Thrilling Guided Tours on Bicycle of South New Zealand

There are few things as breathtaking and exhilarating as traveling with one of several outstanding guided tours on bicycle of

New Zealand. New Zealand is comprised of two major islands, the North Island and the South Island. Of the two, the South

Island offers a more rustic look at the countryside as it rushes beneath your feet on a bicycle. This type of guided tour

is not for the casual cyclist. Hills and mountains are part of the landscape and, while you can walk these areas, it抯 better if you抳e worked out on a

bicycle a little bit beforehand.

One of the nicest guided tours of the South Island of New Zealand begins when you land in Christchurch. This large city is

the take off point for many who are going to Antarctica, so if you have time between flights, take a tour of the Antarctic

Centre, just a couple of blocks from the airport. It抯 a museum of sorts about exploration in Antarctica.

Most likely, guided tours of the South Island won抰 actually start in Christchurch and you抣l be taking a propeller

plane (yes, a propeller plane) over the vast and enormous mountain range that runs down the middle of the island and you抣l

arrive at a spit of an airport in a village like Hokitika, where the bicycling really begins.

Some may ask why there are guided tours of this part of New Zealand at all because there is really only one main road

traveling south along the shoreline of the rustic and wild Tasman Sea. You can抰 get lost. Even so, the tour guides will

carry extra food and will probably have a bike trailer to pick up the bikes of stragglers that can抰 finish the day抯 ride.

The riders take off in the direction of the guide and move along at their own pace.

It抯 very easy to see why there are guided tours of this part of the country. The mountains are ever-present on your left,

there are beautiful, unspoiled forests and the rivers run clear and are of a striking aqua color due to the mineral content

of the water coming off the mountains. Remember, though, they drive on the opposite side of the road as in the US so you

have to train your mind to watch for any traffic accordingly.

In truth, there is very little traffic and bicycles own the road on most guided tours of the South Island. One can bicycle

three full days without ever seeing even a small village. Instead, there are bed and breakfast inns or small motels along

the way and many meals can be made by the tour guide.

If you抮e on one of these guided tours of New Zealand, you抣l not only see Mount Hercules but you抣l feel like Hercules

(or very tired) after climbing the impressive mountain. And don抰 forget the exhilaration of riding back down. One of

the other highlights of your tour will be the Franz Josef Glacier, south of Whataroa. It抯 a gigantic dirty piece of ice

dangling in the crevice between two mountains. Still, it抯 an impressive site to see.

Most guided tours of this type will allow you to travel 500 km (300 miles) in about a week. You抣l be on the bicycle much

of the time but viewing this magnificent scenery from this vantage point can抰 be beat. At the end of your tour, you can

fly home via Queensland, in the southern part of the island.

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