Airfare hot deal, LAX to Auckland, from US$1150pp incl. Travel period 1 Sep- 9 Dec, or 1 Feb '15 - 31 Mar '15. Deal ends 6 Jul, 2014

Click here for the deal:
Air Tahiti July Special - 3 Free Nghts in Tahiti, from US$1150pp

Good luck!  :)

All the best,

John

Airfare Deals to NZ for travel between Nov 2013 to Apr 2014. From as low as £892

Check out these  great air fare deals shown on TripAdvisor.  London to Auckland from as low as £892. Get your mouse clicking and get down here. :-)

http://flights.tripadvisor.co.uk/en_GB/mobile/cal?travelers=1&airport0=LHR&airport1=AKL&fare=892&fareCurrency=GBP&date0=20140201

Keep the rubber side down..

All the best,

John

November 2012 Airfare Deals to New Zealand...

Thinking of touring New Zealand in November 2012? Here's some great special airfare deals:


Kayak.com show a great fare from London to Auckland in November for GBP809 via Singapore Airlines.

http://www.kayak.co.uk/flights#/LON,nearby-AKL,nearby/2012-11-01/2012-11-20

and LAX to Auckland in November on Air Pacific  for US$1009:
http://www.kayak.co.uk/flights#/LAX,nearby-AKL,nearby/2012-11-01/2012-11-20

Air New Zealand Specials
London - Auckland or Wellington  - GBP912 return  per person return (via Shanghai)
http://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/new-zealand-economy-class-special
Sale ends: 19 Jul 2012
Travel period: 14 Sep - 15 Nov 2012

Stay tuned. We'll keep watching for you... :-)
All the best,

John

Congratulations to Claudia Rogers - Winner of our 2nd Free Guided Tour prize at BMWMoA Rally 09

We've just finished delivering our final seminar and the 2009 BMWMoA Rally at the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray, Tennessee. Claudia's name was the 2nd drawn out of the box (the first name wasn't present).

Claudia and husband Richard are over the moon at their win, and are now making plans to join us soon. Congratulations guys!

Thanks to all those people who visited us at our booth, attended our seminars, and to our many friends who just dropped in to say Hi. .

Special thanks to Jill Martin, Gray and Alison Buckley, Roy Blakney, Peter Williams, Brian Rathjen and Shira Kamil (my shout next dinner guys!)

And of course to the BMWMoA Rally organisers and volunteers who made the event possible.

Thanks all. A great event.

Safe riding

John

Save big $$$$'s on your NZ vacation - The NZ$ takes a big dive against the US$

If you're touring New Zealand with us this year, or if you're thinking of touring New Zealand with us this year, pay attention! There's a silver lining to every cloud...

The ructions going on in the financial markets have caused the NZ$ to drop dramatically against the US$. In early October 2008, the NZ$ was worth US$0.67... (or to put it the other way around, US$1.00 bought NZ$1.49. Today, on Oct 8th, US$1.00 buys NZ$1.69. That's a change of 14% in the favour of the US$.

If you are thinking of booking a vacation in New Zealand, or you are booked to come and tour with us and have paid a deposit, it really would be worth considering paying the full amount now and taking advantage of the drop in the value of the NZ Dollar. By way of example, if you and your partner are booked on one of our 14 days Best of The Best Guided Tours, the saving is equivalent to the cost of a free return international flight from the US to NZ for one person.

Get that mouse clicking... :-)

Cheers for now. Safe riding..

John

GoTourNZ video on YouTube

If you've attended any of our seminars on Touring New Zealand at some of the US motorcycle rallies that we exhibit at each year, you may have already seen this video - if you haven't you're in for a treat. It's a 12 minute video clip with sound showcasing a guided tour of New Zealand's South Island with us, GoTourNZ.com. Get yourself a beer, wine, coffee... turn up the volume, and enjoy.. :-) (Drop us a line if you'd like a hi-res DVD version.
Cheers,
John, Ian and Ian Jnr

Now you can tour New Zealand with GoTourNZ.com on BMW's new 800GS twin

For the upcoming 2008-09 touring season we've added BMW's new capable middleweight twins, the 800cc 2008 F650GS and F800GS models. The F800 has received great reviews by the motorcycling press, and we were impressed with them when we saw them at the 2008 BMWMOA Rally in Gillette, Wyoming. We were particularly impressed with the low seat height on the low frame F650GS model(remember this is still an 800cc model). Even if you have Duck's Disease like me (I'm only 5'6") you'll be able to get both feet down easily. Demand is strong for these new models so be quick and book if you want to tour on one. Get your skates on..

See you DownUnder...

John

Which shall I choose - a Self-Guided or a Guided tour?

The 2008/2009 season is shaping up to be another very busy year for tourism in New Zealand - our Guided tour packages are proving to be very popular with many clients booking now for the coming season.

I regularly am answering questions from people planning to visit New Zealand about whether a Guided tour can offer them what they want, or if they should choose our Self-Guided option....or even just go for a straight rental.

Many people have a misconception about what a Guided tour really means or offers, and it often conjures up pictures in their minds of a coach tour with hoards of people, an over-bearing guide, and being herded around like sheep with people they may not really like...

We can understand this being a worry, and we would like to put any fears to rest. Our Guided tours are vastly different from the picture above. Through feedback from our clients we have created a Guided tour package that is light in structure, small groups ( around 10 people) and guided by us unobtrusively but attentively. In fact many of our clients tell us to stop referring to these packages as " Guided" as they feel this steers people away from what they experience as the holiday of a lifetime and richly rewarding. Te energy and friendships that are generated on these tours is incredible - and quite a surprise to people when they realise their tours is far more than just a motorcycle tour.

The Self-Guided package offers flexibility and many options, and for people who just want to go it alone, this is an excellent alternative. However, you must be a self-starter and able to follow our detailed guide booklet so your tour unfolds seamlessly...and be able to pack for your journey in the panniers the bike provides! ( some people are just not able to do this..)

If you haven't been to New Zealand before, and are considering a straight rental to save money and research the journey on the internet, be aware that the services we offer to stitch your itinerary together utilising our up-to-date knowledge and network of relationships, will ensure a hassle free holiday for you. You can "turn your brain off and concentrate on enjoying your vacation, without all the worries about timing, accommodation and missing things through 'just not knowing' . We recommend that you don't try this the first time you visit New Zealand. If you have doubts, ask yourself this: Could we come to your area of the world and find the best restaurants,cafes and lodging (and avoid the horror stories), the most interesting roads, views etc, by reading a guide book?

Come and enjoy beautiful New Zealand now! We will help you create the vacation of a lifetime.

Safe riding, and Best Regards,

John, Ian, and Ian Jnr

Latest Air New Zealand Flight Specials

Check out these new specials from Air New Zealand from the US to NZ return - from only US$1098.

Not a bad deal if the dates suit...

SUMMER in NEW ZEALAND Valid for travel commencing
01 Mar - 31 Mar 08

$1,098*

http://www.airnewzealand.com/airfares_offers/web_specials_flights/flights/summer_in_new_zealand_998_31dec07.htm



Good Luck!

Cheers, from on the road with Tour 2007-1BB in Akaroa

John

Test ride on Moto Morini's 1200 Corsaro

The guys at our sister company Thunderbike Powersports (www.thunderbike.co.nz) recommended I take a out a Moto Morini Corsaro 1200 demonstrator last week. I love big lusty Italian V twins so it was an easy sell. With Graeme from Thunderbike on Tbike's KTM Superduke demo, and friend Shane on his O6 Triumph Sprint 1050 with set off for a quick fang through the Moutere Hills, to the West of Nelson. We're enjoying a fantastic spell of weather this November, and the weather was perfect.

The Corsaro was a delightful surprise - booming exhaust note, smooth, relentless "fat" power everywhere, great handling, fab brakes, compliant yet firm suspension, great riding position. It was perfect for the twisting hilly backroads surrounding Nelson.

In short, I want one - and I have ridden most offerings from other manufacturers in this naked sports bike genre.

If you get a chance to ride one a Corsaro, grab it with both hands. If you're contemplating buying a naked big bore scratcher, make sure you test ride one of these before parting with your cash.


Siezure later,

John.

Latest Air New Zealand Deals for USA to NZ commencing Feb 1, 2008

I've just been browsing around Air New Zealand's US website and found this deal below - might be worth checking out if you're thinking of a motorcycle tour of New Zealand with GoTourNZ.com just as it starts to get cold/icy up in there. :-)

Flights start at US$1272 per person. Check it out here:

http://www.airnewzealand.com/airfares_offers/web_specials_flights/flights/nz_from_usa_949_25_05_06.htm

Happy hunting..

Seizure later

John

On the road with Tour 2007-10BB. Wanaka to Queenstown

Nov 6, 2007: Wanaka to Queenstown

We woke to an absolute cracker of a day - the sky was almost cloudless.

For those that were into it, we went for a good physical workout with a run up Mt Iron on the outskirts of Wanaka. This peak overlooks Wanaka township and offers spectacular 360 deg views of Wanaka, the Cardrona Valley, and the Alps.

After a hearty breakfast at the Lodge we rode to the Warbirds museum at the airport for a view of the machines of yesteryear. Then it was on the bikes for the great ride up the Cardrona Valley and over the Crown Range to Queenstown. The views are simply breathtaking - this is a "must do" road for any motorcyclist.

Cheers,

John.

On the road with Tour 2007-10BB. Franz Josef to Wanaka

Nov 5, 2007: Franz Josef to Wanaka.

After a damp Day 3 riding from Paroa to Franz Josef, the weather came right in a big way - just what we were hoping for, as the ride to Wanaka is one of the best rides in the world. We woke this morning to a perfectly clear day, so it was into the helicopter for a stunning 45 minute flight up to Mt Cook and a landing in the neve of Franz Josef Glacier. After breakfast, we hit the road for Haast for 3 hours of exhilarating jetboating up a real wilderness river deep into the Alps.


Then it was back on the bikes for the fantastic 2 hour ride over Haast Pass, along the sides of lakes Wanaka and Hawea, and on to Wanaka. I truly believe this to be one of the best rides you'll find anywhere on The Planet - fantastic alpine scenery, twisting, rising, falling, grippy roads....and no traffic.

A long day, but everyone was buzzed. we capped it off with a great meal, some excellent local Pinot Noir....and a soak in the spa for some, watching the stars.

A great day!

On the road with Tour 2007-10BB

Nov 2, 2007.Location: Hanmer Springs.

Our November Best of the Best 14 day South Island tour is on the road and we're off to a great start. Though we're only on Day 2, the weather has been fantastic and the entire group is having a blast.

We spent a the first day pootling around Nelson and Golden Bay getting used to the bikes and riding on the correct side of the road. The views over Golden and Tasman Bays from the top of the Takaka Hill were fantastic.

Today we rode from Nelson to the thermal resort town of Hanmer Springs via Lewis Pass. The roads were almost deserted, and the clean mountain air and sunlight shining through the canopy of the beech forests were great.

On this tour we have a party of 6 one of whom, Laura Flynn, won a free tour with us at the BMWMOA Rally in Burlington, Vermont last year. Each year at the BMWMOA rally in the US, we give away 2 free tour prize - if you live in the US make sure you get along to the MOA rally to be in with a chance for yourself.

I'll post more as the trip progresses.

Safe riding,

John & Ian

North Island Extravaganza February tour 2008

Due to many enquiries for a North Island only tour, we have created a special custom Best of Best Format tour that will show you all the highlights of the North Island - this is a limited opportunity to tour in a small group on a very special layout, so if you are interested please email Ian (IanFitz@GoTourNZ.com) as soon as you can- time is of the essence! The tour will run February 20 - March 4 2008

The Making of Triumph's Rocket 3. You can tour New Zealand on one with GoTourNZ

Believe it, or not... :-)




Believe it or not also, we have Triumph's Rocket 3 available for you to take your tour of New Zealand with GoTourNZ.com on.

If you like performance cruisers, you owe it to yourself to go for a test ride on a Rocket. You'll have trouble wiping the smile from your face.

Just make sure you're not pointed at anything or following too close when you open the tap. These things don't accelerate like a normal motorcycle - that car in front of you will seems to hurtle back toward you, like someone pulling a carpet from under your feet.

Enjoy the video..

Seizure later

John

5 Days on a Big Katoom 990 Adventure

I've been looking forward to spending some time on one of the new additions to our fleet, KTM's '07 990 Adventure. I finally got my chance last week, and loved nearly every minute on it. "Nearly" every minute? Well, at 5' 6", and with the 990's seat height and a fully laden bike, there were a few heart-in-mouth moments on full lock up and downhill turns. One of these days I'm going to invent a bike that automatically lowers its' ride height at low speeds. As soon as I have my next spare nano-second.

Steve Butler and his partner Taryn Ellis from Be-Still riding another 990 (www.be-still.co.nz), my wife Jo (riding her Transalp 650) and I took off for New Plymouth on the North Island's West Coast. N.P. is a citý just in the Northern side of the big outward bulge halfway up the North Is. We covered about 1500km over the 5 days we were away and had an absolute blast.

Here's a 1 min 36 sec video clip of the two Katooms in rush hour traffic in New Zealand.. :-)

What did I like about the big Katoom?
Well, of course I found myself comparing it to BMW's R1200GS, and Triumph's '07 1050 Tiger.

I love the 21 in. front wheel on the Katoom - missing from both GS and Tiger, it makes a huge difference on loose surfaces. Plus, I just like the way narrow tyred bikes steer.

The Adventure seems as tall as either the BM or the Triumph....but it's waaaaay lighter. That meant that when I did have a tippy moment, I could catch it easily, whereas my chances of saving an off balance GS, are almost nil.

The Katoom has the nicest gearchange of the 3 - snick, snick snick. Luvverly.

The Tiger has fantastic power, but on tight twisty roads it feels a bit of a handful. The Katoom has less power, but feels like you can use it all.

The suspension is great, it really seems to handle any condition.

Despite having a monster looking fuel tank with impressive looking double filler caps, you'd better be looking for a fuel station every 250km/150m. Both Tiger and GS have far superior ranges - I guess it all adds weight though. And stopping every 250km means your butt and your passenger will still be talking to you.

I'd rate the 990 my favourite Adventure bike. The 1200 GS makes me feel like a gnat riding a giraffe, and the Tiger 1050? Well, I love that too...but it's not really an Adventure bike anymore, is it? It's a sorta Speed Triple/SuperMoto with a fairing. Fun, but for a different job.

Anyway, we've got 'em all in the GoTourNZ tour fleet. If you disagree with me, come and tour with us and prove me wrong... :-)


Cheers

John Fitzwater
GoTourNZ.com

Touring New Zealand with GoTourNZ.com... a report from a client's perspective

Peter Williams, a guest who has toured New Zealand with us twice previously saw our blog recently and asked if he could make a posting to it. I've pasted it in below unedited. Thanks Peter! ,
Cheers
John
----

First, let me praise organized tours in general. I've been on 7 so far and each one has been better than the previous (The last two were with John and Ian).

Tour operators know the best roads in an area. I took a tour through Vermont, an area that I had ridden in before, and found roads, restaurants, and places to stay I would have never found on my own.

As important as the riding are your fellow riders. I'm getting close to a hundred fellow tour riders and I can truly say that the WORST person on any of the tours was OK to be with. The vast majority would end up in the excellent category with a some in the great area and a special few above excellent.

I say be and not ride because all the tours I have taken let you ride your own way. This is a VERY important point in selecting a tour company. If the tour requires everyone to ride together then neither the person who wants to stop at every flower and boutique along the road and the person who wants to put in 400 miles (I think that's 6,243 kilometers) will be happy. Everybody should ride their own ride. Some days I would ride with a group that stopped for the flowers, some days I found somebody that wanted to ride from 9 to 5 without stopping, some days I rode by myself. However we got from point A to point B we always all had a great time when we got there.


Now that I have you ready to take a tour lets talk about the blog hosts.

I have taken two tours with GoTourNZ. In Dec. of 2005 I was on a three week Best of the Best tour. We spent one week on the north island and two weeks on the south island. In Mar 2006 I did the Fun and Funkey. If you go on the Dec 2007 Best of the Best we could ride together cause I am going back for a third tour.

A few weeks before the tour starts you get your package in the mail. This consists of a map book of New Zealand and your tour itinerary. Now you can spend some time on the web and take the first run through of your tour. Not all tour companies get you the itinerary before the trip but I have a great time looking up the places we will be staying on the web. It's almost like taking the tour before you get there.

Pack your gear up and head to the start of your tour. It starts at the airport when they pick you up and take you to your room. I've only done a Best of the Best and Fun and Funky so I can only talk about rooms on them. The Best of the Best went to some truly incredible places. I would have to say that the worst room on that tour was good and that room was probably one of the best in the area. The Fun and Funky tour stayed in some, in a different way, incredible places. Each night we stayed in a memorable place. Some were high end, the convent turned into a B&B comes to mind, and some are are just strange, the " Formerly the Blackball Hilton" comes to mind. I can sit here now and remember each place I stayed in the 5 weeks I have been on tour with John and Ian.

John and Ian would get everyone together for dinner the night before the tour for dinner. While this was not part of the tour, and you did have to pay for it, John did go out of his way to get all of us together to start the tour off right. This might be a good spot to explain what's included, what's extra cost, and what's New Zealand hospitality.

Look at the tour description. You get breakfast every day. Most days you get dinner. You are on your own for lunch and some dinners, (*** Note from John Fitzwater - from Oct 2007 we've decided to do away with the 2 - 3 "free" nights" as client feedback has been that they are unnecessary, and they would prefer to dine with the rest of the group every night). Well, the on your own part is not completely true. At the meeting for just about every days ride John or Ian would make several recommendations about lunch. Both the "here's a good place" and the rare "you probably want to ride past this place". You could also say, "I feel like lunch at a winery today", and a suggestion for a good one would be there. Other nights that were "on your own" John would, at our request, handle dinner. He picked the place, made the reservations, and handled the bill. Admittedly, at the end of the tour he did break the bill up and you had to pay. But, at no point on the tour, even when I was supposed to be on my own, was I on my own. Whatever you needed, a jet boat ride with the entire tour group, a bungy jump, whatever and whenever you had someone to help.

Let's look at a days ride. Breakfast at the B&B and a talk about what the ride for the day was going to be. This would include route options. After the first few days John almost always told me about some hundred mile detour to ride on roads even better than the excellent ones that went from point A to B. Another group of riders was always told of some lovely place to stop for lunch. Although I don't think he ever understood it he would tell me places to get a meat pie. When you go let the tour leader know how you want to ride and you will get suggestions about a ride for you. So, every ones ride becomes their own. I remember one day leaving a little early and taking a nice road up and back down a mountain I passed a winery as another part of our group was going in for lunch so I joined them for a wonderful lunch, even though there were no meat pies, and spent a lovely afternoon on a slow paced ride for the afternoon.

One reason people have for not going on a tour is a feeling that I can't ride that far or I can't ride well enough to ride those roads. Unless you fall over in your driveway on a regular basis that's probably not true. If you ride at a reasonable speed I don't think there were any roads that a reasonable rider would have any problems with. As for the too far thing I remember a few people who, in the morning, had some worries. However at dinner I always heard what a wonderful ride it was. I also heard the ride was too short and NEVER too long. At the other end of things you could always get on the road by 8AM, ride all day, stopping 20 minutes for a meat pie, and arrive at 6PM. It was always a matter of what do you want to do today?

Lets look at where we stayed. I had a room that had a view of the sunrise over the mountains with a view of the ocean out the side. I stayed in a restored mansion from the early settlement days of the island. I looked out over the sun setting into the ocean. I spent hours talking with the owners of a former convent about how they had moved it and turned it into a B&B. To make fluffy scrambled eggs in the morning one place separated the whites, whipped them to a froth, and folded the yokes in. I have never had eggs like that. Words can not describe the Not the Blackball Hilton.

How about the food you say? To die for. A great variety. Great food in an informal setting describes just about every place I had dinner. Some nights we would be in a nice restaurant. You got the menu and picked what you want. Anything and all you wanted. John, who had the "problem" of eating out every night during the season had a great idea. He quite often would get a pair of appetizers. One with the rest of us and one while the rest of us had our mains (ask him about entrees in the states). Do you like wine? It was always there. Do you know about wine? Talk to John about it. As we rode about the country many nights the wine was selected because we were in a great region for it and the winery was just down the road. I'm no expert so I just enjoyed it. Some people knew a fair bit about wine and always said it was wonderful. Some evenings we ate at the B&B. These meals were always special. Lamb shanks on the patio as the sun set. A meal in a restored mansion by our hosts dressed in period costumes. A meal in the lobby of a theater that had couches for seats.

My feelings about a tour with Go Tour NZ can best be summed up by "I've just booked my third tour". Another way for you to look at is that I wrote this with just the promise of a beer. There are plenty of times and places where you get miserable service or things go wrong and nobody seems to care and you write the nasty letter. I do that. I also try to take time when some company does well to say thank you. During all my experiences with Go Tour NZ I have always felt that they tried harder than they had to. They have gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable.

Before I finish I have one more plug. The people of New Zealand. They are wonderful. I hope in my next life to come back as a New Zealander. Every one I have met has been pleasant. They take wonderful care of their country. Thank you.

Peter Williams

PS: I'm a real person and I have truly enjoyed my trips to New Zealand. If you have questions about the tours talk to John or Ian. If you have questions you are afraid of asking John or Ian drop me an email at:
gotournz@pretzel-benders.com

I hope to see you in December

Tours filling up

Tours for the next season are filling fast - the 2008 Fun and Funky Tour is fully booked, and the November 2007 Burt Munro Tour is almost full. If you are planning a date and want us to hold spaces for you, contact us soon - first in first served!

Air New Zealand Specials - USA to New Zealand from USD812 in Nov and Dec 07

From time to time you'll find some great air travel specials on Air New Zealand's website. We appreciate you're busy too, so we keep in eye on the specials ourselves. If we find anything hot, we'll post it on here, or email our client list.

This latest from Air New Zealand covers is for the travel period commencing 15 Aug - 30 Sep 07 & 28 Oct - 01 Dec 07, and the sale remain open until 30 Sept 2007. It allows 3 stopovers in New Zealand, in which Nelson is included, so the fare includes your internal transfers, which is pretty good.

I just plugged in San Francisco to Nelson, New Zealand return for a December trip, and it came back with a fare of US$1421 - not bad at all, when you consider the the Auckland- Nelson return flights are worth around US$300.

So if you're thinking of traveling to New Zealand in November or December, and can book before Sept 30, this is a great deal.

Get yer mouse clicking!

http://www.airnewzealand.com/airfares_offers/web_specials_flights/flights/discover_new_zealand_usd898_15sep07.htm