Route

New Zealand from the North to the South

BaltiCCycle 2011

02.21 – 04.07

route day by day

Day 1. Transfer by bus from Auckland to Cape Reinga 450 km. Maori welcome and group meal.

Days 2 to 7. Cycle back to Auckland along beautiful beaches and harbors. Walk in to see New Zealand’s largest Kauri tree. Rawene ferry. Will try to arrange boat from Dargaville to South Head or Helensville. Then back to Auckland for 1.5 days. Visit the Wild West Coast, Waitakere Forest, Auckland Volcanoes, Auckland Museum.

Days 9 to 20. Cycle through the Hauraki Plains (hot pools) over the Mamakus to Rotorua, thermal town and Maori culture, onto Huka Falls and Taupo and Tokaanu (Hot Pools), wild pig on a spit group meal. New Zealand’s world famous one day Tongariro Crossing, (opportunity for those who wish to do this) past the active volcano Ruapehu onto the famous Wanganui river and cycle alongside to Wanganui, then across the plains to Wellington. Unfortunately this last part is on the main highway but with reasonable cycle clearance. Visit the modern interactive Museum of New Zealand and Parliament.

Days 20 to 46. Across the Cook Strait to Picton up to Nelson Lakes National Park, then across small range to the West Coast South Island. Down through the coastal plains to the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers. These glaciers come down nearly to the sea. Onto Haast (New Zealand’s last wilderness region). Over the Haast Pass to Lake Wanaka over the Crown Range to Queenstown. Free Day to enjoy Queenstown activity. Then across Lake Wakatipu by ferry onto Mavora Lakes via the Von river very scenic. From there to Lake Te Anau. A special boat and bus trip to Milford Sound. Evening meal barbeque on Milford Sound. Cycling on past lake Manapouri down to the Southern Coast (Antarctic in the distance sometimes you can feel it in the wind) through Invercargill and onto Bluff. Try the Oysters they all work. Cycle from there around the Catlin coast (windswept trees ancient forest, Hector’s dolphins, seals, Hooker’s sea lions, elephant seals, penguins, sooty shearwaters etc). From there up to Dunedin (Edinburgh of the South) from there up to Christchurch. And journeys end. It would be possible to visit Kaikoura (Whales) from Christchurch.