Planning notes for a self-guided motorcycle tour of Aotearoa New Zealand, from the paperwork to the passes, written from the questions riders ask us.
Start here
How a self-guided motorcycle tour works
From the discovery call to the last day: the bike, the route in the app, every night’s stay and what happens if something goes wrong.
All guides
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Riding a motorcycle in New Zealand as a visitor
Your licence, the NZeTA and the visitor levy, riding on the left, police checks, fuel and tolls, pillions and what to do after an accident.
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When to ride New Zealand by motorcycle: seasons and weather
The prime, peak and shoulder seasons month by month: daylight, temperatures, bad weather and how each season prices your journey.
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How long to ride New Zealand: one to four weeks by motorcycle
What 7, 14, 21 and 28 days cover: one island or both, rest days, distances, and what each length leaves out.
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Guided or self-guided: choosing a motorcycle tour of New Zealand
A group with a guide and often a support vehicle, or your own pace with the route in the app: who each suits, and the support each gives.
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What to pack for a New Zealand motorcycle tour
Riding gear, layers for four seasons in a day, power plugs, medicine and what the bike already carries.
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Riding two-up: a New Zealand motorcycle tour for pillions
For the one on the back: choosing the bike for two, luggage for two, the ferry, rest days, and what pillions pay (nothing).
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New Zealand motorcycle roads on our journeys
The passes and roads the journeys ride, from the Coromandel Loop to Arthur’s Pass, and which journey rides each.
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Christchurch to Queenstown by motorcycle
The direct road and its time, then the two ways our journeys ride it: south over the Lindis Pass by Aoraki / Mount Cook, and back by the Haast Pass and the West Coast.
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Queenstown to Milford Sound by motorcycle: the Milford Road
Distance and time from Queenstown, the night in Te Anau, the Homer Tunnel, fuel, closures and the stops on the way.
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Lord of the Rings filming locations on a New Zealand motorcycle tour
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit locations our routes pass, from Matamata to Twizel and Glenorchy, and which journey rides by each.
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Taking a motorcycle on the Cook Strait ferry
Crossing from Wellington to Picton with the bike on Ultimate NZ and Aotearoa Odyssey: boarding, tie-downs and cancelled sailings.
- Quick answers
83 questions answered in the FAQ
Licences, prices and what’s included, insurance, seasons, ferries and road rules.
Plan your journey
Talk it through with us
A discovery call is the easiest place to start: your dates, the bike, the route and where you stay each night. Or email info@wandrith.nz. We reply within one business day.