Not Quite Motorbiking in New Zealand & Other Places.

[Madmountainman]

Yes, i know, it's early days, but i have a little plan for early 2018 and thought i'd share it with you and see if another person, or persons, would be interested.

I am due to retire, in 2017, at age 51. I've always had the hankering to visit New Zealand and i'm looking to treat myself to an extended trip as a retirement treat. I'm thinking of incorporating a bit of a trip around the globe as part of this trip, in order to make the most of the air miles required and break up the journey.

So, my initial thoughts are to visit the Canadian and North American Rockies, move on to New Zealand and then head back, with possibly a stop off at Nepal. Expected time away would be around three months, as a rough estimate.

My big plan is to have an adventure holiday tour, taking my mountain bike, walking boots and a bit of motorbiking kit. If I travel on my own i'll hire a van in each country and use it for travel and sleeping in. I've always wanted to ride Mammoth Mountain in California and ride all the main areas of New Zealand. Whilst in these areas, I shall also be looking to partake of adventure activities and some of the more usual sight seeing tourist spots, including a bit of motorcycle hire, both on and off road.

I've looked at the costs of travel, hire and accommodation and, i'm happy with my main plan. However, looking at other accommodation/rental costs, it would be a cost effective journey if i shared this trip with another like minded individual or, possibly, individuals. With two people you can hire a car and stay at B&B's on AirBNB for less, per person, than the cost of doing it alone.

Looking at options to break the journey home up, i'm also considering a trekking holiday in Nepal as an extra possibility.

I'm just putting this trip out there at the moment so, if this is of any interest to anyone on here then do drop me a line. It's not a cheap trip but, if you fancy a journey with a flexible itinerary, health and fitness benefits, adventure, sightseeing, motorbiking, mountain biking etc, now's the time to show your interest and help plan a trip of a lifetime.

 

[Snow White]

Would love to join you and I have similar aspirations for when I retire

Unfortunately I don't retire until 2019 so that is a bit long to wait around for me.

In the mean time hope you enjoy and stick a few photos on here so I know what I'm missing whilst still working.

 

[ahebron]

Hi MMM
When you do come to New Zealand dont hire a van buy one. I am assuming you will be here for a wee while
Have a look on
www.trademe.co.nz

Adrian

 

[Bem]

Interesting.
Although I look half your age I will be 60 in 2017, and NZ is one of the first places to go - not sure I can match your stride at present but who knows in 104 weeks time - will keep in touch.
Brian

 

[Madmountainman]

Hi MMM
When you do come to New Zealand dont hire a van buy one. I am assuming you will be here for a wee while
Have a look on
www.trademe.co.nz

Adrian

Hi Adrian,

Thanks for the info. I'd looked into my options for vehicles, including shipping my own etc and decided that rental was the best option for me, as I didn't want the fuss of trying to sort any problems with the van/car if it broke down etc, also getting insurance is another hassle. There's then the hassle involved with trying to sell the vehicle you've bought when you get to the end of your trip and the loss in value, along with the insurance costs, would likely be in the region of what it costs to hire anyway.

If you'd like a UK visitor(s) from ukgser to call by - i hear there are now some really good micro breweries popping up all over NZ - i'll give you a shout when i book the trip.

Rich

 

[Madmountainman]

Interesting.
Although I look half your age I will be 60 in 2017, and NZ is one of the first places to go - not sure I can match your stride at present but who knows in 104 weeks time - will keep in touch.
Brian

Hi Brian,

Although my initial plan is for early 2018, i am due to retire in March 2017. If i am able to accumulate my outstanding annual leave, public holiday leave and hours owed, so that i can get two months off work just before i retire, then i may be able to arrange this trip for early in 2017 instead. If i can't, then i may choose to work on till late in 2017, retire and then go. I believe February's the best time to go for warm weather, with NZ's schools bing on holiday in December/January, so something like mid Jan to end of Feb's looking most likely.
I'm not the hardcore mountain biker i used to be, but i can still put the miles in on a steady basis, hence my wish to do some trails mountain biking, do some more helibiking and even more on a hire bike. Ball park figures for a KLR650 on South Island is around £50 a day. Further excursions on foot, car, raft and jet boat are also on the cards.
If you've got any plans to be in the UK in the next 18 months, let us know and we can hook up for a chat.

Rich

 

[ahebron]

Hi Adrian,


If you'd like a UK visitor(s) from ukgser to call by - i hear there are now some really good micro breweries popping up all over NZ - i'll give you a shout when i book the trip.

Rich

Wellington is full of micro breweries, I did a job in a several of them end of last year.
I believe the rest of the country has a far few too
But I dont drink.
I love the characters and determination of the brewers.
Bets of luck with your plans

Adrian

 

[Madmountainman]

Bloomin thieving, robbing airlines!

Just been looking into flight costs and it's looking like it might end up being New Zealand only, with other countries to be visited at another time.

I can fly from the UK to NZ, business class with Quantas, for 3K. If i wanted to break the trip up with two return flights, one from UK to USA and t'other from USA to NZ, just the Frisco to Auckland section comes in at 4K. That's half the distance to travel for a grand more cost!

Flight costs, from the UK to USA, are pretty good, so i'm thinking i'll go ride Mammoth Mountain later this year and concentrate on NZ only for the big trip. This will mean a shorter time away of 6-8 weeks for NZ, which will be the most cost effective and affordable option.

Flight prices appear to be best booked as far in advance as possible for the best prices and, by allowing a shed load of planning time - for this novice long haul flyer and trip-meister - i can hopefully get any hiccups and changes sorted, so as to not mess things up.

Also, as i'm now focussing on NZ only, i'd consider shipping bikes if another Tosser/s on here fancies sharing the experience. My initial thoughts, if shipping my bike, would be to go mountain biking for 2/3 weeks, hiring a vehicle for easy transport, and then go touring on the bike/s for another 4/6 weeks. I'm not rigid with my plans, can make the trip a little longer or a little shorter, stick with vehicle hire for the whole trip or mix and match, travel on my tod or with company, kip in a van on campsites or B&B it.


If any of this revised plan interests you, either Feb/Mar 2017 or Feb/Mar 2018, get in touch.

 

[Deak]

Look into round the world tickets. They are aimed at "gap year" travellers and work out massively cheaper than individual flights.

You have to travel in one direction, either east or west and can book up to usually 6 different stops along the route.

To give you a comparison, I flew to NZ last April and the flight cost me just over £1,000 return. A round the world ticket stopping in California, Australia, NZ, Asia, Dubai would have cost £1,400 at the time. The length of time spent at each stop off is up to you, but is planned into the flight schedule in advance.

Not sure if they do business class though, as its designed for impoverished students!

 

[hmmmnz]

as a kiwi myself ill pipe up and agree with what the other kiwi has said,
buy a van, and stay longer a month to do nz will be barely scratching the surface, ideally its a 3 month trip at least to do both islands,
insurance isnt required in nz, and even if you do decide to get it, its peanuts due to not being forced to get it,
my partner (shes a scot) her younger brother came over and bought a van which cost $300 for the whole year (£150) and he was 18.

 

[Madmountainman]

Well it's been a while and i've been looking into my trip plans, possible time schedules and itinerary.
It's now looking like a business class RTW ticket, taking in North West USA, Hawaii, New Zealand and back home via Japan. Star Alliance is looking to be the best flight carrier for my needs.

I'm looking at starting my trip late August/September 2017, flying into San Francisco and doing a grand circuit of the National Parks. This is a trip of at least 5000 miles, which i'm planning 6-8 weeks. In this time slot, I want to see some of the natural splendour of the US, do some hiking and, mainly, take my mountain bike with me and ride!

Once my tour is done, it'll be a flight over to Honolulu for a couple of weeks R&R…. with maybe a ride or two.

After chilling/exploring Hawaii, it's a flight down to New Zealand for another 6-8 weeks of exploring, hiking and mountain biking. After that, it's home via Tokyo - for a few days rest and exploring - and then back home.

This schedule has me heading home just before Christmas, at the earliest, but I may wait till January 2018 to head back.

I've wanted to do this trip for many years and the time's coming to go and enjoy it. I'm more than happy to partake this trip of a lifetime on my own, but i'm also happy, should another person be interested, to consider having someone ride shotgun.

Costings:-

RTW Ticket. I've priced up Business Class, due to my height, and found that Star Alliance gave me what I was after at £5500 with added costs. Compared to doing this in two trips, Business return to NZ with Emirates is £3600 (plus taxes I believe) and Virgin Premium Economy to San Francisco at £1500.

Car Hire:-
USA 6 Weeks £750
NZ 6 Weeks £450

Accommodation:-
USA was a bit pricey, but Airbnb, with early bookings, can see you staying in really nice places for around £30-£35 average.
I've not priced up NZ as yet, but with far more backpackers accommodation and Airbnb, it's looking more around £20-£30 average.
I've binned the van hire plan, due in main to the difficulty in arranging a long term hire, extra CDW/mileage costings involved and camping costs - extra baggage etc.
Hiring a compact/intermediate car is the best value, with unlimited mileage allowance, best mpg figures for fuel costs and CDW insurance being available independently at really great rates. Staying at Airbnb accommodation provides a comfy nights' sleep, self catering, local knowledge/socialising and a hot shower/bathroom facilities.

That's it for now. If this initial plan is of interest, be it for the whole trip or just a part, the fact that you can share travel/accommodation costs makes it better if two travel rather than one. Which is why i'd like a travel buddy. I'm organising this trip for me so, as long as you're coming for Mountain biking, Hiking and Sightseeing, in the areas i'm going to visit and to my timescale, drop me a PM. If you are thinking this might be for you, i'm looking at booking my flight ticket it at the end of this year, unless I find Air New Zealand has a flight sale and/or RTW special offer

 

[Madmountainman]

It's stuff like this that makes it worth going….

 

[Reggie P]

I am due to retire, in 2017, at age 51.

Congratulations ... how fantastic to be able to do that ! Well done. Enjoy

 

[Madmountainman]

With Canada being so close, it's now on the itinerary, with riding at Whistler, Canmore and Kimberley, with a bit of sightseeing at Banff.

The high line trail at Canmore looks like a nice round trip ride…

 

[Bem]

Oy Rich!
Check your inbox mate, PM`s not accepted so are you full up?
Brian

 

[Bem]

Anyone seen Rich??

 

[Madmountainman]

Sorry Brian, i've been in the wars with my pooter, coupled with my subscription ending and going away, i've just got back online. To update, i'm still waiting to hear from work regards my time off in February next year. I've clocked a likely car hire company called Go Rentals and got the BBH hostels guide through the post at the weekend. I'm aiming to walk some of the classic high trails - Milford, Heathy Tracks etc, which will require booking and, dependant on available slots, will affect where and when i'll be visiting certain areas of NZ. I've also bookmarked a trail bike tours company in the Queenstown area. I've also priced up flights and, if all goes to plan, I can fly to NZ, via Brisbane, on Quantas/Virgin for £2.5K Business return, which came in at a cheaper price than the cheapest Lon - NZ Business return on a less favourable carrier.
I've just paid my subscription, so PM's should be back up and running soon.

 

[Pathologic]

Just do it.

Hi Brian,

PhysioJo and me were in the south Island in November. Just awesome. It is quite cold that time of year. We bought a tent for some stop overs. The sites are well organised and cheap. See attached. Hope you have a great time.

 

[Bem]

Welcome back Rich
PM sent
Brian