I live in Christchurch and have toured around all of NZ so I am happy to help you out with information or a place to stay and organize when you get here or leave. Just message when your closer to the time for dates etc

Thanks Ollie bier

shipping your own Motorcycle?
 

Hello
I've shipped my motorcycle with Daniel who is specialized in shipping peoples own motorcycles between the UK and New Zealand.
His website can be found if searching for "New Zealand motorcycle adventures".
He provides a excellent service that is so easy taking your own motorcycle and all your gear together with other peoples.
Highly recommend checking out his website for additional information too.
I are certainly looking at using his service again.

I'm gonna pipe in here with a shameless plug for motorent.nz, who gave me a really good experience at a fair price - I ended up paying 700 euros for eight days on a CB500X and all the gear other than my own gloves. Nice people, too.

Oh, and make the time to have a beer with Pheonix/Elaine, she's great. :D

I did it in April and the weather was iffy - I'm from North Europe and my normal holiday riding environment is arctic Norway, so I could deal with it no problem, but I did end up missing my rainsuit while riding from Milford Sound to Invercargill through the worst typhoon NZ'd seen since 1968!

Decent-quality hostels are available in most places, camping seems easy too. Nothing will be cheap even by European standards, however.

Just a thought - Im in south-America right now and I have used Airbnb a lot here. It works like a charm and I can usually get a decent room for half of the price of a privat room in a hostel. And less noise (drunken backpackers arriving after a night out) and I have met some wonderful people (hosts) a really great experience. How about Airbnb on New Zealand - is it popular and widespread?

Yes air bnb is very available and popular everywhere in NZ

Hi, just catching up on your questions...

The main time to avoid is the school holiday period between Xmas & early Feb. Many businesses close down for 2-4 weeks so camp grounds & touristy areas can be heaving, so unless you book in advance, you will struggle to find an available cabin on the day.

February/March is a much better time to visit. Those months are still warm & sunny, but accommodation will be easier to find, especially during the week (weekends may still be busy as Kiwi's love the outdoors).

November & April can have good weather but it varies, just like the UK! :)
I'm writing this in the middle of winter yet yesterday was t.shirt weather & today is bitterly cold wind and lashing rain.
Summer can be just as weird :cool4:

Hi,
Have to agree with Phoenix. Both times I have ridden a motorcycle in in NZ have been in Feb-March by design. School holidays finish in the first week in Feb and weather is generally good Feb/March. Keep in mind there are many events - national rowing competition; river festivals etc that can occur in Feb/Mar but this is not as much a problem as trying to get suitable accommodation when all the parents and school children are travelling. Many types of accommodation available in NZ. Great country for motorcycling.

Mal

Re South Island accomodation/ touring
 

Hi all , we are heading over from australia to the Greymouth street races , we are hiring some bikes out of Christchurch. For a 12 day quick trip of the South Island including a look at greymouth . Have done some research, was after any local knowledge or must see things . Was thinking of backpacker private room,airbnb / pub room accommodation. Have some experience with the Island having lived in Queenstown for a snow season, a few years ago now. Travelled the west coast down to Stuart island, did the Milford sound walk . Was younger then ....
Cheers

Sounds like you've seen most of the west coast, did you do any touring when living in Queenstown? Are you looking for ideas of roads to ride, places to see or walk? Does the hire company permit you to ride a gravel or dirt road? There's some great back roads in Central Otago :thumbup1:

No not much , yes more so roads to ride ,no walking this trip.. I have not looked into remote moto site yet. Have no east coast ideas yet, or central. The hire company mentioned no dirt then said gazetted roads only, that are gravel. Not quite certain of that yet , am guessing insurance compliance issues. Cheers

Yep, I think most hire companies for cars & bikes are fairly strict.

I would suggest registering with RemoteMoto, it's a great source of information & has been extensively updated :mchappy:

The road from Queenstown to Glenorchy is fab & the road to Paradise is fun. It turns to gravel with a few fords that most tourists stay clear of.

Skipper's Canyon is doable on most bikes. But it is classed as a 4x4 track and gets a bad press due to the high drops & narrow track. Hard to keep your eyes on the trail with the amazing views. Look for on-coming vans that transport tourists to the river.

Take your bikes on the Earnslaw steam boat then ride to Mavora Lakes :thumbup1:

Ride over Cardrona pass & Lindis pass to Twizel then onto Mt Cook village. Return to Lake Tekapo & select one of the trails that head south or keep on the SH8.

If you ride off-piste, good weather may reduce the risk of a slide and impede your insurance :rain:

oh how I miss the South Island :( doh :blushing:

Ok , thanks for the info . Yes it is a beautiful place .
Cheers

Hi Rachel - just wondering if you've made it to NZ yet? I see you've already had some great advice so throwing in my 2c:
1 - have a look at the Top10 range of campgrounds, they're over 45 of them throughout NZ and have all sorts of accommodation options plus they're in some fantastic locations.
2 - Mar/April/May is one of my favorite times for riding here, the roads are much quieter, the weather very settled - you may get a cold night but then a beautiful sunny day. Jan can actually be too hot especially if you're a ATGATT type of rider.
3 - I've had guests caught out trying to buy fuel at a 24hr pump but unable to do so as their card is 'sign only' ie no PIN number, something to watch out for.
4 - Shout out or pm me if you need any advice, happy to help out.
5 - Nigel's hut is one of the nicest places I've ever stayed :-)

+1 for Nigels hut...:thumbup1: