Hi there,
For those who want to explore a bit of the country on two wheels and on sealed roads, there is now a cycle touring trip description covering the distance between ChCh and Dunedin – the Great Southern Cycle Tour. We stumbled across this while visiting a tourist info in the South Island, and now have a free set of 11 compact maps (size of a deck of cards) describing stages of approximately 40 – 70 km each.
You can also download the lot from http://www.southisland.org.nz/maps.asp, or check out a tourist info in the area.
Should you not have a suitable touring bike and be looking for a serious and complete randonneur-type hybrid, complete with Ortlieb waterproof paniers, check out http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Cycling/Other-bikes/auction-321829558.htm. It’s from one of our friends, who sells it because he prefers a slightly larger framesize (bike on sale would suit people around 180 – 185 cm).
Cheers,
Hans & Mika