Dave Bikeabouts New Zealand's South Island

February 10-15, 2007

I have alighted in Christchurch having finished my six day cycling adventure. The trip was run by Adventure South – a New Zealand company that does both cycling and hiking excursions. To start with a brief geography lesson, New Zealand is a tall, narrow country of about 100,000 square miles, stretching through about 1000 miles of the South Pacific. In our measurement units, it is about 20 Connecticuts or a virtually infinite number of Rhode Islands. It is also about one Oregon, which is probably a better comparison, since it has about the same population (4 million) and falls in comparable latitudes in the southern hemisphere, though what with it being so long and thin the southernmost parts of New Zealand are somewhat colder (say mid Canada) and the northernmost parts sub-tropical (say mid California). It has two main islands – conveniently named North Island and South Island. The South Island where my tour was is more sparsely populated, rugged and colder. (Can anyone tell me why the South Island would be colder than the North Island? Let’s not always see the same hands.)

Whether or not you are keen on peddling, the South Island is worth visiting for the dramatic landscapes. If you are a Lord of the Rings fan much of it will look eerily familiar as it was filmed here. I saw an interview with Peter Jackson, the director, where he says that everyone assumed the mythological landscapes of Middle Earth were created in the studios, but really they are New Zealand pretty much as is. Clearly there was some cutting and pasting and shuffling around with green screens. But the landscape is true to the movies, or visa versa. Across from Queenstown you see the Remarkable mountain range – that’s an upper case 'R' – when you see it you can appreciate where the name came from. It looks just like some peaks Frodo and Sam crossed to enter Mordor. You pass a broad valley with distant peaks that looks just like the plains of Gondor. Here and there you pick up bits and pieces of Rivendale, the capital of the elves. Other places are reminiscent of Tudor, Fordor, or even Hatchback. Of course there are Lord of the Rings tours which drive you to the various locations in coaches with the films playing on monitors – kind of like the Sound of Music tours you can take in Salzburg, only for nerds instead of homosexuals.

My cycling tour was called the "West Coast Escape". It started in Queenstown and for six days ran through some spectacular mountain landscapes down to the western shore and then along the Tasman Sea coast past some impressive glaciers. For those looking for a longer trip or different types of terrain Adventure South offers other segments before and after this one which cover terrain like the Milford Sound or the east coast. (I actually visited the Milford sound separately on a coach trip from Queenstown. It is a pretty spectacular fiord that you cruise through and get wet, since it is always raining.)

This was a fully-supported bike tour, meaning that we had a van accompanying us all the way with the option of cycling as much or as little as we wished. The daily itineraries hopped along to the more interesting stretches, and individually we could choose to put the bike on the trailer for the tougher portions. There were nine people in the tour with varying levels of cycling enthusiasm, and I’d say they averaged 40 to 80 kilometers of fairly hilly cycling per day. I fell somewhere in the middle, neither disgracing nor distinguishing myself, holding back out of concern for my Iliotibial Bands only just recovered from my Inca Trail excursion. I’m pleased to report that the old ITBs performed superbly and that I will have to come up with a new excuse for future episodes of sluggishness.

For the seriously inclined, the South Island of New Zealand really is a cyclist's paradise. The scenery is spectacular, with dramatic ragged mountains, blue-green lakes, forests, fields, and rivers, with the occasional waterfall and glacier. The roads are uniformly in good condition, and traffic is minimal or nonexistent. Most riding was on blacktop, though there were a few stretches of dirt and gravel roads. The hybrid bikes provided were up to that task and (with one exception) they were an interesting change of pace. The climate at this time of year is reasonably cool though the sun can be intense. We ran into only one brief rain storm, though on our route that was exceptional since the West Coast is the wettest part of New Zealand -- other routes are considerably drier. There was a lot of variety in the terrain in a relatively small area, as we moved from the highland mountains, past lakes, lowland plains, and the more heavily forested West Coast.

For the less than serious cyclist there are probably better choices than New Zealand’s South Island. Much of the country is pretty empty aside from sheep (10 per man – make up your own joke), and in the mountains you can go a long way without even seeing them. So while the fully assisted touring mode means you only need to cycle when you like, there really isn’t anything else to do. Aside from one morning where we had options to visit a glacier, there were no non-cycling activities included as part of the tour. (Other legs of the Adventure South routes may have a little more by way of extra-biking activities, but not too much.) In comparison, bike tours through France, Tuscany, etc. have towns along the way to stop in, visit the church or café, or just dawdle through for those not interested in racking up the miles.

For what I was looking for it was a most enjoyable trip. It was a real nice group of people, a fine explore, and some great exercise. I am now fit as a fiddle, though somewhat out of tune. I have no idea what that means.

Your faithful correspondent,

Walkabout Dave