Touring New Zealand ???

[DirtDiva]

All the tours that I've looked at seem to only do the south island. They start in Christchurch (which I've seen called the road biking mecca of NZ) and go to the west and ride along the coast.

It is the better island... The popularity of cycling has absolutely skyrocketted in Christchurch over the last ten years or so - truly the new golf amongst the corporate set. There are hills all along the South of the city, coast along the east and flatness to the North and West, so it's pretty easy to just go do whatever kind of ride you want. Fairly dry too.

The sort of route as listed in BadJuJu's link would be a fantastic ride. I know all those roads well, although I've never riden them. It would be a lot more hills than flat, with the really serious hills being Arthur's Pass, Haast Pass and the Crown Range. All three are absolutely stunning though. If you were wanting to go on to Australia afterward, you can fly direct to Sydney (and maybe some other cities) from Queenstown.

[RoadRaven]

I might live here, but I actually know very little about cycling here other than road racing and training in Hawkes Bay. Come here, the cars are getting used to us, and even the local council has agreed to start erecting signs on our regular race routes.

I would agree that the South Island is stunning - I traveled for 3 weeks around it last year. I would love to have cycled it instead - lots of long open roads.

There are two great books available in most bookshops here called "Cycling round the North Island" and (surprisingly) "Cycling round the South Island". These books give you cycle distnce/times between centres and towns, places to stop and look at, bike friendly homestays and motels, and cycle shops. if you are not joining an organised tour, then these books would give you some great guidance.

[nomummytummy]

I'm in Wellington, but a born & bred Sydneysider. I have found riding in Wellington mostly great. I've felt safer than I imagined & found drivers to be mainly polite. May have something to do with the crazy roads where patience is requierd whether you are giving way to a bike or another car.

[Susan Otcenas]

We did a two week self-supported tour on the South Island of NZ a few years ago. Here's a link to my trip travelogue:

http://www.teamestrogen.com/adventures/nz.asp

This was my second trip cycling in NZ. The first one was mostly on the North Island.

Susan