This was our first long trip together and my (Inge’s) first cycling trip. Although I’d grown up cycling every day in the Netherlands, it had usually been short distances. The idea of cycling 80 – 100km a day seemed impossible to me. But, after some training rides, gradually increasing the distances, I felt ready and looked forward to the trip.
I remember talking to someone shortly before our departure and telling her about our upcoming trip. She looked astonished and asked: “You’ve never bike toured before and you’re committing to a 2-month tour? What if, after a few days, you discover you don’t like it?”.
Hmmm. Good question. That thought had never crossed my mind; I’d simply assumed I would enjoy the bike touring. Fortunately, I was right.
We previously published this trip a blog that no longer exists. For completeness sake, we have added the trip to our current travel blog. If you’ve followed our travels since the early days, the photos and stories might seem familiar; if you started reading our blog more recently, the stories will be new. Either way, we thought you might enjoy some sunny stories and pictures during this grey time of year.
Trip facts
The trip was from Dec. 19, 2004 until February 19, 2005 and included two bike tours: first the South Island (1,310km), then the North Island (1,256km). In between, and at the start and end of the trip, we spend time with friends in Auckland and did a short car road trip to North Point of New Zealand.
Here you can find a maps of our South Island route and North Island route.
For anyone interested in bike touring New Zealand, here is our log of dates and distances.