10 Day Southern Road Cycle Tour |
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10 days South Island Road Cycle Tour - Bluff to Christchurch |
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Highlights: This New Zealand Cycle Tour takes us from the southern most point of the South Island to the northern end via the scenic West Coast. We enjoy some of the best road cycling to be had in New Zealand on a tour designed for the more serious cyclist. Fully supported and guided, we cover the entire distance from hotel door to hotel door on our bikes. As we travel North we take in the many sights and activities that make New Zealand one of the world's most popular cycling destinations. While the tour is designed for the more serious cyclist (100km+ per day), we also welcome participants who prefer 60 - 100 kms cycling per day. "Dave made everything so easy and hassle-free. Scenery and topography breathtakingly spectacular. Rides challenging, yet extremely enjoyable." -- Joe Katz Day 1: Bluff (Arrival Day) We fly into the southern most domestic airport of Invercargill where we meet our guide for the first time. We board our support vehicle and drive further south to the small Port Town of Bluff, where we check into our accommodation. After assembling our bikes, we have time to relax before dinner, when we get the chance to taste the local delicacies, including those famous Bluff Oysters. Meals: none Day 2: Bluff to Gore Today is our first day's riding. We have a leisurely 96kms ahead of us which will test our bike setup and allow us to cycle any of the dreaded jetlag out of our bodies. The route winds its way through undulating farmland and takes us in a northerly direction to our destination of Gore. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Cycling: Bluff to Gore - 96km Day 3: Gore to Clyde (or Alexandra) After yesterday's warm-up day we ‘up the pace' as this is one of our three 140km days. We notice how dramatically the scenery changes from the green Southland pastures to the dry & barren hills of Central Otago. As we ride beside the Blue Mountains and the Old Man Range we pass gold mining areas and Hydroelectricity stations. The riding today is mostly undulating with some steeper climbs to test the legs as we approach the small farm servicing town of Alexandra, located on the banks of the Clutha river. Then it is just a 10km ‘warmdown' to our accommodation for the night, located right below the Clyde Dam. (Note: some tours may overnight at Alexandra instead of Clyde) Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Cycling: Gore to Clyde - 150km (or 140km to Alexandra) Day 4: Alexandra to Queenstown With our first long day behind us, we now have an easier, flatter day riding alongside Lake Dunstan and the Kawarau Gorge into Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand. There are no major climbs today, but instead, plenty of distractions tempting us to stop along the way. For those who suffer from cramps, why not straighten out the legs with a bungy jump as we pass AJ Hacket's famous first location. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Cycling: Clyde to Queenstown - 84km Day 5: Queenstown (Rest day) Today is a rest day, having already completed 330km of our tour with plenty more to come. There are many exciting things to do in Queenstown, including a fly-cruise-fly package into Fiordland National Park and the famous Milford Sound. For the more adventurous there is bungy jumping, white water rafting, jet boating, mountain biking and many other options. If you just wish to relax, a massage and afternoon cruise on the TSS Earnslaw is a great option. Meals: Breakfast Day 6: Queenstown to Wanaka After a day's rest our legs will be ready for the most challenging climb on our tour, the Crown Range. The ride is fairly easy for the first few kms to the historic gold mining town of Arrowtown, with only one real climb. But then we have a hard 3km up steep hairpins until we reach a plateau for another 5km followed by a lung wrenching, leg burning additional 3.5km to the summit of the highest highway in New Zealand at 1080m. From here its all ‘plain sailing' as we follow the Cardrona River down the valley to Lake Wanaka where we replenish ourselves with the local cuisine and vino in this quaint lakeside town. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Cycling: Queenstown to Wanaka - 77km Day 7: Wanaka to Haast Today we have a longer ride, across the Southern Alps and down into the West Coast. As we travel from East to West we notice a dramatic change in the scenery. The dry, arid landscapes of Central Otago are left far behind as we travel through the dense rainforest to the Coast. We ride up over the Haast Pass and from there, follow the Haast River from its inception to where it meets the Tasman Sea. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Cycling: Wanaka to Haast - 145km Day 8: Haast to Franz Josef Today we follow the coastline North, initially flat for the first 35kms after which we climb and descend until we pass Lake Paringa. A nice flat section until just before Fox Glacier at 120km lets us recover, but from there it's three steep climbs and descents for an additional 22kms to Franz Josef Glacier. The rugged coastal scenery and dense rainforest make today's ride one of the more spectacular on the tour but it's hard to pick a favourite. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Cycling: Haast to Franz Josef - 142km Day 9: Franz Josef - Christchurch After a hard day yesterday, we have a relatively flat to slightly undulating ride this morning as far as Hari Hari. Here we board the tour vehicle and drive to Greymouth where we meet the TranzAlpine train for this scenic journey to Christchurch. On arrival (approx 6pm) we are transferred our Tour Hotel. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Cycling: Franz Josef to Hari Hari- 63km Day 10: Christchurch - Departure Day You are free to leave the tour at any time today. An airport transfer will be provided between 7am and 3.30pm departing the Hotel. Meals: Breakfast Total distance cycled = 760km Back to Top |
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