New Zealand (South and North Island, 2400km)

From the huge mountains, fjords, lakes, glaciers and empty spaces in the South Island to the beaches, volcanoes, hot springs and rolling hills of the North. New Zealand really does have it all for cycling. It is empty enough to wild camp but has enough facilities to only have to carry a couple of days of food. and there are loads of fantastic walks for when you want a break from the bike.

After the campsite we parted ways, and I set off towards Milford Sound. The ride was pleasant if a little bleak, there was basically nothing between Mossburn and Te Anau apart from a few hills. I camped by the shores of Lake Te Anau and the next day hitchhiked 90km with a Maori guy and his son to the departure point at Milford Sound. They were also wanting to get the tourist ferry and I ended up spending the rest of the day with them. The sound was seriously impressive, carved by glaciers in the ice age, it is 15km in length and surrounded by high peaks and waterfalls. 

After the sound it was back on the road, this time towards Invercargill. Barren rolling hills until Mossburn and then flat farmland towards Invercargill. I will admit that I didn't think much of Invercargill, it was actually a little depressing, but I stayed the night with a couch surfing family and it was nice to be in an actual town for an evening. 

The next week was probably amongst my favourite of cycling in New Zealand. From Invercargill I headed to the Catlins, then towards Milton to stay with a couple of nights with awesome couch surfing hosts. I then travelled through Central Otago, following the Clutha River, until arriving back on the west coast at Wanaka.

What made the cycling great was the variety of landscapes. From the scenic coastline and temperate rainforest in the Catlins, to the desert like environment around Alexandra and the huge man-made lakes at Roxburgh, Clyde and Cromwell. I also saw my first ever penguin close to Curio bay, even if it was the only species of penguin to choose to live alone. Another highlight was visiting 'The Lost Gypsy Caravan' in Papatowai in the Catlins, this is a bus filled with organic curios. The guy who lives there collects objects from the beach and then painstakingly puts them together to make moveable objects. It was amazing and mental at the same time.  

Wanaka itself was a fab town and I based myself at a cheap campsite ($5 a night) in Luggate for a few nights to explore the area. I made a some friends at the campsite and we spent a couple of days together climbing Roys Peak and visiting Rob Roy Glacier. Then it was a hard stretch of big climbs over towards the wet and windy west coast. Here there was an abundance of fantastic places to visit;  including the Copeland Track, Welcome Flat Hot Pools and Fox Glacier. 

Upon reaching the town of Greymouth on the west coast, I headed inland again, towards Reefton, St Arnaud and finally Blenheim. Another fab section of the ride, fairly up and down but with some beautiful mountain and river scenery. Enough wild camping spots for it to feel isolated but a few towns to pick up supplies en route, I also stayed with 3 different warm showers hosts! From Blenheim it was a short ride over to Picton where I could get on a ferry to the North Island.

Arriving in Wellington I stayed with a friend for a few days, happy to be in civilisation again with live music, cool museums and kitch markets. Then it was onwards and upwards; cycling out of Wellington itself was pretty horrid, but after 30km it was back to small towns and countryside. After one night wild camping and staying with a host in Fielding I made my way up towards Tongariro National Park. It was fairly hilly between Fielding and Waiouru but once on the desert road between Waiouru and Rangipo it flattened out and the scenery was gorgeous. Barren road stretching as far as the eye could see, with volcanoes appearing out of the clouds to the west, honestly one of my favourite roads to cycle on. 

It was hard to match the beauty of the desert road, but Lake Taupo (although not quite as spectacular) was a pretty place to ride around with lots to do in the local area. Like visiting Huka Falls and spending time walking round the lake. From there I rode on towards Rotorua seeing hot springs and smoking pools by day and wild camping by the road at night. 

It was now reaching the end of the trip. After staying with hosts close to the beach in Tauranga, I cycled towards Waihi on the main road, then onto the Hauraki Rail Trail for 100km towards Miranda. The area around Waihi was nice; Shelly Bay was beautiful and the mining history of the town was interesting. The cycle trail was also awesome, going through Karangahape Gorge and tunnels before coming out at Paeroa and cycling through lush farmland, and experiencing a few animal related traffic jams. 

From Miranda it was just over 100km into Auckland, following the coastal road around the western side of the Firth of Thames and camping at Tapapakanga Regional Park. The scenery was pretty with light traffic before hitting the vehicle heavy roads around 25km from the city centre.

Then that was it, after 2400km cycling, I had reached Auckland. It had been an enjoyable 7 weeks which left me wanting to return with a pair of hiking boots and a packraft. A year later I spent a week pack rafting the Clutha River, getting to see some of the country that the roads couldn't take me to.