Any board members in New Zealand? My partner and I will be on a bike tour of the south island late April early May. Could not rent a Bird, will probably be on an STS1300. Looking forward to the beautiful country. Drop me a line.

Mr. Mike.

Check the map site. Yes, there are a few Kiwi Birds on this site. You can rent a VFR 800. There are several Kiwi M.C. rentals available. I've seen tour companies in Brit Mags. Try Viewzi — What are you looking for? and search for rentals/tours/N.Z. You'll get plenty of his.

G'day Mike

You'll miss the best of the weather down south but it should still be reasonable. The north island is still warm at that time. The good thing with the Southern Alps is that if the weather is a a bit dodgy on one side, you can always use one of the fantastic mountain passes to nip over the other side. You won't need to pre-book accommodation at that time of the year. If you want an idea of what to expect, have a look at my trip report here: Un Zed.

I do recommend you to buy this book before you come: New Zealand Motorcycle Atlas: Amazon.co.uk: Peter Mitchell: Books. It's our bible and as well as maps, has great routes and points of interest. The perfect book for visitors and Kiwis alike.

If you need anything else, PM me and I'll be glad to help. If you want additional perspective from another visitor, I can put you in touch with a UK-based 'bird owner who toured the south island in 2007 and is back in a couple of weeks to do the north island and part of the south again. (Guess that speaks for itself, haha)

Cheers,

Geoff

KiwiBird, thanks for the insight. I knew the weather is a potential issue, that is your fall season I believe. The touring dates have more to do with my schedule ( I start up new power plants for a living and the current assignment has not been going well). I will purchase the book you suggest immediately. The tour operator I am dealing with suggests the temps. 20-24 in daytime, teens in the evening, does that sound correct? We are looking forward to the trip.

Cheers,

Mr. Mike.

Mike, you already have my PM's but I didn't talk about the weather. Yep, the figures stated are reasonable as an "average" but variability is the main issue depending on exactly where you are... east or west of the Alps, north or south of the island and there's a few places which have their own microclimates. In a PM, I mentioned a friend who is involved with power generation down south. They have comprehensive rain and temperature records for various parts of the island. Will see if I can get a summary for you by region.

Geoff