Sadly the tour is over for many of us (some will be on the north island extention), but we had great time during the last two weeks.

Great weather, great fun, but most important a great atmosphere created by an incredible group of people! 

Thank you very much guys, see you soon!

Your tourguides,

Malcolm, Tom and Ursula

Day 13: Rotorua - Auckland

Katharina, Michael and Jörg went on a helicopter flight to White Island, see their pictures below., Some went to Hobbinton, others to the Coromandel Peninsula. Will have a lot of different storries tonight.

Hobbiton

After the filming of "The Lord of the Rings" was completed, the little town of Hobbiton, built of styrofoam and cardboard, was left to itself and disappeared almost completely within a few years. But LOTR-fans from around the world found the place and kept coming to see it. When Hobbiton was rebuilt for the movie "The Hobbit" the producers made sure that this time more permanent materials were used, so that Hobbiton could be turned into a tourist attraction after the film was completed. And boy, what tourist attraction it is!

Which one is real, which on is fake???

The left is faked. 200.000 artificial leafes on it. When it was ready, Peter Jackson didn`t like the colour of the leafes, it was not close enough to reality. He let them all remove, repaint and put it on again.

Hi Frodo

and last not least we had a surprise for the last supper

Day 12: Napier - Rotorua

We split the groups today. One did the long route via Gentle Anny the other enjoyed Napier a bit longer in the morning and went on the shorter one. So everybody happy.

The pass known as Gentle Annie was paved very recently. It will take you across the very sparsely populated hills west of Hastings.

team Hungaria

what a scenery

the warriors are tired

The second group took the highway 5 till lake Taupo and then drove through the Waikato River and the Waikete Valley.

33° Celsius (92° F) and a nice ride through the geothermal plant and the view of a geyser!

NZ’s largest lake sits in the caldera of a volcano that began erupting about 300,000 years ago. The caldera was formed by a collapse during the Oruanui eruption about 26,500 years ago, which threw out 800 to 1100 cu km of ash and pumice, making Krakatoa (8 cu km) and Mount St. Helens (3 cu km) look like pimples.

The last major cataclysm was in 180AD, shooting up enough ash into the atmosphere for the red skies to be noted by the ancient Romans and Chinese. The area is still volcanically active and, like Rotorua, has fascinating thermal hot spots.

Today the 606-sq-km (234 sq miles) lake and its surrounding waterways are serene enough to attract fishing enthusiasts from all around the world. Due to the lack of predators Brown Trout, once imported from California, can grow incredibly big.

Day 11: Wellington - Napier

We cut through the suburbs of Wellington and climb Rimutaka Hill, a spectacular and usually windswept pass road. Then we leave the highway in favor of small roads without traffic and loop through the Martinborough wine region. “New Zealand’s Napa Valley” is a popular place for Wellingtonians to spend their weekends, and on sunny days the area is full of bicycles, motorcycles and convertibles.

The long route goes through green, hilly farm country we ride to Pongaroa, where we have lunch in the historic hotel. Be careful, there may be sheep on the road at any time!
We'll end up in Napier, the Art Deco capital of New Zealand.

Day 10: Restday Wellington

Today’s short ride leads to the Kapiti Coast where we can visit the Southward Car Museum, the largest vintage car collection in New Zealand and one of the best in the world. 
Of course you don't have to ride if you don't want to. Wellington has enough on offer to keep you busy for a day. Very busy!

Te Papa Museum - a must 

Day 9: Richmond - Wellington

Today is a special day because we will embark on a cruise! But first we ride through the scenic Marlborough Sounds, one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand. Most impressive: a ride on Queen Charlotte Drive, definitively among the world’s most phenomenal roads.
In Picton we board the ferry, glide through picturesque Queen Charlotte Sound out to Cook Strait, and after just over three hours we reach Wellington, the nation’s capita

Herzlichen Glückwunsch Manfred und Sam zur 5. Tour. Passt gut auf das T-Shirt auf, es ist wahrscheinlich das teuerste in eurer Garderobe

Day 8: Punakaika - Homestay around Motueka

We leave Punakaiki, the site of the famous “Pancake Rocks,” and after only 40 miles we take a break at beautiful Cape Foulwind with its seal colony. Historic gold digger sites mark our ride along the legendary Buller River and through the wild, remote bush and forest landscape of the South Island.
We will spend the night not with the group but on individual, B&B-like “Country Stays”, which gives us the opportunity to experience everyday life in this wonderful country.

first picture stop in the morning - beautiful West (Wet) Coast

what is this guy looking for??

Graeme has his own Microbrewery and we got a taste of it

Day 7: Fox - Punakaiki

We leave the ice behind and head towards gold in Hokitika, the old gold digger capital. Due to its historical background the West Coast is also known as the Gold Digger Coast, but nowadays everything around here revolves around jade, also known as greenstone, or Pounamu, as the Maori call it. 
Arthurs Pass is the main crossing point of the Southern Alps, the only road in New Zealand that features high alpine scenery as we know it from the European Alps. It is a lovely ride, but the main reason to come up here are the Keas, alpine parrots with a very bad reputation. They are super-smart and highly endangered, and up here on the pass we have the best chance of seeing some

Day 6: Queenstown - Fox

This day is an unforgettable experience. The country's highest pass, a beautiful road with spectacular panoramic views, brings us into Cardrona Valley and to Wanaka, a small town at the southern end of Lake Wanaka.
We ride along beautiful panoramas and past crystal clear mountain lakes that often reflect the surrounding mountains. From the dry steppe of Central Otago we descend to the damp rainforests of the West Coast, an amazing, overwhelming change in scenery. Our route leads us over Haast Pass and along the Haast River down to the Tasman Sea. The West Coast Highway, one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the world, brings us to Fox Glacier.

Ship Creek - we saw Dolphins

Day 5: Rest day in Queenstown

Queenstown is a place unlike any other in New Zealand. It is full of backpackers, adventure-seekers and adrenaline-junkies, the average age seems to be somewhere around 25, and the air is saturated with fun, adventure and party.
This beautiful town, nestled between mountains right at Lake Wakatipu, is named the Adventure Capital of the world; after all it’s the place where bungy jumping was invented. You can also put your courage to the test at jet boating, white water rafting, aerobatics, sky diving, paragliding, or -sailing. But it’s not all about hair-raising adventure activities; there is also relaxing ones like a cruise on the 100 year old steamer TSS Earnslaw, or a tour from winery to winery.
If you want to ride your bike you should take the road along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy, filmset for LOTR - it`s paradise. 

our adrenalin junkies are waiting for boarding 

a jetboat for Edelweiss only

Wow

Queenstown,Lake  Wakatipu and the Remarkables from Bob`s Peak

the TSS Earnslaw is steaming already

Day 4: Te Anau - Milford Sound - Queenstown

What a day!!!

This long riding day will introduce you to one of the most scenic corners of New Zealand. From Te Anau we follow the road along the lake of the same name. The road winds its way through the rainforest and climbs up to an elevation of almost 3,000 ft., then drops down to sea level in only a handful of daring curves. It ends at beautiful Milford Sound, a wonderland of high mountains, numerous waterfalls and abundant wildlife.

It is describe as one of the most beautiful and scenic roads in the world - and we think it`s true. 

We embarked on a cruise to enjoy this overwhelming part of New Zealand from all angles. Tom prepared a fantastic picnic at Lake Te Anau - the level is high now - and after that we made our way back along Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown.

6.45 am - everybody ready to go

Theresa and Paul (Manfred)

on the cruise into Milford Sound

the happy Hungarians

Toms picnic at Lake Te Anau - one could marry him. Theresa had the better idea - you could hire him

delicious picnic on an  awesome spot

our special guests: Horst (left) and Eva (right) from Invercargill.. They took care about Fritz (middle) when he was in hospital there a year ago. Their live and love story would make maybe even a better movie than the "The world fastest Indian".

What does a German ask for when living 50 years in Invercargill? Some Hanuta and a good German mustard. Fritz brought both

Thank you very much Horst and Eva that you visited us und shared some time with Fritz and the group. It was a pleasure to have you. All the best 

Day 3: Twizel to Te Anau

2. Day: Christchurch - Twizel

Leaving Christchurch behind we start our day - in the weather is right - by climbing up to Summit Road. This spectacular panoramic road follows the rim of the ancient volcanic crater that is now Banks Peninsula and offers fantastic views down to the city and the coast. Then we ride through the green, fertile Canterbury plains, always along the Alps and finally via Burks Pass up to the MacKenzie High Country. The unique turquoise-colored waters of Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo, combined with the snow-covered mountains, make for picture-perfect scenery.
The view of Lake Tekapo through the altar window of the “Church of the Good Shepherd,” is amazing, and the ride to and the view from Mt. John Observatory is just as fantastic. Up here you can also find the South Island's highest café.
Just before we arrive in Twizel, we pull over at New Zealand’s number one lookout: the view across the turquoise-colored waters of Lake Pukaki towards Mt. Cook will take your breath away.

Laszlo and Regina

Sam and Dick

everybody is a bit excited

view down into the 35 mio year old crater

Rakaia Gorge

Katharina and Michael

Theresa and Manfred

the altar picture in the church of the god shepherd

Lake Tekapo

Church of the Good Shepherd

Jörg is meditating into the overwhelming landscape

Lake Pukaki

1. Day: Arrival in Christchurch

Welcome to the land of the long white cloud. The first New Zealand tour in 2018 is about to start. The bikes are almost ready, heaps of paperwork is done as well, most of our guest are in. We have quite a big group, 18 bikes, 25 riders from all over the world. So stay tuned....