 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Hey STW,
Looking at New Zealand later in the year, around November. We can get easy flights into Wellington from our local airport and just looking for some advice on getting to Rotorua.
I can obviously fly from Wellington to Rotorua, but was looking at opinions on driving and what there would be on the way. Main aim of the holiday would be riding and a little sightseeing, probably going for a week or 10 days.
Where are flying you from & where are you flying out of?
Stay in south island if you only have 10 dsys
Flying from Canberra, Australia. Only direct flights go to Wellington at the moment. Other than that I have to drive 3hrs or get another flight to Sydney. Not a major issue but the direct flights are decent price as the route just launched.
6 hour drive from Welly to Rotorua, we regularly do it on a Friday after work for the weekend. There's not all that much to see on the way to be honest, Otaki Icebreaker Store if you want some cheap tees? Otherwise stop for Kebabs in Bulls, Desert Road for sweet views of mount Ruapehu, Taupo for Huka Falls and then on to Vegas.
You could go SH2 to Napier/Hawkes Bay but a bit out of the way and personally I'm not a fan of the whole art deco thing. Vineyards are great though and easy to bike around.
Heaps of good riding in Wellington, happy to show you around. Great craft breweries too.
When we drove Rotorua to Wellington the most notable thing we did on the way was the [url= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongariro_Alpine_Crossing ]Tongariro Crossing[/url], definitely recommended but you need to be slightly lucky with the weather. Other than that there's Lake Taupo which looked nice but we didn't stay there. Would also recommend South Island in preference to the North though.
Ok. Plenty of riding in Wellington alone. Rotovegas is about 4-5 hours straight up the middle. But you'll go straight past Tongariro. Maybe come back down the east coast.
Then again, you're in Oz asking on a GB forum. Try [url= http://www.vorb.org.nz ]Vorb[/url] in stead.
Why would you pass up Tongariro?
"What did you do on your holidays?"
"Nothing much, just rode down a volcano...."
😀
Flying to roto in April, flight is cheap as bro so a no brainer for the time aspect.
Thanks for the replies, I'll check out the places mentioned and come up with a plan.
Coramandel Peninsular was very nice and the bay of ISLANDS WELLINGTON WAS GOOD RIDING AND NIGHTLIFE! bloody caps lock
Oh and from Canberra your close enough to go 3 times a year 😉 just watch the air nz sales
Why would you pass up Tongariro?"What did you do on your holidays?"
"Nothing much, just rode down a volcano...."
I wouldn't go taking bikes in to a National Park if I were you. Especially one as busy as the tongariro alpine crossing and especially one that would be considered tapu.
P.S and its the north island, not North Island. It doesn't have a name, neither does the south island.
Driving in NZ is very unlike this country, there is very little dual carriageway, let alone bypasses, and you will be lucky to average 50mph. State Highway 1 goes through all the little towns. Budget to take a lot longer than you think, and enjoy the drive. There are some great cafes along the way. Don't let your fuel get too low either, there are no services as such.