Australia - New Zealand - East or west coast of the North island

Going to New Zealand in the spring 2009.
I will arrive in Auckland,
but i cant decide between the west coast (Otorohanga, New Plymouth, Palmerston)
or east coast (Gisborne, Napier) of north island,
before i continue to go to the south island.

Nice beaches, much sun, small amounts of black flies, good cycle roads, short distance between the pub`s i prefer. Climbing the Mt. Taranaki 2518 is also tempting.

Any suggestions what would be the best of west or east?

If you want slightly warmer temperatures, then the East coast route would be the better choice. But the West coast route offers you more varied terrain, in particular Mount Taranaki as you mentioned.

I haven't traveled extensively around the North Island, but I believe there is extensive use of chip seal for road surfacing. Although good for traction, chip seal can cause extra wear and tear on bikes and on cyclists! Also it tends to slow you down.

I don't know if you're aware that for parts of highways that are designated as "motorway", cyclists (and pedestrians) are not allowed to travel on them. In those cases you have to use secondary roads. Motorways are usually restricted to approaches to main centers such as Auckland and Wellington. Please refer to latest maps (try http://maps.google.co.nz for one source of info') for further details. Note that motorways are usually shown on maps in dark orange color, while highways are usually light orange.

Good luck with your trip!

Hey

Interesting info Meeshu.

But what is chip seal?

And if i cant cycle the main road with orange color, lets say road/higway 2 and 35 i might go to another country because if i cant cycle this roads its impossible to cycle this Island.

Hi!

Chip seal is small cube shaped stones from about 3/8" to around 3/4" size sprinkled on top of a base layer of bitumen.

The size and shape of the stones aids traction, but it causes vibration, particularly on smaller tires such as those on bikes. For roads that have chip seal, it is preferable to use the widest and most durable tire for your bike. This will minimize felt vibration and lessen the possibility of getting punctures.

Just to keep things in perspective, it is possible to cycle along 98+ % of state highways. Highways are shown as medium orange color. The motorways (shown as DARK orange), where you are not allowed to cycle on, are only located very close to the main cities. In those cases, there are adjacent roads you cycle on instead. These adjacent roads are usually fairly close to the motorways so no major deviation from your route is required. Outside of the main cities, it is just highway, so you can cycle along them.

It has been quite awhile since I've traveled around parts of the North island, and I can't remember much of what I saw. So I can't suggest specific places which may be of interest, apart from maybe Rotorua with its' geysers, hot clear water and mud pools, and smell of sulfur.

Not much activity here.. i have posted you a couple of special quest in your private Bike-forums box..

Hi there

I am looking for cycling partners in the north island, and to start around end of March-beginning of April in Auckland



I am also interested in tramping and thought about the Tongariro

Anyway, If you are interested, it would be great, even if it's only for the start, or only for a small part of it

Cheers
Achi