North Island Road Cycling Experience

Road Cycling Tour from $4,495 NZD

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13 Days
  • 2013
  • 2014
  • Best time to travel: November - March
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  • Availability Guide:
  • Current date selected
  • Plenty
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Enjoy superb road cycling over the length of the North Island and experience the central plateau and the East Coast.

From the 'Windy City' of Wellington to Auckland, 'the City of Sails', we present a 13 day Road Cycling Tour of New Zealand's North Island. Our tour is fully supported so is suitable for the intermediate to advanced cyclist allowing you to spend as much or as little time on your bike as you wish.

Experience the Central Plateau's volcanic plateau covering much of central North Island with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes to the East Coast known for its widely divergent landscapes, the enchanting East Cape and the naturally beautiful Coromandel.

Wellington to Auckland

Wellington
  • Road cycling
  • Grade
  • NZ$1160 single room surcharge
  • NZ$540 bike hire
  • This cycle tour is invoiced in NZD
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North Island Road Cycling Experience Fitness and Preparation

We start our cycling tour of New Zealand's North Island by heading into the centre of the Island for the exciting option of competing in the annual 160km Lake Taupo Challenge. Then its eastwards to Hawkes Bay, one of New Zealand's famous wine growing areas before the enchanting rugged and more remote East Coast awaits us. We continue on through the beautiful Bay of Plenty and to the natural geothermal wonderland of Rotorua. Some great rides lie ahead in the popular Coromandel peninsula before we continue north to Auckland.

We want you to experience as many of the highlights as possible, so have included some vehicle transfers through the least appealing sections. This also allows us to arrive at our destination about mid-afternoon on each cycling day.

This tour is designed for 100+ km of cycling per day. We also welcome participants who prefer 60-100 km/day. Roads are all tarseal and mainly flat-to-rolling, with some hard climbs and fast downhills.

Our support vehicle will be close by throughout for when you want a break from cycling. You'll stay in great 3-4 star accommodation.

Grade 3 – Moderate - Challenging Tours

Moderate to Challenging tours are designed for the more experienced participant wishing to push themselves and experience new highs of achievement. Routes may include longer climbs and more technical skills.

Fitness required

A good level of fitness is required, exercising three-four times a week prior to this North Island cycling tour.

Full Itinerary

DAY 1

Wellington

Cycling: 30km

On arrival in Wellington you will be met by your tour guide and transferred to your central city accommodation. New Zealand’s capital city is euphemistically known as the "Windy City"- if you are unlucky, you may learn why! We will assemble the bikes and spend the afternoon on a warm-up ride around some of the beautiful bays (dependent on your arrival time).

Meals: No meals

DAY 2

Wellington to Whakapapa

Cycling: 135 km

We leave the busy Wellington highways behind us and drive 3 hours to the river town of Wanganui. From here we cycle alongside the Wanganui River and then the Mangawhero River, over rolling green hills towards the centre of the North Island where active volcanoes Ruapehu and Tongariro are located. The village of Whakapapa, at the base of Mt Ruapehu is the gateway to one of New Zealand’s biggest and busiest ski areas. We stay in a Heritage Hotel that was built in 1929 and is one of the only New Zealand Hotels that is located within a World Heritage Park.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 3

Whakapapa to Taupo

Cycling: up to 135 km

Today is all about ‘active rest’ and some great scenery. From the door of our hotel we cycle along the edge of The Tongariro National Park. The mountains are in the background as we continue to the edge of Lake Rotoaira and onwards to Turangi. This small town lies on the shores of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. From here we join State Highway 1 and transfer by support bus to Taupo. We’ll arrive in time for a relaxing evening, so you are well rested for the race tomorrow.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 4

Lake Taupo Challenge

Cycling: 160 km

Today we have the opportunity to compete in the The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge - one of New Zealand’s premier cycling events. It offers riders the opportunity to participate in a 160km circumnavigation of Lake Taupo. While the event is largely non competitive and caters for every level of rider it does offer three race options for elite cyclists. This event regularly attracts an excess of ten thousand riders and in 2006 was admitted to the prestigious UCI Golden Bike Series, thus gaining recognition as being one of the world’s top nine rides.

Meals: Breakfast

DAY 5

Lake Taupo to Napier

No cycling

We only have a short drive today for our day off from our bikes! After a leisurely breakfast in Taupo, it's a 2 hour drive (141km) to the Hawkes' Bay ‘Art-Deco’ Town of Napier. The Hawkes Bay is one of the famous New Zealand Wine regions and a visit to one of the local wineries this afternoon is almost a 'must' or an excursion of Cape Kidnappers Gannet Reserve.

Meals: Breakfast

DAY 6

Napier to Gisborne

Cycling: approx 100 - 120km

We are cycling around the East Cape over the next three days, which means stunning coastal scenery, a few hills but no serious climbs. Today we cover the longest leg from Napier to the main East Coast town of Gisborne. After the Lake Taupo race, you may prefer an easy day in the saddle, with some time spent in the support van just admiring the views. There is also plenty of opportunity for those wanting to keep their legs moving, although it is likely that everyone will transfer the last few kms in the bus at the end of the day.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 7

Gisborne to Hicks Bay

Cycling: approx 100 - 125km

We suggest an early start this morning so we have time to visit the East Cape in the afternoon. We head north along the winding coastal road through rugged farmland to Te Araroa. The 22km road to the Lighthouse on the East Cape is mostly gravel, so we will take this sidetrip in the vehicle. The 14m high lighthouse sits 157m above sea level and is the first place in the World to see the sun each day. You climb about 700 steps to get there, but it is worth it as the coastal scenery is stunning. We spend tonight in the sleepy rural village of Hicks Bay.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 8

Hicks Bay to Opotiki

Cycling: up to 158 km

We start with a short, hilly section through bush-clad hills from Hicks Bay to Whangaroa Bay before joining the coastal road again. Often the road hugs the coast really closely and on a nice day the many bays invite you to break the ride with a cool dip in the ocean. There are not many roads in the world that would match the coastal beauty of the stretch between Cape Runaway and Opotiki. Today we are back in ‘civilisation’ and stay in the pleasant coastal town of Opotiki.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 9

Opotiki to Rotorua

Cycling: approx 97 km

It is time to leave the Coast and head inland to explore New Zealand’s most geothermally active area. We start with a short vehicle transfer to Te Teko and then ride along the border of the Te Urewera National Park down to Murupara and back up towards Rotorua. Our ride will finish just 20km before Rotorua, at the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, which is probably the most scenic natural geothermal attraction of the area. We give you the option to spend some time here before being transferred to Rotorua where we stay overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 10

Rotorua to te Aroha to Waihi Beach

Cycling: 134 km

We head out of Rotorua towards Tauranga, before cutting back inland to the hinterland of the Kamai-Mamuka Forest Park. A quiet back-road takes us along the edge of the forest to Te Aroha where today’s ride will finish. After a late lunch we transfer to Paeroa and then back out to the Coast to Waihi Beach. We stay at a nice beach holiday resort and soak weary muscles in the Athenree Hot Springs.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 11

Waihi Beach to Whitianga

Cycling: 105 km

We join the legendary K2-race course as we start our circumnavigation of the Coromandel Peninsula. This 200km race is well known for its many sharp climbs. We head out to Hot Water Beach famous for its hot springs and is an ideal place to stop. Those who wish, can continue cycling on backroads to Whitianga (including a short ferry), followed by a quite tough 45km with two short and steep hills plus a climb over a saddle crossing the main mountain range of the Peninsula with a downhill to finish.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 12

Whitianga - Thames

Cycling: 97 km

We can almost see across the ‘Bight’ to Auckland, yet it is still a ‘good’ ride away. We start the day with our most serious climb: once out of town we join the coastal road around the Firth of Thames. The Coromandel part of this ride is – again - extremely scenic. The small road hugs the coast as you go from bay to bay and from beach to beach until you hit the river flats of the Waihou, a welcome easy stretch of road across to Miranda, an ideal place to finish our cycling. In Thames we pack up the bikes for the transfer to Auckland City.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 13

Auckland

No Cycling

Last night you arrived in New Zealand’s largest city often referred to as the 'City of Sails'. Just look out over the harbour and you will see why! This morning we will either transfer you to the airport for your flight home or you can have a free day to explore the city.

Meals: Breakfast

Hi I'm Grace

Call me if you have any questions.

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+64 (0)3 982 9933
NZ - 0800 829 933

Email: reservations@globaladventureguide.com

Tour Inclusions and Exclusions:

Tour Includes:

  • 12 overnight stays in excellent accommodation (3-4* NZ Standard)
  • Meals as per itinerary
  • Entry fee for Lake Taupo race
  • Support vehicle and luggage transfer
  • Arrival transfer on day 1 only (from 1pm)

Tour Excludes:

  • Bike hire but is on offer
  • International flights and/or Travel visas (where applicable)
  • Drinks & snacks during cycling
  • Travel Insurance