I am fortunate enough to have been able to tack a couple of weeks in New Zealand onto a business trip. I plan on arriving in Christchurch around the 25th of September or so and I have to report for duty back in Christchurch on the 12th of October. I have already looked into adventure bike rental, so far no Tigers but lots of Dakars. My hope is to rent a bike and tour for most of my time in NZ. Has anybody toured this region before and have valuable nuggets of wisdom for me; places, lodging, eats, rentals, etc.? Also is anybody interested in joining up for this adventure, it would be lots of fun to do this trip with a couple of other Tiger riders?
Clif Brown did a NZ trip not too long ago; I don't think he's on this list but he is on the Yahoo TriumphTriger list
He has some great photos of his trip too..
I did a 2 week trip afew years ago, all on the South Island. I was on a Sprint Sport, so just did paved roads. But I still have my maps, notes, ride book, and memories. Ping me off-list and I'll be happy to help.
Howdy climbandski,
So you want to ride trafficless roads aye ! If you specifically want a tiger then try Thunderbike as they have some for hire. Although they are about 1 hours flight ar 400 odd kms north from ChCh.And to be perfectly honest Nelson would be a better place to start your tour.
You've certainly picked arguably the coldest time to tour our lovely little nation. By arriving in Christchurch you have a good choice of which way to go. The norm is to check out the weather forecast and then choose which coast has the fine weather. Its only a short hop over to the other coast if needed. Do you plan on touring the north island as well ?? Either island is good tiger country ! If you would like some help in mapping out a good route contact me off line. I have just recently completed a tour off the south and am fairly knowledgable on North Island roads and places of interest. :D :D :D