New Zealand or Not?

[DavidS]

And if you want a pint, they do exceedingly tolerable 2.5% bitter which helps while travelling.
It would be good to do that here so a lunchtime pint is less iffy than an 8% cider.

[AustinW]

We travelled around South Island NZ in March and April this year. Very small Campervan though. 4 weeks was just enough to do a full lap of SI and see most of what we wanted. Highly recommended but most of the trip I was wishing I was on the bike. As others have said campsites everywhere (get CamperMate app as well as Gaspy app to find cheap fuel). NZ Beer is better than uk beer but is a lot more expensive. Big drawback is it’s a long fecking way.

We also went to South Africa in 2012 and rented two bikes. 6 weeks got us up the west from Cape Town, to Namibia and then into Zambia to Vic falls, Botswana and back to Cape Town. This was the better trip by far and not just coz we did it by bike. Easier to get to, although it’s still 12 hours on the plane, it’s a much more adventurous trip, and way cheaper. While NZ has some off road Southern Africa is where big adventure bikes were made for. Check out these guys, it’s who we rented from. http://www.dualsportafrica.com/

[V2orV4]

Great advice here already, I’d echo 3 weeks not enough for NZ. We did 4 weeks, both islands in a hire car. Amazing place, mostly very quiet roads and incredible scenery. It is expensive, but if you have the money, why not? Do 3 weeks in South Island probably.

A great alternative is South Africa. We went there 18 months ago and this is also incredible! Wife and I Travelled around for 5 weeks in a hire car and not once did we have any problems or feel threatened. We did a fair bit of coastline and the garden route, Drackensberg mountains, 4 days safari and the Zulu battlefields (private guide was brilliant)

Once out of the towns and cities, we found lots of peace and quiet, the coastline is beautiful, dramatic and hardly anyone around! We even saw penguins!

It’s certainly a lot cheaper than NZ and we found food better.

We stayed our final week in Cape Town which was fantastic, just to completely wind down. Again, no problems at all, just be sensible about where you go, but that is no different to visiting any other country. We had quite a few friends and family raise their eyebrows concerned about our safety, but we had a wonderful time, no issues and felt perfectly safe. We’d go back in a heartbeat!

[Kiwiscoot]

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

I would suggest you do only the South Island in the 3 weeks you have as you'll do it justice then. I live here so I could put you on some great riding and point you to some excellent sites for info.

[msjesscat]

New Zealand is awesome! The South Island has some of the best adventure riding in the country, it is absolutely epic. You can get comprehensive routes and info here www.remotemoto.com or just join the NZAR groups on facebook and chat to some kiwis. Always keen to help out.

[yodagoat]

Go for it. I visited New Zealand in February a few years back. Absolutely amazing country to visit. I'd get you bike sorted sooner than later if you're hiring one.
Here's a write up from what we done on the bike.

http://yodagoat.blogspot.com/2015/07/ne ... south.html


Cheers.


Mike

[chrisjk]

Surprised no-one mentioned S.America.

[hplp]

Another option Id consider would be southern Australia (Tasmania and Victoria).

H