South Island New Zealand by bike.

1,548 kilometres 93 hours 54 minutes riding 11,722 metres of climbing Average speed: 16.7 km/h Looking back, those numbers tell part of the story. But not all of it. The Journey The ride took us across the full range of what New Zealand’s South Island has to offer. From the wide, open  Canterbury Plains , into the foothills and on to the high country of the  Mackenzie Basin . Over the passes —  Burke’s, Lindis, Haast and the Crown Range  — and into the lakes around Queenstown and Wānaka. Then across to the  West Coast , where the landscape changes completely. Temperate rainforest, wild coastline, waterfalls after heavy rain, and long stretches of road that feel a long way from anywhere. From there we turned inland again through river valleys and farmland, before finishing in the sheltered waters of the  Marlborough Sounds . Every day felt different. The Conditions We were lucky. Very lucky. Finishing  a week ahead of schedule  and averaging  ...

Part 1 – The Last Ride (South Island) A very exciting day. Our  final ride on the South Island , and we were joined by  two super domestiques… and their mum . Of all the towns we’ve passed through,  Havelock  is the one I’d return to first. A marina full of big, expensive boats, a small working fishing fleet, a good pub, and a 4 Square that delivers hot snacks and iced coffee pre-ride. And the scenery — exceptional.

The   weather gods returned   today. We woke to calm, overcast conditions which, in typical fashion, burnt off to leave another  warm, sunny day  — pretty much perfect for cycling. This was marked as a  “red day”  in our original itinerary. It didn’t feel like one Top of the last climb

In my eyes, one of New Zealand’s most famous exports is  Ernest Rutherford , Nobel laureate and   1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson . And today, we rode through his backyard. We passed his  first school in Foxhill , his  birthplace at Brightwater , and rolled along  Rutherford Road in Nelson . In the coming days we’ll also head toward  Havelock , where his father once ran a flax mill. Not a bad bit of history to ride through.

The rain arrived right on schedule at   6 am   and stuck around until about   1 pm . At breakfast in Murchison there were a few cyclists debating whether to ride or sit the day out. We didn’t have that luxury.

We rolled out into a   thick fog , which probably wasn’t ideal, but with decent front and rear lights set to daylight mode, we felt reasonably visible.

We’ve now booked our flights home for early next week — about   a week ahead of schedule . After mapping out the remaining days, it feels like we’ve moved into the final phase of the trip. Just a matter of getting the kilometres done, with the added bonus of a couple of spare days to  visit friends and sample a bit of Marlborough wine . Not a bad way to finish.

The last time we did a trip like this back in Australia, we ended up with a write-up in the local paper. Over here, we barely raise an eyebrow. Cyclists are everywhere — all ages, all types of bikes, and from all over the world.

A slower start this morning — legs feeling the last few days — but still on the road by   8 am . Cool, clear and calm, although the  wind-sculpted trees along the road  suggest that’s not always the case. Looks like the kind of place where it can  blow the dog off a chain  when it gets going.

After a couple of weeks on the road — unshaven, hair getting longer — we’re now well and truly into the  touring groove . No road too long. No hill too steep. We’ve also settled into a rhythm: 6 hours riding, 6 hours on the peripherals (eating, drinking, charging devices), and 12 hours sleeping. It seems to work.

A warm night in the tent and we woke to a   dark, overcast morning . True to West Coast form, the cloud eventually burnt off and it turned into another   magnificent autumn day

We’re learning that a   “sunny” forecast on the West Coast   is a relative term. It generally means rain overnight, clearing around lunchtime — which is exactly what we got, along with a slightly delayed start thanks to some very tempting café food. Somewhere along this stretch we officially left the  South Pacific  behind and picked up the  Tasman Sea  — although we didn’t actually see it until about  18 km down the road . The first section runs between  coastal dunes on the left and low forest on the right . Some of the trees are quite sculpted, probably from the prevailing  south-westerly winds  — which, conveniently, is also our direction of travel. This was also the first proper  flat riding  we’ve seen since the Canterbury Plains. We made good time early, averaging over  22 km/h  before stopping at  Ship Creek . Beautiful spot — driftwood scattered across the beach, and not much else apart from the odd bi...

The forecast of   50 mm of overnight rain   turned out to be spot on. ‘Heavy rain and wind hammered the campsite through the night, leaving everything thoroughly soaked. Fortunately, the same forecast suggested the rain would ease around  8 am , and for once the weather gods delivered. It cleared just enough for us to pack up camp and get moving. We didn’t hang around. The  midges were fierce , which provided plenty of motivation to get on the bikes as quickly as possible.

Leaving  Wānaka , we detoured onto  State Highway 6 via Albert Town , following the Clutha River. There’s a large free camp there which, in hindsight, might have been worth exploring a bit more. Instead, after a quick  cappuccino and toastie , we pushed on. The road took us south along the western side of  Lake Hāwea  for about 25 kilometres, with a fair bit of up and down along the way. This whole area brought back memories of  Cliffy Just and our primary school geography lessons  — classic  U-shaped valleys carved by glaciers . It’s easy to see it here. Back in the day, both  Lakes Hāwea and Wānaka were buried under ice to depths of around 4,000 feet . After following the lake, we crossed a narrow neck of land which brought us back onto the eastern side of  Lake Wānaka . That small change in direction also brought a  15-knot headwind straight onto our noses . The scenery was still fantastic, which helped. After a lunch stop in the...

Today’s ride took us from   Arrowtown to Wānaka , crossing the famous   Crown Range Road . Distance-wise it wasn’t a huge day —  56 km with about 726 metres of climbing  — but the reputation of the road had been playing on our minds for a while. We’ve heard plenty of stories about the Crown Range, and very few of them were encouraging. So we made a sensible decision. We hired a  Sherpa . Our Sherpa came in the form of  Wanaka Bike Transfers , who kindly carried our bags up the mountain. It was the right call. We would have got up there eventually with full loads, but there might have been  tears and possibly a hissy fit  along the way — and we certainly wouldn’t have been in good shape at the top. The climb itself is impressive. It starts with about  half a dozen switchbacks at 10–12% , which felt very  Alpe d’Huez–like , although we were climbing at a slightly more modest  5 km/h rather than the 20 km/h the professionals manage . S...

  Today was a   rest day , so we caught the bus into   Queenstown   for a look around. Queenstown is obviously a spectacular natural setting, though I suspect it was even more beautiful once upon a time before tourism arrived in full force. These days it feels like  New Zealand tourism in overdrive . Enough said.

Today’s ride from   Lake Dunstan to Arrowtown   was a shorter one by recent standards —   65 km with about 614 metres of climbing   — and it turned out to be a very enjoyable day on the bikes. Now that we’re firmly in  rugby heartland , we even managed to take in a local match this evening at the field next to our campground in Arrowtown. The ride itself broke naturally into  three distinct phases

The rain forecast overnight never arrived, which meant packing up a   dry campsite   in the morning — always a good start to the day. We’re gradually getting more organised each morning and are managing to get on the road earlier as the routine settles in. At  Omarama  there were a number of  “credit card cyclists”  staying in the cabins at the caravan park. These are the smart ones who travel light and stay in proper accommodation each night.

I must have been wearing my lucky cycling shorts this morning because     today was one out of the box. Largely flat, postcard views and a “wee” tailwind. It saw us leave Lake Tekapo, travel through Twizel and on to Omarama. For the first section we hopped aboard the Alps to Ocean cycling/walking trail which runs from Mt Cook to Oamaru on the coast. This section    takes advantage of a hydro canal that runs between Tekapo A Power Station on the outlet of the lake, and Tekapo B Power Station on lake Pukaki. 26 k’s of no cars, trucks or motorhomes! With a slight downward grade, the canal to one side and views off to Mount Cook. What a good way to spend the morning. Where the trail meets the main road to Twizel, there is an uninterrupted water view towards Mt Cook. This is where you see the NZ tourism industry in action. Retirees with rented motorhomes as far as the eye can see. We did meet a local lad from Christchurch who was on a cross country walk. He might hav...

Today was the   longest day of the trip so far . We rolled out of  Geraldine  into a cold, overcast morning, but the skies were clear and — most importantly — there was almost  no wind . The road heads inland here and the hills begin in earnest. The Canterbury farmland continues for a while, with plenty of dairy operations, but the landscape slowly starts to lift toward the high country.

After skirting the Mt Hutt snowfields and spending a bit of time in the 22 front ring yesterday, back to more familiar South Australian conditions today…..except for the wet roads, overcast sky and shortage of degrees Celsius. The inland route 72 has taken us back into the heart of the Canterbury Plains, onto straight roads and into the 42 chain ring…..could do with a few more teeth! Cow paddocks, centre pivot sprinklers, and a few things I’d never seen growing before. Corn I think.

Beef brisket and cheese pie. A good pie makes everything seem better The rain arrived around   4 am   and stayed with us until close to lunchtime. Packing up a campsite in the rain is not one of the great joys of bike touring, but by about  8:30 am  we were rolling again. The first stop was a short ride into  Sheffield , home of the famous pie shop. Breakfast was a  beef brisket and cheese pie , which can only be described as world-class tucker. A good pie makes everything seem better. From Sheffield we continued along  Inland Scenic Route 72 , which gradually moves you away from the Canterbury Plains and into more undulating foothill country. The road runs right along the edge of the ranges, and the riding reflects it — rolling terrain with the occasional sharp climb thrown in. The  granny gear  made its first appearance of the trip today. The highlight of the day was the long freewheel down into  Rakaia Gorge . Even in the mist and dr...

Right. Let’s ride. Bikes rebuilt, bags strapped on, and a quick test roll confirmed two important things. 1. Everything seemed to work. 2. These bikes were now a lot heavier than I remember. Leaving Christchurch  was always going to be the easy part. Actually leaving on time proved a little harder. We finally rolled out of  Ashley a bit after 1pm , much later than planned, after dealing with some IT issues that needed sorting before we headed into the sticks. Not even one day in and the itinerary has already been thrown out the window.

Now that the bikes have arrived in one piece and the airport fun is behind us, it’s time to explain the plan. Over the next few weeks we’ll be riding roughly  1,600 kilometres across New Zealand’s South Island , starting in Christchurch and finishing in Picton . From there we’ll catch the ferry across Cook Strait to Wellington before heading home. The young apprentices, give them a wrench and a pair of pliers and kiwi kids could build anything .