Which is New Zealand's South Island best motorcycling ride?

Thanks for that, looking on google earth it also looks like you can get over to Wanaka via dirt coming out on Motatapu Rd?

Nope. There is a public walking & mountainbike track through there but no vehicle access.

Cheers
Clint

I'll add my sixpence worth

Tarred road has to be Hwy 6 from Nelson to Westport following the mighty Buller River, then down to Haast, provided it is not bloody raining!

Gravel, Skippers without a doubt, followed by the Black Forest track.

The only major gravel road I have not ridden is the Nevis Track. Have attempted it a couple of times, but weather, deep river crossings, and running out of time have stopped me. Hope to tick this box after the Burt Munroe festival in November.

This time I will spend a month in the South and 2 months in the North, hoping to explore all the back roads.

Agreed!
Old Dunstan or from Millers Flat-Lake Onslow end?
The top can get bloody muddy though , never thought it'd be that spongy.

Nice to see so many visitors enjoying my backyard, makes me appreciate what's on my doorstep.

Still hard to beat the above routes, maybe the Southern Scenic Route gives things a nudge.

So many good choices! For a sealed road on a good day it would be hard to beat sh6 right up (or down) the West Coast. For gravel I would say the rainbow road, it's simply spectacular

Yeah they are good motorcycle roads to ride, but they aint an Adventure

For me, I have to choose the road I commute on every day, Picton to Havelock via the Queen Charlotte Drive.

I go round it at 7am and it's busy if I see 6 cars going the other way.
Of course on the way home each day is a different story, but I just cruise it slowly and enjoy the scenery in my back yard.



As for gravel roads, I love all the roads around the outer sounds, Keneperu, Titirangi, French Pass, Waterfall Bay and so on.

But my favorite for long riding is tiki touring around the Rainbow Road area, so many huts and other areas you can explore and the scenery is so rugged.