Sounds to Sounds Official Guide [Paper Edition]

This page is for the paper edition. A PDF download edition is also available.

Sounds to Sounds Official Guide gives you the practical information you’ll need as you ride the 1,500 kilometre route from Marlborough Sounds to Milford Sound.

Sounds to Sounds is a top-to-bottom journey of the South Island, stretching 1500 km from the Marlborough Sounds to Milford Sound. Explore the eastern lands of Te Waipounamu and take in the inimitable scenery. Tried and tested, this guide will see you through every step of this great adventure with its cue sheets, maps, elevation charts and information on services and accommodation.

Packed with:

• cue sheets for every section
• maps throughout the route
• elevation charts
• locations of the 14 photo control points
• contact details for campgrounds, accommodation, cafes, pubs, etc.
• transport options for leaving Milford Sound.

GPS files of the route are also available.

 

About the authors

Jonathan Kennett has penned several cycling books, including Tour Aotearoa Official Guides and Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails. He created the Tour Aotearoa, Kōpiko Aotearoa and Sounds to Sounds events.
Erik Westra is an organiser of several Rotorua-based bikepacking events and the author of Second Time Lucky, a personal account of his challenge, and triumph, with Tour Aotearoa.

 

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Updates for the 2022 (first) edition

(1) We’ve changed the route between Geraldine and Lake Tekapo to swoop through Pleasant Point and Cave. This change incorporates a new cycle trail and avoids a some ho-hum hilly farmland.

(2) Taylors Pass Road (south of Blenheim) will be intermittently closed for logging from 6 am – 5 pm, Monday to Friday, until mid-2025. The temporary bypass for weekdays is to go over Redwood Pass instead. You can keep using Taylors Pass.

Here’a a PDF of the new routes you can download and print.