Hi, I'm slated to bike across the South Island of New Zealand over the holidays. I have 3 weeks, and have about the first half planned out. Was hoping to get some additional advice on a hybrid route. I want to start on the south island's Tour Aotearoa so that I can do Old Ghost Road, then take a bus from Westport to Christchurch to pick up the rest of Sounds 2 Sounds.
I have a little anxiety about where to camp / where I can get a room, I acknowledge that I've chosen the busiest time possible for this trip, so it might be nice to make a few extra reservations ahead of time.
Here's my rough itinerary, targeting about 100km a day:
- Day 1 — in transit
- Day 2 — arrive in Blenheim, northern part of the south island of NZ
- Arrive at 9:15am
- Buy any necessary gear, prep bike
- Stay in Picton tonight
- Day 3 —
- Early 1-hour, 35km boat trip to Ship Cove (0 km start)
- Bought ticket + permit for Queen Charlotte Track
- 31km to Kenepuru Saddle
- 15km to Portage
- 22km to Anakiwa
- (Start following TA Komoot trip to take me to OGR)
- 18km to Havelock
- Day 4 —
- 21km to Pelorus Bridge
- 42km to Nelson (5hours+)
- 14km to Richmond
- 17km to WakefieldDay 5 —
- Day 5 —
- 35km to Tapawera
- 63km to Lake Rotaroa
- 32km to Murchison
- Day 6 —
- 78km to Springs Junction (6.5 hours)
- 46km to Reefton
- Day 7 —
- [Rest day / slack]
- Day 8 —
- [Rest day / slack]
- [Reservation at Lyell Saddle Hut, Old Ghost Road; will probably cancel]
- Day 9 —
- Baggage Transfer from start of OGR to end, by Buller Adventures. Need to reserve. (https://www.bulleradventures.com/luggage-transfer)
- Need to be making my way up OGR from Lyell
- Arrive at Ghost Lake Hut, Old Ghost Road
- Day 10 —
- Finish OGR in Seddonville
- Pick up tent and extra bag from Buller Adventures transfer
- Another 52km to Westport
- Day 11 —
- Shuttle to Christchurch
- https://www.eastwestcoaches.co.nz/greymouth-to-christchurch-shuttle.html
- ^Shuttle from Westport (7am) or Greymouth to Christchurch
- Intercity (requires bike breakdown) is an alternative Westport -> Greymouth
- Hotel tourist day in Christchurch or move along
- Day 12 — Start following S2S exactly:
- 30km to Rolleston
- 69km to Rakaia Gorge
- Day 13 —
- 34 km to Mt Somers (280m)
- 57 km to Geraldine (120m)
- Day 14 —
- 117 km to Lake Tekapo (1600m)
- ^Looks like one of my two toughest days
- Can get a shared room this night, just want to be sure I can be here.
- Day 15 —
- 55 km to Twizel (180m)
- 38 km to Ohau Lodge (270m)
- Day 16 —
- 43 km to Omarama (500m)
- 30 km to Top Hut (1000m)
- 49 km to Oturehua (160m)
- Day 17 —
- 30 km to Omakau (75m)
- 30 km to Alexandra (90m)
- 49 km to Bannockburn (600m)
- Day 18 —
- 74 km to Garston (1670m)
- Day 19 —
- 60 km to Mossburn (220m)
- Day 20 —
- 90 km to Te Anau (350m)
- Day 21 —
- 80 km to Cascade Creek campground (500m) (must be reserved)
- Day 22 —
- 40 km to Milford sound (1000m)
- Tracknet shuttle back to Queenstown @ 2:30pm -> 7:45pm
- Day 23 —
- Slack morning
- Fly out from Queenstown in the afternoon
Some of these days look pretty tough. Should I be yolo'ing rooms in these towns with this schedule, or just wing it and assume I will always be able to find a DOC campground?
by texas-trombone
1 Comment
Hi , I am currently biking a section of sounds to sounds. In Alexandra and came from Christchurch along a similar route you describe. The hardest days by far have been the Mackenzie pass ride to Lake Tekapo (I had horrendous wind) and Omarama Saddle. I would say the riding is super hard and the lodging is easy. For example I did the full ride from Omarama to Oturehua (crow’s nest accommodation) but if the tough ride had been too much I could have camped backcountry there. Be aware that the DOC campsites almost all require “self contained” camper vans. There are some that have tent camping. For example I broke up the Mackenzie pass ride by staying at pioneer park which has tent camping. I’m sure these rules can be broken but I opted for town holiday parks more often. The rides are so tough but there are enough towns to sleep and eat in between the suffering 😂.
I am actually getting a shuttle from Cromwell to Arrowtown because the wind forecasts are too intimidating for me to ride the Nevis, and I’m a bit burnt out on the riding. But that’s just my situation. Let me know other Qs about the section between Christchurch and Cromwell. The riding is beautiful. Between Lake Tekapo and Omarama was particularly delightful in my opinion. The overlap with alps to ocean means very nicely maintained and signed routes.
Editing to add: you pretty much do not need reservations to tent camp at holiday parks. But if you want to travel without a tent and stay in their little huts and stuff during holidays those might need a reservation which would make the itinerary more rigid. If you can swing it to stay the night at Lake Ohau Lodge and do the meals there, do. It was so good.