Conference noted::bicycle

    Cycling in New Zealand is my next big vacation.  I just have to work
    out a few details like kids, time, and money.  But I'll get there one
    of these days!
    
    Phil

Cycling in New Zealand is the very next place I'd like to go given
schedule, time and $.

Suspect to do the trip justice, 3-4 weeks minimun would be nice to
do both islands.  Can you supply any info on iteniary or co$ts?

	~Mike

    I would  have  replied  sooner, except that we were cycling the NZ
    south island from 14 to 29 November. We had a ball. We went with a
    tour  company  which  provided  a support van (with trailer, so it
    could carry people and bikes as well as luggage.) The organization
    we used was New Zealand Pedaltours, who did quite a good job.

    The area  was  beautiful,  the  traffic  (particluarly on the West
    coast)  amazingly  light  (often  less  than  10 cars per hour). A
    wonderful trip, I wish we could afford to do it again.

    Unsupported touring  would  be tough. It was often a long distance
    between  places  to  stay (we had a couple of 200 km days, half in
    the  van,  half on the bike), and there were some relatively short
    unpaved  sections  of  road  which  wore  out  road  tires  almost
    immediately.  These sections were gravel, not dirt.

--David

    
    David, did you sense that accomodations are thin all over the
    south island?  Would camping be an alternative?
    
    -john (who'd rather go it without a tour group)

    I'm not  sure  about all over the South Island, but the West coast
    is  really  beautiful  (sub-tropical  rain forest), so I'd want to
    spend much of my time there. There is only 1 North - South road on
    the West side of the South Island, Rte. 6 (single digit routes are
    the main roads), and it is two lane, with one lane bridges.

    At times  you would certainly have to do more than 100 km. between
    hotels,  and  perhaps  500 km between bike shops of any sort. It's
    doable, but carry good spares.

    I don't  know  about  camping, but suspect that it would be pretty
    easy.   People  there  are  amazingly  helpful  and  would  almost
    certainly  let  you  tent  in their yard, if you could find a yard
    rather  than  a pasture. Food may be a problem. Even with the van,
    there  were  some  days  when  it was tough to come up with a good
    lunch, so we often carried lunch food for a couple of days.

    Near Queenstown   (fairly   far   South),   there   are   lots  of
    accomodations   and   tourist  traps.  Getting  to  Milford  Sound
    (Southern  tip,  East  side) where the fjords are is probably more
    difficult (We didn't try because the weather wasn't good enough to
    see much if we had.)

    They just  had  large  parts  of the West side of the South Island
    listed  as a World Heritage Area, which is sort of like a National
    park,  except without the legal protection, and lots of people who
    used  to  be  farmers  are trying to make money from tourists. I'm
    sure  they'll  figure  it  out  soon, but they hadn't quite gotten
    there yet.

    I think  it's possible to do an unsupported trip there, and have a
    great  time, but you would have to be a strong rider, and know how
    to  maintain  your bike with no stores nearby. For weak riders I'd
    recommend a support vehicle of some sort.

--David

    
    Camping is very feasible, since "free camping" is accepted and private
    landowners are frequently happy to let you sleep in the yard.  David's
    comments about remoteness and rough roads are certainly accurate, and
    are probably the biggest barriers to unsupported touring.
    
    In many ways, touring the South Island is much like touring the western
    U.S. - if you're willing to take the country at its own pace, its
    great.  But plan on 4 weeks minimum.
    
    Will Monin
    Seattle