How much time do you need to cycle New Zealand? Seriously, a lifetime isn’t enough time to see everything. But this is what we managed to squeeze in in our 6 weeks!
Our Six Week New Zealand Route
We planned out a very rough schedule and route before we started in a previous post. But this is what we ended up doing!
This is by no means the best route or the most efficient way to see all of New Zealand. But I think it does offer a good starting point for anyone trying to plan a trip!
We had some days off at the end of our time in New Zealand to visit some friends and do some personal things, so this is really more like 5 weeks of cycling, tbh.
| Date | From | To | km |
| Day 1 | Fly from Canada | ||
| Day 2 | Arrive in Auckland | To our hosts’ home in Auckland | 31 |
| Day 3 | Rest – Explore Auckland | ||
| Day 4 | Aukland | Pokeno | 65 |
| Day 5 | Pokeno | Te Aroha | 94 |
| Day 6 | Te Aroha | Matamata + Hobbiton Movie Set | 63 |
| Day 7 | Matamata | Waiotapu | 113 |
| Day 8 | Waiotapu | Taupo | 65 |
| Day 9 | Taupo | Turangi | 61.5 |
| Day 10 | Hike Tongariro Crossing (Mt Doom) | ||
| Day 11 | Turangi | Mangaweka | 113 |
| Day 12 | Mangaweka | Manakau (south of Levin) | 133 |
| Day 13 | Manakau | Wellington | 94 |
| Day 14 | Explore Wellington | ||
| Day 15 | Ferry across Cook Strait to Picton | Havelock | 45 |
| Day 16 | Havelock | Nelson | 75 |
| Day 17 | Nelson | Glenhope | 104 |
| Day 18 | Glenhope | Berlins | 109 |
| Day 19 | Berlins | Punakaiki | 80 |
| Day 20 | Punakaiki | Moana | 87 |
| Day 21 | Moana | Arthurs Pass Village | 66 |
| Day 22 | Arthurs Pass (hike Avalanche Peak) | Jacksons | 33 |
| Day 23 | Jacksons | Pukekura | 105 |
| Day 24 | Pukekura | Franz Joseph | 87 |
| Day 25 | Franz Joseph | Lake Paringa | 102 |
| Day 26 | Lake Paringa | Pleasant Flat Campsite | 98 |
| Day 27 | Pleasant Flat Campsite | Wanaka | 99 |
| Day 28 | Half rest day in Wanaka | Crown Range Summit | 39 |
| Day 29 | Crown Range Summit | Queenstown (through Arrowtown) | 40 |
| Day 30 | Rest in Queenstown | ||
| Day 31 | Rest in Queenstown | ||
| Day 32 | Queenstown | Alexandra | 106 |
| Day 33 | Alexandra | Ranfurly (via Otago Rail Trail) | 87 |
| Day 34 | Ranfurly | Middlemarch (via Otago Rail Trail) | 64 |
| Day 35 | Middlemarch | Dunedin | 83 |
| Day 36 | Explore Dunedin | ||
| Day 37 | Bus to Christchurch | ||
| Day 38 | Rest in Christchurch | ||
| Day 39 | Rest in Christchurch | ||
| Day 40 | Rest in Christchurch | ||
| Day 41 | Fly to Auckland – Day in Auckland | ||
| Day 42 | Fly back to Canada! |
The funny thing is that our original “destination” was Queenstown. But when we realized how much time we still had, we decided to add a few more days of cycling and cycle to Dunedin. Funny how these things happen, you can never anticipate it.
New Zealand has so many great cycling routes and trails that you can explore. The one that we did start to finish is the Otago Rail Trail. The main reason why we did go on trails so often is that they are really made for mountain bikes with some cushion and wide wheels. Our hybrid bikes (which are more like road bikes than
I’d highly recommend seeing NZ by bike. It is just about the perfect size, not too big, not too small, easy enough to get around. We met a ton of other cyclists. So you’re sure to make friends and a bike repair shop will not be too far out of reach.
Do you have any experiences cycling in New Zealand? How does our schedule compare? What would you hit up that we missed?! Let us know and we’ll add it to our next trip. 🙂