Tour of the Mountain Kings (20 days)

The First Step to a Holiday of a Lifetime

hcbannermasterword

While our ‘On the Beach’ tour may be perfect for many, if you have the time, then our Tour of the Mountain Kings is definitely the New Zealand tour for you. You will get the chance to see just about everything there is to see, stay overnight at mountain resorts, ride the alps and passes that make this tour special, and appreciate the differences between the two islands. After all, you can’t get too much of a good thing, New Zealand is definitely a VERY VERY good thing, and our 3-week tour is definitely not too much. And for anyone from the Northern Hemisphere, the ‘kiwi’ summer really will take away any winter blues.

We had excellent guides – Rex for South Island and Laurie for North Island: both men appear to be poured in the same mould of good humoured expertise. It was a truly amazing holiday, a delight to all my senses, fun companions and well organised.

Les Brandon, UK, 2007

Highlights

Mounts Manganui, Taranaki, Cook, Ruapahu, Tongaririo
Tongariro National Park
Geothermal wonders
Contrasting landscapes
Farm stays
Milford Sound
Queenstown Adventures
Fox / Franz Josef Glaciers
The high passes and Southern Alps
West Coast wildlife
Interislander ferry
Akaroa and the Banks Peninsula
Delicious fresh food and drink
Back up/luggage vehicle
Your tour guide

Itinerary

DAY 1 Arrive Auckland. We will meet you at the airport and transfer you to our tour hotel. Spend the rest of the day exploring the ‘City of Sails’. Meet your fellow riders in the evening for our Welcome Dinner. Barrycourt Hotel.

Day 2 Auckland - Mount Maunganui (350 km). We’ll pick up the motorcycles this morning and head towards the Coromandel Peninsula. We ride along excellent winding roads, following the coast, and visit a marine park in Paeroa with it’s fully restored PT boat, before travelling through the Coromandel forest to the Bay of Plenty. Mt Maunganui, or Mauao, is also the name of the extinct volcano which rises 232 m above the town. Shrouded in history and legend, the mountain is a dominant feature of the landscape, and a climb to the summit offers amazing views of the surrounding city and ocean. The relaxed atmosphere of Mt Maunganui has something for everyone, from its vibrant café and pub scene, to its coastal ambiance and beach culture. Oceanside Hotel.

Day 3 Mount Maunganui – New Plymouth (310 km). With an early start, we have the option to visit Rotorua today, before heading out into the Waikato region. The landscapes you'll ride through in the Waikato will stay with you for all time, pure serenity above ground and astounding adventures below. Waitomo Caves are a natural wonder where you can get a firsthand experience of glowworm caves, elaborate cave formations, and local myths and legends of the underworld, and we allow time to visit them. The Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park is made up of two distinct areas, the Kaimai Range and the Mamaku Plateau. The Park, covering 45,000 hectares, forms a narrow barrier between the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. To visit this region is to ride through a living museum of ancient and recent history. Mt Taranaki (Egmont) reigns supreme over New Plymouth, which is sited on the west coast below the mountain. Taranaki is a place to find the soulful beauty of New Zealand's heartland. Mt Taranaki is ever-present in this region—a huge, dramatic volcanic cone with a snowy top. Copthorne Hotel.

Day 4 New Plymouth – Mount Tongariro (310 km). You can't escape the gaze of the huge volcanoes that mark the heart of Mt Ruapehu's astonishing landscape. The 80,000-hectare Tongariro National Park (a World Heritage Area) is the centre of attraction for this district. The active volcano Mount Ruapehu dominates the landscape, rising to 2,797 m from the surrounding countryside. It has Ngauruhoe (also active) and Tongariro for company. The three volcanoes are a spectacular sight on a clear day and in winter they are cloaked in snow and offer an unusual skiing experience. Chateau Tongariro.

Day 5 Mount Tongariro – Waipawa (200 km). We ride out today around the east side of Lake Taupo. This lake is the largest freshwater lake in Australasia and was created by the world’s largest volcanic eruption in the last 5000 years! We stop for coffee in Taupo, then onto Napier, our next stop. Enjoy lunch at this art deco mecca before we continue on to Waipawa in the Hawkes Bay region where we meet up with our farm hosts for the evening. Hawkes Bay is known globally as a major wine growing area, specialising in Chardonnay. You will be spoilt for choice of vineyards to visit along the way. Farmstay.

Day 6 Waipawa – Wellington (220 km). There are two alternative routes and three road options today for our trip to Wellington. Both skirt the Tararua Mountain range, both the same distance, but one may be busier than the other. Our first stop is the impressive Manawatu Gorge and depending on the chosen route, we make stops at Featherston Summit (555 m), with more spectacular views, or Southward, with its museum of cars, motorcycles and other machinery. Museum Hotel.

Day 7 Wellington – Nelson (140 km). Most of our travelling today is aboard the interisland ferry, a relaxing and spectacular 3-hour crossing to the South Island. Watch out for passing whales and albatross as we cross the Cook Strait. Our day finishes with a lovely ride along the coast to Nelson. Trailways Hotel.

DAY 8 Nelson (free day). Today it’s a free day to ride and explore Nelson and surrounding areas. Nelson has some of the finest beaches in New Zealand and more sunshine than any other part of the country. For those who like to continue riding, hop on your bike to discover Abel Tasman National Park, or take a 4-WD drive tour to Farewell Spit, the longest sand dune in New Zealand, and view a variety of sea birds and unique vegetation. And remember you are in one of New Zealand’s main wine producing area. Trailways Hotel.

Day 9 Nelson – Punakaiki (310 km). A gently hilly ride takes us southwest through the Buller Gorge to the coast, past the Coaltown Museum in Westport and the Tauranga Bay seal colonies. There’s an optional ride up Lewis Pass for lunch, worth a ride in both directions! You can also take time out for some white-water rafting and jet boating, and if all that’s not enough, we visit the famous Pancake Rocks and blowholes in Punakaiki. Punakaiki Resort.

Day 10 Punakaiki – Hanmer Springs (260 km). Today there’s some serious riding to be done. We set off along the coast to Greymouth before we turn inland to Reefton and Springs Junction, following river valleys through the Victoria Forest Park. Then we ride the magnificent Lewis Pass at 864 m for some breathtaking scenery and plenty of photo opportunities, before dropping down through the Hanmer Range to the natural beauty of Hanmer Springs Alpine Lodge.

Day 11 Hanmer Springs – Fox Glacier (520 km). We have long ride ahead today, returning to the west coast via Arthur’s Pass, or taking the shorter option back over the Lewis Pass. We start by heading south east to the Pacific Coast over the Weka Pass and through small rural towns before we turn inland, where our ride takes us up from the coastal lowlands and over Porter’s and Arthur’s passes, both at over 900 m. This is an area of high alpine peaks, steep valleys, rushing waterfalls and some unique wildlife. We stop for lunch in the mountains before returning to the west coast highway and a gentle ride into Fox. There may be time to spot some of the indigenous wildlife – seals, keas, kiwis, penguins, dolphins and the rare white heron. Glacier Country Hotel.

Day 12 Fox Glacier – Queenstown (265 km). There’s time to walk on the glaciers, take a helicopter ride or a helihike or visit the Glow Worm Dell in Fox before riding to the adventure playground of New Zealand. Heading south from Fox, we ride through the subtropical rainforest of Haast Pass, in the heart of Westland. Turning inland we head into the mountains of the Mount Aspiring National Park and along the shores of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea. St Moritz Hotel.

DAY 13 Queenstown (free day). An opportunity to sample some of the many activities in the ‘playground of the South’, such as jet boating on the Shotover River, tandem skydiving, fly fishing, a vintage steam cruise and of course bunjee jumping. And too many more to mention! Then it’s time to relax in the Gondola restaurant or the Motor Museum, or go for a ride to Arthur’s Point lookout and Coronet Peak. St Moritz Hotel.

Day 14 Queenstown – Te Anau (195 km). Today we head south along Lake Wakatipu and into Fiordland. Before you get there, enjoy the ride and take in the Wildlife Bird Reserve and the stunning scenery. Our destination is a farm near the small township of Te Anau. Our farmstays are a great success with customers, you will get a tour of the farm, shown what they do, eat locally grown produce and receive the warmest of Kiwi welcomes. Farmstay.

DAY 15 Te Anau - Milford Sound – Te Anau (240 km). An enjoyable morning’s ride takes us to the spectacular Milford Sound, where we take a bewitching cruise down the fjord and back. This really is some of the most scenic countryside on Earth. The riding along twisting roads is every bit a match for the cruise. Farmstay.

Day 16 Te Anau – Dunedin (290 km). Say goodbye to the lakes and fiords as head for the surf of the deep blue South Pacific Ocean. We ride across rolling green farmland covered in white woolly sheep, crossing wide river torrents and passing through small rural settlements before we reach Dunedin with its Scottish heritage, and the Otago Peninsula. Larnach Castle.

Day 17 Dunedin – Mount Cook (350 km). Leaving Dunedin for Mount Cook we have 2 options. We can head out past the famous boulders of Moeraki before heading inland past the fascinating Waitaki River, Avemore and Benmore Dams, or following the gold trail to the Victorian gold rush town of Cromwell, past the Ida Range, the majestic Dunstan Mountains and through the centre of the Mackenzie District. We stop at the historic gold-mining town of St Bathan’s, with time for a drink at the famous Vulcan Hotel, and finish the ride on the awesome road to Mount Cook. Hermitage Hotel.

Day 18 Mount Cook – Christchurch (350 km). Today, it’s back down from the mountains, passing the stunning glacier fed Lake Tekapo and over the Burke Pass, around the Four Peaks Range and past Mt Hutt before heading out across the flat farmland of the Canterbury Plain to Christchurch. Chateau on the Park.

Day 19 Christchurch – Akaroa – Christchurch (200 km). The road to Akaroa and around the harbours of Banks Peninsula will take you on a spectacular mountainous journey making today a grand finale of your NZ mountain tour. Big bends and endless curves are the road features for the day. Once out of town the views and roads just get better and better. Just 75 km from the city of Christchurch, Akaroa is a historic French and British settlement nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano. Explore the village with its colonial architecture, galleries, craft stores, and cafés. Relax or take part in the many activities that are on offer. Explore the dramatic outer bays and take your time to soak in the magic of this area. After returning the motorbikes this afternoon, it just remains for us to celebrate the end of the tour with our Farewell Dinner. Chateau on the Park.

DAY 20 Depart Christchurch. We will arrange for your transfer back to the airport. Depending on your departure time, the day is free for you to explore Christchurch – how about the Antarctic Museum, the famous trolley buses, the Botanical Gardens or Hagley Park?

Total distance c. 4000 km

Ready to book? Please click here

Price includes: 19 nights deluxe accommodation including 3 nts farmstay, all with private facilities, 18 breakfasts, 16 dinners, Milford Sound cruise, Interislander ferry, 19 days motorcycle hire including luggage and unlimited mileage, full motorcycle insurance, local motorcycle guide, support/luggage vehicle, airport transfers, tour book, maps, tour gift.

Price excludes: Flights to/from New Zealand, travel insurance, optional CDR bike insurance (see rental table for details), pre-/post-tour accommodation (all of these may be arranged through H-C Travel), petrol, meals not stated above, riding gear, personal items and expenses.

Please refer to our rental pages for more information on the motorcycles available

Any questions? Please click here

Tour of the Mountain Kings

Dates

BMW F650GS Honda VLX600 Honda VT750 Honda VT1100 Kawa EX500 Suzuki SV650 Suzuki DL650 Yamaha FZ6

BMW F650Twin BMW R1200R Honda VFR800 Honda ST1300 Suzuki GSF1250 Suzuki DL1000

BMW R1200GS BMW R1200RT Ducati ST3S Ducati M/strada

Passenger

Sgl rm suppl.

01 Feb - 20 Feb 2011

£4,995

£5,475

£5,995

£3,895

£1,145

31 Jan - 19 Feb 2012

£4,995

£5,475

£5,995

£3,895

£1,145

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