New Zealand Cycle Touring - Route Planning Maps

As I cycle around New Zealand I have designed cycle touring routes that avoid busy roads and include towns with camp sites. These maps are included below for the benefit of other cyclists. If you want some advice on the best routes for cyclists for the places you wish to visit just send me a message on the contact form bellow.

North Island - Te Awamutu to Taihape
I caught the bus from Auckland to Te Awamutu and then rode to Taihape on the following route.
Route from Te Awamutu to Taihape

This route goes from Te Awamutu to Taihape and goes via Mangakino, Tauramanui and Ohakune all towns that have camping facilities and are not on state highway one.


Cycle Touring in New Zealand - Recommended Northland Route - Northland - Wellsford to Whangarei

This route has been designed with the objectives of staying of State Highway one wherever possible and also so that the route includes most of the attractions that the north has to offer. To get to Wellsford from Auckland you ride from Auckland Central out on the north western bikeway and then up the west coast





The route goes up to Wellsford and then goes up the east coast to Mangawhai and Laings beach which is a spectacular coastline to ride up. The route then takes you across to Dargaville on the west coast using back roads.



Laings Beach

This route was designed by Kit O'halloran based on a ride that he did. He has included a short ride up the 90 mile beach but this can be left out by travelling on the road.
Make sure that you visit the Matakohe Timber museum which is interesting. He can advise further on accommodation and changes to the route if it is too long.


Matauri Bay

Cycling North from Auckland
When riding north from Auckland one of the main considerations is that the State Highway is a very busy narrow road and in places with minimal shoulders for cyclists.
The best strategy is to keep away from main highway one by going up the west coast. However there is one section,from Wellsford to state highway 12, which is a distance of 28 kilometres which is unavoidable.
When you travel this section make sure it is not a public holiday or a school holiday.

The recommended Northern route set out above involves taking a longer route up the East coast to Waipu Cove rather than riding on State Highway One for 28 kilometres.



Cycling South from the Coromandel to Tauranga

The State highway one from Waihi to Tauranga is a very busy stretch of road and you need to ride this section very carefully.
The map below sets out a route that does not go on the state highway 2 for the first part of the ride.



On state highway 2 into Katikati there is a shoulder which you can cycle on but great care must be taken as the road is used by a large number of trucks.



The road after Katikati into Tauranga is also very busy and there are three bridges that do not have a shoulder to cycle on. The strategy here is to wait until the road is clear of traffic before crossing these short bridges. We stayed in Katikati overnight and we were told that a large number of residents work in Tauranga so the road is always busy first thing in the morning which it was.

Cycle Touring New Zealand - Cycling around the Waikato Region

Rather than cycling through a region one alternative is to do rides from a central location within the region. We selected Te Awamutu as a central point in the Waikato region and we did four rides from this location. The total ride distance was 290 kilometres.

Once you leave the main roads in the Waikato the secondary roads are ideal for cycling with excellent surfaces and little traffic. One positive effect of the new Waikato expressway has been to reduce traffic on the secondary roads so that the roading infrastructure becomes more like the roading hierarchy in France where cyclists ride on secondary roads and do not go near motorways and there is also minimal local traffic.

The main Waikato geographical features include the Waikato River, Mount Pirongia in the west and Sanctuary Mountain in the East.. There is also a volcanic cone near Te Awamutu being Mount Kakepuku. The rides include some foothills so there are climbs and downhills included in the routes.

The Waikato region is a very green and fertile farming area and the four rides will take you around most parts of the region.

Waikato Day - One - From Hamilton to Cambridge and back in a round trip taking in Lake Karapiro.

This ride started and ended in the Hamilton gardens so we did this ride on the way to Te Awamutu.

The route uses quiet secondary roads with the most difficult part of the ride being getting in and out of Hamilton.

We visited Cambridge and Lake Karapiro and the Avantidrome which is just out of Cambridge on the route.

Waikato Day-One

The Cycleway between Cambridge and the Avantidrome

Waikato Day-Two



The day two ride goes from Te Awamutu to Otorohanga partly on the main road which has a high volume of large trucks and care has to be taken over this section.
There is a climb out of Otorohanga to Honikiwi and then there is a long downhill through a scenic and isolated valley.

Waikato Day-Three


Day three heads east from Te Awamutu towards Sanctuary Mountain and then goes to Cambridge which makes a good destination for a coffee stop.

Waikato Day Four



The final day involves taking a car from Te Awamutu to the starting point of the ride.
This was a very good days cycling with in the most part quiet and smooth roads. All of the routes would be very good for training on.

New Zealand Cycle Touring Route - Around Mount Taranaki

This ride around Mount Taranaki takes in all of the highlights of the Taranaki province. Taranaki is dominated by Mount Taranaki which is snow covered and dramatic volcanic cone. On the ride around the mountain you may not always see the mountain because of cloud but it but it is always there. Taranaki is a farming area with dairy farming the main activity. When you cycle around Mount Taranaki you will encounter lots of hills as the countryside can best be described as undulating and you will also have to deal with the winds coming from all points of the compass. One memory of our ride in Taranaki was the wind assisted ride into Hawera which was slightly downhill where we reached speeds of up to 50 kilometres an hour without peddling.

Mt Taranaki Ride Video

We started the ride in Stratford and went in the anti-clockwise direction around the mountain and on the first day went to Te Wera Valley Lodge and stayed there for two nights. This enabled us to ride to Whangamomona but this is an optional extra but well worth doing as you travel on the Forgotten Highway. There are two saddles to climb as you ride to Whangamomona and of course you have to ride them on the way back.

Cycleway into New Plymouth

The next section of the ride crosses to the coast to Onaero Bay. From Onaero Bay the route takes you into New Plymouth using the cycleway that runs along the coastline from the Bell block. This is a fantastic cycleway that significantly enhances the foreshore along the coast and the city. The only problem is navigating from the road into New Plymouth onto the cycleway. The road signage and maps need to be improved to make the route to the cycleway obvious. The highlights of Taranaki include the gardens both in New Plymouth and also the gardens in the surrounding areas. The route includes a visit to the Pukeiti Gardens which are just out of New Plymouth going south and are well worth a visit. New Plymouth has good cafes and there is the impressive Govett Brewster Art Gallery to visit.

Cape Egmont Lighthouse

From	To	Distance
Stratford	Te Wera	43.3
Te Wera	Whangamomona	24.5
Whangamomona	Te Wera	24.5
Te Wera	Onaero Bay	60.8
Onaero Bay	New Plymouth	26.9
New Plymouth	Pukeiti Gardens	23.3
Pukeiti Gardens	Cape Egmont Lighthouse	30.0
Cape Egmont Lighthouse	Opunake	25.2
Opunake	Hawera	53.1
Hawera	Stratford	39.3
Total		350.9