In December 2006 I spent 13 days cycling from Auckland to Eastland on the North Island of New Zealand, a distance of about 1200 km (750 mile) return. On the tour in 2003 I had cycled the perimeter of Eastland from Opotiki to Te Araroa and Gisborne then back to Opotiki. Look at the map to see my approximate route on the 2006 tour (blue line, anticlockwise). The light blue lines show where I went from Auckland to Pukekohe by train and from Huntly to Auckland by bus in order to avoid busy traffic in the city. The places I stayed overnight are indicated by green dots namely: Hamilton, Rotorua, Ngaputahi (an intersection near the start of 95 km of gravel road through the Ureweras), Lake Waikaremoana, Morere, Gisborne, Tokomaru Bay, Te Araroa, Te Kaha, Opotiki, Te Puke, and Matamata.

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them; click Back on your browser to return to this page.