Best way to travel around the South Island

Cycling in Fiordland | Peter N

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"If I could give it 10 stars I would" - Peter

Living in remote Australia, Peter and his wife, Karen jumped on a flight to explore the natural beauty of New Zealand. They jumped on two of our guided adventures back to back; the Alps to Ocean Classic and our Milford and Fiordland Hike, Bike and Kayak. For Karen, it was her first time riding trails on a guided cycling tour. Read on to follow Peter's journey down the South Island.

Alps to Ocean Classic

First up was our 6-day Alps to Ocean Classic cycling tour. We were somewhat daunted at the prospect of riding 300 plus kilometres, especially Karen who had never ridden trails.

The scenery on A2O is simply stunning for someone who lives in remote Australia where we have lots of brown dirt.

The trip itself had 13 riders plus 2 guides. It was amazing in every aspect from organisation, to safety, to food & accommodation and the varying views along the journey were simply spectacular.

Karen's eBike was her safety net riding up the hills and she thoroughly enjoyed every day. I also took the eBike and probably only used for 5% of the journey but I thank god I had it then! And all the women in our group loved their eBikes! That said, the eBikes are 10kg heavier so if you're fit and not 66 you may not need it.

Our guides, Steve was super experienced and thorough whilst Harry was a first-timer but learnt fast and was great fun to be around too.

A week later Peter and Karen combined the Around the Mountains trail with an overnight expedition on this 5-day multi-activity adventure. It provides the perfect opportunity to experience the natural wonders of Fiordland and the enchanting Milford Sound. Over to you, Peter.

Milford and Fiordland Hike, Bike and Kayak

This tour had it all with kayaking on Milford Sound, two fantastic hikes and 3 solid days of riding.

The Milford Sound overnight experience is the only way to do it. Any other option is all day on a bus for 2 hours at the Sound.

The rest of the accommodation was very comfortable and the meals (salmon) at the Distinction in Te Anau were superb. Throughout the 5 days, Rudy was a dedicated guide. He was very knowledgeable passing on his vast experience working in the New Zealand National Parks.

Fortunately, there were only a few steep hills to negotiate over the 150km of riding so I used a Standard bike. Karen had an eBike again and it will get anyone up and over the hills with ease.