Back on those New Zealand roads

[Old Steve]

I rode up north out of the city this morning, attended to my business, and turned around to ride home.  Because I had an appointment up there, I'd ridden up on the motorway.  But coming home I had the time to make the choice between the motorway straight home or a back road around the top of the harbour.  The long way home won the day.

WOW!  After nearly three years in tropical Queensland with it's largely flat roads, straights between long corridors of sugar cane, and well built, large, even radius curves, what a pleasure it was to ride on a normal Kiwi road again.  Up and down, into and out of valleys, corner after corner (even some decreasing radius corners where you have to increase the counter steering part way through the curve to tighten up the turn), and through a couple of lovely villages with cafes which look like they'll be well worth a later visit in their own right.

What a treat, what an amazing buzz that was.  I think we Kiwis take what we've got for granted.  I'm looking forward to discovering all the other out of the way roads in the area.  You guys and girls just have to take heed of what Australian Road Rider magazine said late last year, "If you only ride one foreign country in your life, make it New Zealand.  If you ride two, make them the North Island and South Island."  Take your next holiday on two wheels in New Zealand.

[Gadget]

I want to ride Opotiki to Gisbourne and then Gisbourne to. Napier, then back up to Taupo.

[Old Steve]

I want to ride Opotiki to Gisborne and then Gisborne to. Napier, then back up to Taupo.

That'd be a fantastic ride, best would be to start in Tauranga (Tauranga is about 200 km SE from Auckland), cut across to Rotorua, turn east and ride passed the lakes to Whakatane, over the hill to Opotiki (that's about 185 km).  Then through the Waioeka Gorge to Gisborne (another 150 km).  Gisborne to Napier is another 190 km, and that's 425 km and would be a big days ride in New Zealand.  So Napier would be a good overnight stop.

From Napier to Taupo is 140 km, climbing away from sea level over the first half of the trip and then across a bit of rather flat volcanic plateau before dropping slightly down to Lake Taupo.  Then about 150 km back to Tauranga or 280 km straight back to Auckland.

From Napier you could take the "Gentle Annie" road over the Ruahine range across to Taihape on the main north/south SH 1 in the centre of the North Island.  It's only been sealed for a couple of years and I'd recommend it as a summer only trip, that's 150 km but takes about 3 1/2 hours, you're up over 3000 feet or so for a bit of the way.  Then you'd ride up SH 1 to Taupo (140 km) across the 'Desert Road" passed the 3 volcanos in the centre of the North Island and around the shores of Lake Taupo, then Taupo to Tauranga or Auckland.  Maybe a stop in Taupo overnight would be a good idea.

You could then cut across the top of Lake Taupo from Taupo through Mokai and Whakamaru and ride north following the Waikato River.

If you ever get to do this, drop me a line and I could help you with planning.  But those rides between Rotorua and Whakatane, between Opotiki and Gisborne and over the Gentle Annie are spectacular.  On most of the open roads you'd average about 80 km/hr if obeying the 100 km/hr speed limit, but it's a bit different over the Gentle Annie and you wouldn't want to plan on riding too much further after doing that leg.

[Gadget]

I drove the route Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatane, Opotiki,Gisbourne, Napier,Taupo, Rotorua, Hamilton y o Auckland on a service trip in 2005.
Really want to do it on a bike.

North to Paihia and south west to Hot water Beach and The Coromandel we did in Feb this year.

[Veebiker72]

My wife and I did most of the north island on our ST1300 , gritty weather but still fun, North cape and East cape just under 400 KS.

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