Australasia 2029

It's a South to North trip; following the sun North as autumn sneaks up from the South. 

How to read the itinerary:

From bottom to top.

From right to left.  

The Bledisloe Cup dictated the schedule. 

I was speaking to a man riding the BDR SE route in early October about my NZ plans.  He said,

I thought about it for a moment and realized he was absolutely right.  

Weather in March and April

There are three areas to watch for different reasons:

• Wellington and the Cook Strait approaches: a strong wind reputation. A sunny forecast can still mean an uncomfortable riding day, so I'll check wind separately from rain. NIWA
• Queenstown, Wānaka, Central Otago, and higher inland routes: cold becomes more relevant as April progresses. Central Otago is actually New Zealand’s driest region, but dry weather can come with cold mornings and frost. NIWA
• Northland and the northern/eastern North Island: occasional major rainstorms deserve attention. Northland can have autumn dry spells, but also torrential rain. March and April remain within the tropical cyclone season; ex-tropical systems most commonly affect New Zealand in February or March. NIWA

I'm riding the far south and higher South Island routes in March, then working north as April advances. That mitigates fall cooling concerns, although it cannot guarantee dry weather. The West Coast and Milford portions need flexibility.

⯌

🠉

Auckland🠈 Matakana back roads🠈 Whangārei🠈 Bay of Islands / Russell🠈  Waitangi🠈 Hokianga Harbour🠈  Rawene🠈 Kohukohu🠈 Cape_Reinga/Te_Rerenga_Wairua🠈 

Week 8

🠉

 Coromandel Town🠈  Port_Jackson/Waikawau_Bay🠈 Whitianga🠈 Thames🠈 Rotorua🠈 

Week 7

🠉

 Whakatāne🠈 Ōpōtiki🠈 Te Kaha🠈 Te Araroa🠈 East Cape lighthouse🠈  Tokomaru_Bay🠈 Tolaga Bay🠈 Gisborne🠈 East Cape journey🠈 

Week 6

🠉 

 Napier / Hawke’s Bay🠈 Lake Taupō🠈 

Tongariro/Ruapehu🠈 Taumarunui🠈 Forgotten_World_Highway🠈 

Whangamōmona🠈 Stratford🠈 New Plymouth/Taranaki🠈 

Week 5

🠉

 Whanganui🠈 Whanganui_River_country🠈 Martinborough🠈 

Cape_Palliser🠈 Wellington🠈 Cook_Strait_Ferry🠈 

Week 4

🠉

Punakaiki🠈 Greymouth🠈 Hokitika🠈 Franz Josef/Fox🠈 Ōkārito🠈 

 Haast/Haast Pass🠈 Makarora🠈

Week 3

🠉

 Wānaka🠈 Crown Range🠈 Cardrona🠈 Queenstown🠈 Glenorchy🠈 Te Anau🠈 

Milford Road / Milford Sound🠈 Mavora Lakes🠈  

Week 2

🠉

Riverton / Aparima🠈 Invercargill 🠈 Bluff🠈 Catlins_region🠈 Owaka🠈  Papatowai🠈 Purakaunui_Bay🠈 Dunedin🠈 Ōamaru🠈 Naseby🠈 Central_Otago🠈 Lake_Tekapo🠈 Aoraki/Mount_Cook🠈 Akaroa🠈 

Christchurch🠈

Week 1

🠉

© Joe Wilbourne 2026