New Zealand or Not?

[srpriestnall]

Hi All,

I am in a fortunate position to be able to have February off work and I am wanting to use the time to go on an adventure motorbike trip. I am looking at circa 21 days to go around New Zealand but I am open to other suggestions.

I cannot change the time of year, so is New Zealand the best place to go?

Has anyone got any tips, routes or better suggestions they could share with me please? I'd be most grateful for any pointers.

Many thanks

[zimtim]

Sounds good

I would possibly think about Southern Africa.
Won't take you 2days to get there and 2 days to get back.
Time difference is only 2hrs that time of year so no jet lag.
3weeks in Southern Africa you could cover a lot and see a lot
If you had longer then I would do NZ.

[DavidS]

NZ is utterly brilliant, even in a camper.
Great biking roads, great scenery and lovely people.

3 weeks is tight though and, as said, it takes two days each way to get there.

[PaulinBont]

Agreed , three weeks is tight.....unless you only do South Island which IMHO is better than the North considering the time constraints; amazing place!

[ChrisCole]

February is a great time to go, New Zealand is a fantastic place for a bike trip both on and off the tarmac.

[DavidS]

North Island is really good....until you get to South Island.
We had 4 weeks in the camper to do both, one for north and three for south but we were on the move pretty much all the time and missed a fair bit out. You would cover much more ground on the bike as most roads are narrow and twisty.

Planning to be going back to south island in Feb 2021 in a car for four weeks and trust there will be a hotel available so we get more time to mooch around and hopefully hire a bike in Nelson and Queenstown for a few days each.

Looking at South Africa this winter but my wife isn’t keen on going it alone so probably just a ‘luxury’ escorted coach trip.
We are old so it’s allowed.

[zimtim]

Looking at South Africa this winter but my wife isn’t keen on going it alone so probably just a ‘luxury’ escorted coach trip.
We are old so it’s allowed.

If you fancy some time of the coach
Try these guys
https://capetownmotorcyclerentals.co.za ... IQEALw_wcB

[OnHellas]

I would say that three weeks or so is a decent length of time although Southern Africa sounds good as per the recommendations above.

Taking your own bike to New Zealand is worth checking out as well. Talk to Roddy and Kathy at MotoFreight. GT Logistics are a great team in Auckland.
No Carnet required and the Warrant of fitness and Temporary Registration easy to get sorted and only costs about £45.

Camping is relatively cheap and certainly plentiful. The main tourist bits are in the south but the North Island offers some stunning areas and is generally less of a touristy. Roads for motorcycles are everywhere.

If you really want to be put off of going have a read of our recent trip here...

https://adventurebikerider.com/forum/vi ... 20&t=47934

[richeyroo]

Sultanate of Oman

[steve the grease]

3 weeks ain't long enough to do NZ. There's miles and miles of empty gently twisting tarmac and more dirt roads there than we can even imagine in our crowded island .
The South island alone is about the size of England. About 1 million people live there, half of them live in ChCh. The island is criss crossed with passes from west to east. The climate is better , but similar to the UK. Dream riding.
Then there is the North island.
They speak English , drive on the left , have chip shops and pubs, and know how to run campsites properly. what's not to like.