Going to NZ for 6 weeks in the new year as part of a long travelling trip. Have done a bit of research on the riding but would rather try and organise something before i go?
Any experiences of organised riding holidays over there or advice on bike hire and the best places to ride please!
Cant wait to get away!
cheers
len

I spent a couple of months out there and crammed in some fantastic riding. Check out the Kennet Brothers' NZ MTB Guide book as a starting point. It is a fantastic MTBer bible (in fact it's a real shame there is no equivalent for the UK). The book has every ride worth a look in the whole of NZ. You will require more detail but it is a fantastic starting point.

The country has a great mix of man made trails and some truly fantastic epics… A couple that I still remember: The Port Hills man made trails around Christchurch are fantastis for being rideable out of a city. The "bridge to nowhere" ride was also fantastic (it ended in a jet boat trip). I'm pretty sure some of the posters on here are also from that neck of the woods.

From memory there is a website Vorb which is the closest to STW.

Enjoy

I was there with my family for 6 weeks 1 1/2 years ago. Not enough riding as it was more of a family thing, but Roturua was absolutely stunning. Did one day with a shuttle (recommended) and one day mucking around the lower trails. Best riding ever. I also did a day near Auckland in some resort called wood something (I recollect). Great trails there toi, but I was still badly jetlagged from my flight (2'nd day) and ended up in ER (cost less then 50€ for a doctors check, x-RAY and strong painkillers!).

NZ locals don't know how spoilt they are. Trails where so smooth I had a blast on a 100mm hard tail despite everyone else riding 5-6" bikes (don't know what they use the suspension for, only rouhh track I found was the DH WC run in Roturua). Maybe the south island is different?

I hope I get to do more biking on my next visit (will wait for the kids to grow a bit).

Thanks guys,when i was there about six years ago i hired a hardtail for the day in taupo and did some riding in the woods nearby. That pretty much got me hooked on riding and made me get into it back in the uk.
I was considering buying a reasonable second hand bike and the basics when i get there to try and save money on bike hire etc but im not really too sure yet. I wont arrive till sixth of jan so plenty of time to prepare,
will def get a copy of that book though.

i did a few rides with these guy's http://www.vertigobikes.co.nz/ including a heli bike which was amazing !

have fun

nicks

north island or south island? upper middle or bottom of island?

Cab't help with MTBing but we spent four months on both Islands and you WILL have an amazing time there!!

On North Island the best riding spots are:
Woodhill (near Auckland)
Rotorua
Craters of the Moon (Taupo)
42 Traverse
and Wellington (my personal fav but I live there so I'm biased)

South Island

Queen Charlotte track (closed for the peak season in summer)
Nelson area
Craigieburn (though this is much better in winter for skiing)
Plenty of stuff around Christchurch
Wanaka/Queenstown even though the chairlift uplift has shut at Coronet Peak.

The Kennet Bros book is a good place to start, also have a look at http://www.tracks.org.nz and http://www.vorb.org.nz

If you want to hire a bike of half decent quality you'll struggle outside of Rotorua, Welly, Chch and Queenstown. I think there is a place in the Abel Tasman area that has good bikes and offers a package of a couple of days riding and accommodation. Loads of backpackers type places hire out some rather suspect old bikes which are fine for a gentle pootle along some flat trails but I wouldn't fancy taking them anywhere remote or technical for the most part.

I've heard good things about Fat Tyre Bikes in Queenstown. Gregg who runs it is a well experienced biker and will tailor trips dependent on ability.

I'm off to NZ for a month in December for my honeymoon so thanks for this thread as it looks v. helpful. Our very vague plan riding wise was to try and do one day each in Rotorua and Queenstown (heli-biking maybe?) and do the Queen Charlotte track (two thirds of if seems to be open for biking in December).

Couple of random questions if anyone can help;
– Do bikes in NZ have brake levers the 'wrong' way round?
– We are in Queenstown probably 23rd-26th Dec, do you reckon bike hire/tour places will generally be open Christmas Eve/Boxing Day?

– Do bikes in NZ have brake levers the 'wrong' way round?

Generally, yes (if my kiwi mates here are anything to go by).

queenstown is the best place to hire decent quality bikes in the South Island, and yes, I reckon they'll be open xmas eve / boxing day, as it's a mega busy period for the town.

i didn't do loads of riding whilst i was out there, but a bit around QT, including the chairlift at Coronet Peak. Definitely worth a look. and there are good DH trails and a FR/jump park underneath the gondola right in the town centre.

i did loads of hiking & walking around Glenorchy and Wanaka and there's tons of decent trails.

i'll be going back at some point specifically to ride my bike (was for snowboarding last time)

– Do bikes in NZ have brake levers the 'wrong' way round?

Yes. You either get used to it (I found I did pretty quick, there are only so many times that you can pull the wrong brake lever at 40mph and not learn), or take a set of allen keys with you and swap em over.

Joe

Yes. You either get used to it (I found I did pretty quick, there are only so many times that you can pull the wrong brake lever at 40mph and not learn), or take a set of allen keys with you and swap em over.

im off to north island end of december for a few weeks, i was thinking about taking my bike with me, im definately doing this now!

ive been looking at various trails in rotorua to do, id be happy iff i could do one run on the Split Endz trail, some of the youtube vids of it look brilliant!

null Around the central north island check out Multi Day Adventures – we did a hire bike and ride day with them last year and were great. They were really cool at customising the day to what we wanted and will guide all over Rotorua and Central Plateau. They also do kayak trips etc if you want to mix it up a bit.

The trails near Rotorua are way marked and you can ride there from town but I reckon if you only have a few days in a plce why waste it getting lost!

i could do one run on the Split Endz trail,

Great trail. I recommend taking the shuttle bus up, you can reach it easily from there (take a trail map with you). You can easily get about 3 hours or more riding down from there, and most trails where fairly easy. Lot's of smooth rolling terrain with one trail the locals considered to be "rocky and rooty" but to me was still pretty smooth.

thanks for all the info people, have already sent a request for a five day trip with fat tyres, very excited 🙂

MOst of what has been said I;'d agreee with
On North Island the best riding spots are:
Woodhill (near Auckland)
Rotorua
Craters of the Moon (Taupo)
42 Traverse
Tree Trunk Gorge
and Wellington region – Makara Peak in Wgtn city, Wainuiomata has a good trail system too and also the ridge track through Mt Lowry and down Tree Frn gully into Wainui is good natural legal stuff

South Island

Queen Charlotte track (Only the Ship Cove/Punga section is closed for the peak season in summer – best bit to ride is Anakiwa/Mistletoe out and back, do it v early or on dusk – its awesome)
Wakamarina Track between Onamalutu (jst out of Blenheim through to canvastown) brilliant singletrack adventure, guy in havelock will shuttle you back to your vehicle, onamalutu great to camp at.As is pelorus bridge watch for sandflys tho.
Golden Bay area – Kill Devil a fave of mine
Wanaka/Queenstown even though the chairlift uplift has shut at Coronet Peak. I think SnowFarm is still open ? Lots of great natural stuff, roaring meg pack track being one.

The Kennet Bros book is a good place to start, also have a look at http://www.tracks.org.nz and http://www.vorb.org.nz

Have fun out here, be safe

Kenny

I forgot to say (but reading Pomona's post reminded me). The Queen Charlotte Track was a great XC ride. If it is open (I completed it at Easter) it was one of the best multi day trips I've completed (2 days). Water taxis take your bags to your overnight stops so you can travel light. I stayed in a place that had a jacuzi/kayaks etc and was able to swim in the sea at the end of the ride.

You are a very lucky enjoy. I missed the heli bike season by the time I arrived in Queenstown (they laughed at me and explained it was now heli skiing season). I tried to complete all the Kennet Brothers 4 or 5 star rides (can't remember the precise detail as I don't have it to hand right now)

IMO The Bridge to Nowhere ride was more enjoyable than the 42 Traverse. Truly out in the sticks and requiring a fair bit of logistic arrangements.

Rotorua was brilliant too but I prefer Makara Peak on the outskirts of Wellington.

The trail centres are fantastic but I resckon NZ really excels at wilderness rides. I qualify this this statement by explaining that I didn't get to experience the gravity thrills of Queenstown. there was talk that the Abel tasman track was going to be opened to MTBers. So check out the t'internet.

Kiwis are very keen on their events too so check out the Vorb website for further details. Are you in NZ in Feb? Speights Coast to Coast would be awesome but there will be loads more events going on.

Enjoy

Plenty of good trails. Most are covered by the Kennett Bros bible, but as mentioned above NZ really excels at the wilderness riding. Trail center type riding you can get anywhere in the world, but the getting out to explore the old hand built mining tracks and other trails that go into the mountains is where it is at.

Have a look at this thread over on Vorb
http://www.vorb.org.nz/top-mtb-rides-t104171.html?hilit=top%20ten

If you wanted you could organise it a bit like these two did. Ask for locals to show you the best trails in each region. They had a great time!!
http://www.vorb.org.nz/best-singletracks-wanted-two-bavarian-riders-t50464.html#p1078296

For some photos + trail descriptions have a look at my blog
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/nydia-bay-boxing-day/
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/last-of-the-summer-mountain-biking/
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/awesome-winter-curd-biking-mission/
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/double-ridge-line-sans-heli/
http://mountainbikingzane.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/3-day-biking-weekend-croesus/

Oh and we generally run our brakes the same as you lot. Hire bikes might be occasionally set up the other way around for the tourists from Europe/America