I got an unexpected break in my schedule which allowed me to spend a bit of time on the bike. I decided to fly to my home town of Whangarei and cycle back to my current home of Christchurch.
For the North island I predominantly followed the Shaky Isles route, put up a few years ago its intended to be riden on a gravel bike, with approximately 60% on unpaved roads with the remaining 40% being on quiet sealed roads.
South Island I followed the Sound 2 Sound route, which crosses remote high country stations before racing across the Canterbury plains to finish (for me)
It is still early season and rained most days, I saw very few cyclists along the way but all accommodation and camp spots were near empty meaning it was easy to book last minute, and cheaper than peak summer rates.
Quick facts-
North Island
1246km, 16,151m elevation gain
South Island
410km, 4126m elevation gain
Days on tour
12 riding days + 1 rest/ferry day.
Totals= 1671km, 20,277m elevation gain. Daily averages 139km/1689m gain per day.
Costs
Food- $615.31
7 nights paid accommodation- $347.50
5 nights wild camping- $0
Other costs- ferry, new chain, flights to start etc – $308
Total cost $1270NZD (€626, $728USD)
by addmeonstrava
2 Comments
Sick! I want to do the North Island to complete the full length of NZ.
NZ is a cyclists dream, I done the TA route from Welly to Queenstown, just superb country, what’s your sleep set up you are using there?