Te Anau to Tuatepere:
104kms
 Lake
Manapouri
|
Easy 20kms to Manapouri with
accommodation, cafe/shop etc and a beautiful
view across the lake to the Kepler mountain
range. We then followed Route 99, the
Southern Scenic Route. A very quiet road with
only one real climb of 2kms up Jericho Hill.
No facilities after Manapouri . |
There are toilets and water available
at Blackmount Community Centre. Further down we
turned off the road to see the old Clifden Suspension
bridge (original river crossing), it's worth the
short diversion. Scenery becomes more pastoral as you
move away from the mountains. Tuatapere is a small
township with a store and takeaway food place, a
couple of small campsites and there is other
accommodation available.
Tuatapere
to Invercargill: 90kms
 |
On the road
climbing away from Colac Bay, a very pleasant
spot with a campsite, a small store and a
tavern. |
Initially down to the coast
with views of the Fiordland mountains to the west.
Through Orepuki with a small basic store and tavern.
A hillier section before reaching Colac Bay. Spot the
bent trees on the way, it can get very, very windy
down here. Riverton further on by the estuary has
shops/cafes/accommodation etc. Roads get busier the
closer you get to Invercargill, the main town on the
south coast, laid out in a grid pattern with low
buildings - a bit like a American mid-west town. Two
campsites, both near the centre and with cabins. Very
interesting and free exhibition centre in Queens Park
- local history and also of Antartica
Invercargill to Curio Bay:
81kms
Still following the Southern
Scenic route through Gorge Road (small cafe here, but
only open Sat/Sun afternoons) onto Fortrose, no
facilities. Turned off onto minor hillier road then
to Otara, no facilities. Note: we only passed 1 small
store at Mokotua after 25k all day today after
leaving Invercargill. Gravel starts about 5kms after
Otara and there is 14kms of it to Curio Bay, apart
from 1 short steep downhill it was all easily
rideable. Curio Bay, or Porpoise Bay as it seems to
be called locally is a beautiful location with a
small campsite (no cabins) with a small store on the
headland. The pitches are well sheltered within the
flax plants. This a famous spot for seeing, and
possibly swimming with Hector’s Dolphins, unique
to NZ. The small yellow-eyed penguins also come
ashore in the evening on the adjacent fossil bay, a
protected area.
 |
A
view of Porpoise Bay. The campsite is
immediately behind the photographer. A
beautiful spot to spend a day or two, if the
weather is fine. |
Formal accommodation appeared very
sparse on this route via Curio Bay, you would need to
consider taking roads further inland if not camping.
Chaslands at about 110k from Invercargill has some
accommodation.
Curio Bay to Papatowai: 50kms
A short day because of the
heat and the gravel roads. Gravel road to Waikawa,
cafe here and a long chat with the owner. Rejoined
tarmac on the Southern Scenic Route which climbs into
the bush forest and undulates as it becomes gravel
again. Note: this may change, the gravel is slowly
being replaced by tarmac in this area. Diversion to
see cathedral caves (only accessible at low tide) a
10min bush walk to a beautiful sandy beach.
 |
This
the narrow gravel road road section from the
main gravel road to get to the start of the
walk to the caves. Typical of the gravel
roads in this area, surrounded by the bush
forest which also goes all the way down the
fantastic beaches . A reasonable cycling
surface in good dry weather. |
Back on the main road we came across a
tarmac section, shouted hurrah and carried on - to be
disappointed 2kms further down when the gravel re-appeared
and shortly after a 2km gravel climb, quite steep in
places, up to a viewpoint overlooking Tautuku Bay
before descending to Papatowai. Store and good
campsite with cabins. In all about 23kms of gravel
road today. We loved this area - The Catlins. Not as
popular as the other South Island scenic attractions
but a lovely feeling of isolation with the scattered
hamlets, the beautiful beaches and the bush forest.
Papatowai to Kaka Point:
45kms
 Nugget Point
Lighthouse
|
An even shorter day because of
the heat and we wanted to linger in this area.
Undulating road then 5km climb on way to
Owaka, cafe/store. Campsite with cabins at
Pounawea, 4kms away. Further short climb and
descent then we turned off on 8kms of easy
gravel road to Kaka Point, a surfers beach.
Store/cafe, small campsite with cabins and
other accommodation. Nugget Point headland
and lighthouse about 8kms away on a gravel
road was a worthwhile diversion. |
Kaka Point to Balcutha: 43kms
We didn’t leave until
after lunch after riding to Nugget Point and back.
Easy road to Balcutha, a large town with all
facilities. Campsite with cabins in town. We did not
find anything of real interest here. Booked our train
trip from Dunedin at the local travel agents here and
also organised the bus journey (at the local
information centre) into Dunedin for the morning trip.
Balcutha
to Dunedin Peninsular (Portobello): Bus then cycle 22kms
from Dunedin
The
main Invercargill to Dunedin road passes through
Balcutha, there is no alternative to get to Dunedin
about 80kms away). Milton about 20k on this road has
accommodation as also does Lake Waihola, a further 24kms
on. Here you could take the road to the coast, gravel
for some of the way, and then onto Dunedin (60kms
from Lake Waihola). We didn’t fancy the main
road, so caught the bus (an old 1960’s Bedford),
total cost with bikes about £17 - booked at the
local Tourist Information place.The winding road
along the peninsular to Portobello was enjoyable. The
peninsular head 11kms further on has an Albatross
colony and visitor centre and a large seal colony on
the nearby bay.
 |
The
beautiful Victorian railway station at
Dunedin, worth a look round even if you are
not going on a train. |
Dunedin to Middlemarch: Train plus
cycle ride of 41kms
Dunedin
has a beautiful Victorian railway station, a good
museum nearby and a number of well preserved
Victorian and Edwardian buildings and is well worth
spending a little time there. To avoid the main roads
out we took the Taieri Gorge tourist railway to
Pukerangi. One 2 hr trip a day, total cost £22,
bikes went free. Thoroughly recommended.
 |
It
goes up through gorges where there are no
roads and you can stand between the restored
carriages to get excellent views. It also
stops a couple of times for you to get out.
Pukerangi is in the middle of nowhere on top
of the Otago plateau. |
It is 20kms (including 7kms of easy
gravel) from Pukerangi to Middlemarch, store, motel
and campsite (Blind Billy’s) with cabins - the
kitchen/eating area here comprises two restored rail
carriages - we had the place to ourselves.
Middlemarch
to Ranfurly: 67kms
This
area to Alexandra is the Otago plateau and it can get
very hot indeed in the summer, we experienced over 35
degrees C on one day. The Otago railtrack from
Middlemarch to Alexandra for cyclists is currently
being developed(update: fully open in 2001). Only a
few sections open when we passed and they looked
quite rough in places, probably ok for mountain bikes.
Some impressive sections though going over old wooden
viaducts. We did not see any shops/cafes until
Ranfurly. Some hilly sections on a very quiet road
with very little shade. Ranfurly has shops/cafes, a
campsite with cabins and other accommodation. An
excellent visitors centre in the old railway station.
Naseby 15kms away is the original town of this area
and has a number of old interesting buildings, also a
campsite with cabins. We were on the Upper Maniototo
plain, which had not had any real rain for 18mths -
they had grass fires a week after we were there.
Ranfurly
to Alexandra: 92kms
Some
minor climbing but generally downhill and level.
Taverns at Wedderburn, then Becks Hotel after 44kms
and at Lauder and shops/cafes and campsite at Omakau
before descending to Alexandra. We liked all of this
sparsely populated and quiet area from Pukerangi to
Alexandra. Not fantastic scenery, just wide open
spaces. Alexandra is a major town with all forms of
accommodation etc.
Alexandra
to Cromwell: 42kms
Didn’t
leave until lunchtime. Clyde, 10kms away, has some
interesting old buildings, shops, cafes. The museums
though do not open until 14:00hrs. Undulating road
then past massive Clyde dam and resevoir to Cromwell.
You could easily do this stretch to Wanaka in one day.
Cromwell
to Wanaka: 57kms
 Lake Wanaka
|
No real hills though the road
was busier then what we had been used to.
Tavern and small campsite at Luggate after 40kms.
Wanaka has all facilities and types of
accommodation and a picturesque location by
the lake and mountains, a nice spot for a
lazy day or two. |
Wanaka
to Lake Hawea: 21 kms
Our
shortest day. A galeforce head wind made it
impossible to continue so we stopped at the campsite
by the lake using a cabin for the first time -
excellent kitchen and rest room here.The original
intention was to make for Makarora, cafe/campsite and
motel about 64kms from Wanaka.
Lake
Hawea to Haast: 127kms
 Climb from Lake Hawea
|
A fantastic scenic day; lakes,
snow capped mountains, bush forest and a
reasonably quiet road. Goes alongside Lake
Hawea with one short climb then climbs over
to Lake Wanaka before gently ascending the
Makarora valley into the bush forest with a 2km
climb to the Haast Pass at 564’. Steep
descent in places then a 30k winding ride
along the glacial valley. Thunder Creek Falls
on the way is a short walk worth doing. Haast
township has an excellent campsite/motel and
a tavern that serves good meals. Mosquitos
and sandflies were in more evidence here.
Haast Beach township down the side road has a
shop and motel. Westland Visitor Centre about
4k from Haast. |
Haast
to Jacobs Bay (Pinegrove Motels): 88kms
