New Zealand – South Island

I spent a month in the South Island of New Zealand in January and February 2023. I stayed on the eastern side of the mountains and linked up some existing trails, quiet roads and bike routes. I intended to visit the north island as well, but as large areas had been badly affected by flood and cyclone Gabrielle, I decided to cut the trip short and fly home from Wellington. This trip was really a filler before I head to Europe in March / April, but I’d like to return in the future and ride some of the other trails especially on west coast and south of Queenstown.

People were super friendly the whole way and apart from the drivers on the few busy roads I took, it was a relaxed and fun trip. The scenery was quite stunning in parts, sometimes dry and desolate, but always interesting. It seemed like the place was overrun with tourists and there were more bike tourists and bikepackers than I had seen for a long time. Part of this is down to the routes that the Kennett Brothers have published. Often it seemed like these routes were mandatory – I often received strange looks when I explained that I wasn’t following any particular route