluebridge 2am Ferry and take a room. Early boarding at 11pm meant that arriving at Picton at about 6am, theoretically anyway, we could get a 5 to 6 hours sleep and at $30 for the room sleeping 2 meant we save a night accommodation cost and not lose a night heading off fresh in the morning. We had a nice shower in the morning but the ferry ran late so we were not rested as we only got to bed after 2am and were woken well before 6am. But we did sleep soundly. We heard that Bluebridge was better than Interislander but chose it ultimately for room option.

*** Arthur's Pass: Actually we deviated from plan with the M109R rider riding from Ashburton to Christchurch [1h11m 89km] and me, the Hayabusa rider riding from Ashburton to Arthur's Pass [2h11m 177km] and then from Arthur's Pass to Christchurch along the Old West Coast Road [1h54m 145km]. We then both rode from Christchurch to Akaroa, Banks Peninsula [1h31m 88km] and back [1h31m 88km]. This amount of riding that day on the Busa was a lot but the only way for me to fit in Arthur's Pass without adding additional km's every day for us both. 

Coromandel twisties take their toll..!!

The weather app said that Auckland was going to be fine and dandy on Saturday so my mate and myself made plans to hit the Coromandel loop. We got away from the North Shore at about 10am and headed out to Clevedon but took an early exit off the motorway and headed out via Howick in a bit too much traffic for our liking. After a quick fuel stop we headed out from Clevedon and, via an unplanned detour down the aptly named Tourist Road, we reached the coast hugging East Coast Road off to the State Highway 2 that heads out to Thames. From Thames we headed through the twisties of the Coramandel Forest Park ranges to Tairua for a coffee stop. 

We had intended to do the whole loop so headed out from Tairua to Whitianga but before Whitianga I took a left turn along a stunning road that unfortunately became a dirt mud road so once we turned back we decided to head back to Tairua and back to Thames instead of doing the whole loop. 

From there we headed along the State Highway 2 all the way to SH1 and back to the North Shore. 

For a rough guide of the trip on Google Maps..

Clevedon -it's a blip you may pass through easily but it's also a series of quaint shops kept in small town character and if you stop and smell the roses you discover a nice choice of eateries and cool trinket shops. 
Tourist Road - wow, I rode along here with flashbacks to places I'd seen on YouTube. I felt I'd travelled the outback Smokey Mountains down small town USA. A breathtaking meandering detour.  (About here I remember thinking that somebody had spiked me with big dose of Happy!)

To Kawakawa Bay - lovely sweeping bends with a few nice tight twisties but the scenery is so vivid you won't be using any app that enahances colour for fear of making the photos look too fake. Some parts of the road are so tree-lined there is moss so obviously not sun soaked.
East Coast Road - equal parts beach holiday feel, rural local fishing spot feel, you simply soak in the lake like ocean, the islands and the view of the Coromandel Peninsula with it's looming mountain ranges. The road is a nice mix of twisty stretches for leaning and straight for letting the machine loose. 
Coromandel Forest Park Road - A great road to teach anyone about kiwi road surfaces. You will be winding through moist road surfaces along tree lined stretches beside ravines then around a bend into dry stretches under bright sunlight with sweeping views of the mountain ranges. A warning sign for a mudslide hazard will be followed by a beautiful long, straight piece of tempting tarmac.
Tairua to Whitianga - As I said, we didn't go all the way to Whitianga but while this stretch of road has some challenging hairpins, it also has some great sweeping bends and some amazing straight stretches. You will need to decide whether you are going to cruise and take in the scenery which on one side is endless hills and mountains and on the other side the ocean, or you are going to keep your eyes on the road and floor it. We took it hard there but enjoyed the cruise back, stopping for a few photo ops with the sea as backdrop.     It is along here that my riding buddy had to stop and pop a few ginger tablets for the motion sickness he started to feel! So rider beware, if you are prone to this then remember that this road has its share of side to side that will likely result in a bit of nausea.

Thames to MW1 - we left Thames (actually just the Mobil on the outskirts) for home with the sun a few inches above the horizon and travelled half the MW2 in darkness. A stunning sunset sealed the day as a truly memorable one for us both. Our only regret that our wives hadn't made it but we now had the anticipation of sharing this world famous ride with a much better first hand knowledge to plan for next time.    

Summary - the road surface conditions were amazing. Very few potholes; The road weather conditions were excellent - wet and dry but all safe; the view and scenery is almost too much beauty for such a short distance. Explaining it in words would sound corny, but it is continual, diverse (tropical, rugged, coastal) and sensually overwhelming.

A stunning winter ride after work

I had to shoot out today during work and was amazed at how beautiful the weather was so I resolved to leave work dead on time and head straight home to hop on the Busa and grab the opportunity to enjoy the Auckland twilight by the handlebars. 

Even a spontaneous decision to ride involves some pre-ride mental preparation during which I run through the weather and time available and possible routes.  I have put off quite a few riding opportunities as winter has hit but I could see no downside tonight other than the fact that once the sun starts setting in winter darkness arrives quickly. But there was little wind and the air was crisp but not icy.

So onto my steed I leapt and off I went in my newly acquired toasty warm kevlar camo pants and into the sunset (quite literally) I rode, heading off from Albany and arriving at Helensville to see a low, dark pink skyline. From Hellensville I headed back through Kaukapakapa in darkness to Silverdale and through evening traffic on the Whangaparaoa peninsula where I had coffee with my daughter and son in law.

My ride on Google maps...

From there I texted my riding mate to see if he wanted to go across the bridge which he was thankfully keen to do else I would probably have just headed back home. He had commuted to the City across the bridge and had himself decided not to miss the stunning evening weather. So I zoomed back along Highway 1 to our rendezvous point at a Northcote gas station and from there we headed out over the bridge to a stunning, calm Mission Bay, along to St Helliers and back to Starbucks for a coffee, then back through the city to Ponsonby and back across the bridge to the North Shore.

The Auckland skyline is a postcard view from the bridge and the drive along Tamaki Drive looking back at the city is magnificent, passing yacht basins and people out strolling or running. The City, Mission Bay and Ponsonby were all alive to the sound of Aucklanders enjoying what their mother city has to offer - great vibes, good cuisine, stunning scenery and tonight - excellent weather.

I have to say that, for a mid winter's night ride, there was barely any wind and the air was warm enough to sit outdoors. 

I arrived home and am sitting writing this so hugely thankful for this amazing city I find myself in, for the fantastic bike I am so enjoying and for a great riding mate to enjoy it with, especially when my wife can't ride with me. 

Auckland in Autumn - still a joy for bikers...

The orange leaves shout that it's autumn in Auckland but I am on one of Auckland and New Zealand's many golf courses and the late afternoon is still. I return home after the game and jump on my motorbike with my wife on hers and we meet friends and all ride through to Ponsonby "international" food court for one of the numerous inexpensive Asian dishes on offer. 

After dinner we ride from the vibrant night life of Ponsonby in a convoy of four motorbikes through the pretty suburbs of Auckland into the upmarket beach suburb of Mission Bay where we have Danish ice cream and coffee before heading home along the waterfront road to the Harbour bridge that leads us back to the North Shore of Auckland where our little Saturday night jaunt began.

Every weekend for weeks now we have gotten out on our bikes because "pretty soon now the weather will change".  And every week we are blessed with yet another weekend of stunning weather.

Well,  the rain will set in and newcomers and visitors will swear that Auckland is a wet city.  And they will be correct,  it is indeed.  But life goes on,  including outdoor activities.  And in the midst of winter I have no doubt we will wake up to moments of clear, crisp skies and text our fellow bikers to meet for a spontaneous rides and golf games.  And then one day the clouds will part and more glorious sunny days will be beckoning us bikers to rediscover the breathtaking scenic routes that are Auckland in all her splendour.

A love of biking born in Cape Town and rekindled in Auckland

I have, for years and years, gazed longingly at the open roads of the grand old US of A; the breathtaking views of Canadian outdoors and the magical winding roads of Europe - all set against a backdrop of stunning snow capped peaks or lush green pines. They all have all beckoned me and wooed me for years and years and I want to go there and see them from a motorcycle and bombard my senses.

Growing up in stunning Cape Town, I am used to the “in your face” beauty, both refined and rugged.  Although the climate is Mediterranean so no snow falls except on the surrounding peaks occasionally, Cape Town still has four distinct seasons and except for a very wet mid winter, each season presents a unique experience for riders – the crisp spring mornings and evenings, the never ending dry summer days or the colourful autumn backdrops.

For a short time in Cape Town my wife and I rode motorcycles. I had a Suzuki Intruder 800cc until my wife, who started out as pillion, got her licence and claimed it and so I acquired a 750cc Suzuki GSXR and 750 Suzuki Katana. Together we learnt to ride with a group of about 6 guys and their gals who were pillion, my wife being the only brave lass to ride. Most were already bike commuters and some even raced but they never pressurised us to ride beyond our ability.

We would spontaneously arrange early morning or late evening rides so we, the only ones with kids, could set off with the kids either still fast asleep or just having been put to bed. Fortunately we had my mom living with us so we could zap out early and be home before they woke or leave after they were nicely snuggled up in bed.

Our lives were fun and exciting – an adventure of the senses! The kids enjoyed our biker friends who were mostly single, young and without kids so they doted on ours as a novelty. Our kids enjoyed being taken to and from activities on the back of dad’s bike. We did rallies with our mates and saw Cape Town as only a biker knows it – the smell of the sea or vineyards or dust as the rain starts. The overpowering beauty of Cape Town seeped into my pores as I rode along Misty Cliffs without my helmet and soaking in the misty air of the wild sea bashing off the waves, or along the most breathtaking sea views one could imagine past vibrant, white sanded beaches full of tourists.

I decided to sell my bikes after taking the longer, winding “scenic” route to work one morning and realising I had grown too comfortable with riding recklessly which is not a wise place to be with four young kids and a wife depending on me – and so began my motorbike drought and a yearning that has finally ended.

In 2003 I left Cape Town for Auckland, New Zealand and my wife and I had the sense to convert both our car and motorbike licenses. So, after 10 years here I once again bought a Suzuki 800cc Boulevard which I knew was again for my wife. After a few practice runs in car parks and a few pillion trips behind me she was confident to start riding again, so I bought a cheap ‘n nasty Suzuki Bandit 600cc which was heaps of fun to get my  confidence back and to enjoy some amazing twisties Auckland has to offer. But I wanted a newer, more reliable bike with a bit of oomph that would be comfortable out of Auckland so I have now bought my dream bike – a 2007 Suzuki Hayabusa.

Much to my delight, my closest friend in Auckland who also emigrated from Cape Town with his motorbike license, decided to take the mid-life plunge along with me and has bought himself a 2007 Suzuki C109R 1800cc Boulevard and for good measure, his wife is getting her license.

We have decided to embark on a journey of adventure as we plan to enjoy the immense and overpowering beauty that Auckland and New Zealand has become world renown for and why so many people from every corner of the globe decide to make the long trek over and then rave about it and recommend others follow suit.

Whether you simply intend to enjoy the experience from your living room or are convinced to make the journey yourself to experience what we plan to first hand, we invite you to come along for the ride! Good bikes and stunning scenery make for an eventful , hopefully memorable trip but it takes good company to create a kinship that makes every memory more special.

Thanks, and enjoy the ride…