New Zealand - South Island

Today is preparation day. We will meet in Christchurch, transfer across town to collect the bikes. Returning to the hotel ready for the 1st night welcome meal and a few drinks in beautiful central Christchurch.

Ride out day to the beautiful French settlement of Akaroa, have lunch, enjoy a 2 hour dolphin and wildlife cruise if you choose (around £56 each) In the afternoon we return to Christchurch via the stunning summit road down into Governors Bay, Lyttleton Harbour and Sumner Beach.

We start the ride up the stunning East Coast today stopping in Amberley for a good old NZ pie and coffee for breakfast. Next its up thru Hurunui Mouth Reserve, somewhere we know very well as the family has a holiday bach here. The Cathedral Cliffs are the next stop before dropping down to Gore Bay. Lunch is taken in Cheviot, then its down to the coast at Goose Bay and up to Kaikoura for a two night stay.

Day off in Kaikoura where you can choose to enjoy a whale watching cruise in the morning and zip lining fun in the afternoon or maybe just enjoy the pleasure of this wonderful old coastal town.

Today we start riding north up the stunning East Coast. North up through Blenheim to the port town of Picton for lunch in the centre of town. After lunch we ride some technical twistys through Whenuanui and Ngakuta Bays making our way West to Nelson in the Tasman Bay. Nelson is well known for local arts and crafts and Art Galleries and was established by British Settlers in 1841.

We mainly head South West today passing the Kahurangi National Park, riding the upper and lower Buller Gorge Road to Charleston on the West Coast. From here its the West Coast Highway for the next 50 miles of stunning smooth twisty coast road with beautiful views around every turn. We stop to visit the amazing Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, then roll down to Greymouth for the night.

We head East inland towards Christchurch today along the famous Arthurs Pass, a 240km stretch of road that will take us through the Southern Alps, past stunning rivers and through some quirky towns. From here we follow the Inland Scenic Route through Mount Hutt to Geraldine and onto the breath-taking Lake Tekapo, (possibly stopping in Farlie for the best pies on the whole Island) for the night. You have plenty to keep you entertained this evening with such options as Star Gazing, Hot Pools, stroll around the lake, or just wining and dining in the local restaurants.

We start the day riding up the West shore of Lake Pukaki all the way up to Mount Cook. At 3754m, many groups of climbers train on Mount Cook before attempting to reach the summitt of Everest. Refreshments will be taken in the shadows and a visit to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre is recommended.

We ride to Wanaka which is just one cool place to visit. Next its a stunning ride to Arrowtown which is one of the most picturesque settlements in New Zealand. We finish this amazing day in Queenstown, the adrenaline junkie capital of New Zealand.

A day to explore the delights of Queenstown. The stunning views from the Gondola ride, Bungee Jumping off Kawarau Gore Suspension Bridge, or jet boating on the Shotover River, which is a personal favourite, all washed down with the famous FergBurger afterwards.

We spend half the day riding the shores of Lake Wakatipu, first heading North up to Glenorchy before returning to Queenstown, down through Wye Creek and riding the devils staircase and into Te Anau for our two night stay.

Today we ride up the East Shoreline of Lake Te Anau into the Fiordland national Park up to the Milford Sound Visitor Terminal to catch our lunchtime Waterfalls, Wildlife and Rainforest Cruise. A stunning 2 hour cruise around the sound. Once back on dry land we retrace our stunning morning ride back to our Lakefront Hotel in Te Anau.

Its Burt Munro Day today as we ride down to Invercargill where we will visit E. Hayes + Son Store which is a hardware store that has Burts bike on show. We will also visit the classic Motorcycle Mecca around the corner which has a large display of bikes and racing cars. Once out of town we ride the Catlins around the south coast and up towards Dunedin.

After a great night in our city centre hotel we are doing a Coast to Coast run today. East to West. Lots of waterside riding Cromwell Gorge up to Cromwell for lunch and then the East shoreline of the Clutha River, the West shoreline of lake Hawea, through the neck to ride the East of Lake Wanaka before joining up with the Haast River, which we ride all the way to the river mouth and the West Coast on the Tasman Sea.

Today we ride the West Coast Road North, passing 6 lakes, 2 National Parks, 6 scenic parks and 2 Glaciers (Fox and Frans Josef - you can book a helicopter ride with Alpine landing if you choose). All this beauty with the Tasman Sea on your left the whole day giving fantastic coastal views around every corner.

We return to Christchurch by riding Coast to Coast once again. This time its the amazing Arthurs Pass. We start the day heading North up the West Coast Road to Kumara Junction before following the Taramakau River inland then picking up the Otira River south and onto Arthurs Pass, Lake Pearson and the Torlesse Tussock Lands Park and the South shoreline of the Waimakariri River into Christchurch. We will drop the bikes off at the hire company and back to our last night in Christchurch and our final farewell meal.