Video: Kiwi Migration

 They love it and use it themselves (i got a kiwi flag, originally from France, but it is my second summer in Queenstown) .

 Have a few friends who have been there, can confirm NZ folk refer to themselves as Kiwis

 we are kiwis!, small fat flightless birds! haha

 hey speak for yourself bro, i can fly

 Just don't call them Aussies. ;-)

 Attempted compliment fail?

 It would seem so. Wekas are the f*cking muts nuts. I dropped a joint one day on the trails and who should come running out of the bush to rob it? They know the good shit.

 Probably thought it was some sort of roach

 Mmmm... Kiwiland. My greatest wish since I was a kid. But, in my case, not because of trailriding, but sailing.

 Yup we're Kiwi as bro!

 What i find hilarious is that New Zealand´s air force logo is the kiwi, a flight less bird xD

 @Droptix Our air"force" consists of two paper planes and a kite.. it's not far off

 If you're coming to nelson, give us a shout. some great trails here but can be tough to find without a local.

 same here if you come to rotorua...

 Definitely go to Nelson. Unfortunately the easily accessable trails (codgers) are closed at the mo. So as Brad says you might need a local. Hit up 629, the coppermine, sharlands and get over to Takaka, The Rameka is a must. Love it. You'll never want to leave.

 Plenty of good trails right out of Christchurch, use this link - www.ccc.govt.nz/cityleisure/gettingaround/cycling/trackstatus.aspx
And get yourself out to Craigieburn too. Details with this link - www.craigieburntrails.org.nz

 yup definately get out to craigieburn, some great all-mountain riding out there. i get out there at least once a year & take the dh bike for a blast on the scree slopes

 Coming to wellington? Plenty of good spots here! Wainui, Mt Vic, Belmont, Maymore, Maidstone and Long Gulley. There's tons. I might be able to show you around?

 I'm in Wellington! Lots to do here - I'm personally a fan of Makara Peak, but generally find Wainuiomata pretty good too. If looking at places to generally visit for good MTB, I would recommend Rotorua (a must) Wellington, Nelson and Queenstown. I've been using this as my guide book for when I holiday: www.kennett.co.nz/product/classic-nz-mtb-rides-north-and-south . There's also the NZ cycle trails if you're into cross country or cycle touring: www.nzcycletrail.com

 This is awesome! Thanks for all the info, and I'll definitely be getting in touch. I think this trip is going to be all time and looking forward to some great riding and meeting great people!

 Sounds like a dream. Were you riding all mountain/enduro bikes? Is there enough bike trails in the mountainous south island?

 Taupo bay is spectacular! You certainly covered a lot of NZ with that trip.

 @Sithbike most parts of New Zealand a good enduro bike will cover every thing you want to ride apart from a few things here and there from my experance.

 Air New Zealands not hard at all.

Sporting item less than 2m in length and less than 23kg
For example:
Bike
Windsurfer
Hang glider
Surfboard
Snow skis + boots + poles
Snowboard + boots + bindings
Water skis
Golf bag containing golf clubs and one pair of shoes
Sports bags can contain multiple items as long as they remain within the stated weight and dimension limits, e.g. two surfboards can be taken in a single bag.

No charge if within permitted baggage allowance otherwise standard excess charges apply

 Air NZ takes your bike box as a regular checked bag so it's actually pretty slick.

 Awesome

 that is downright civilized.........big up Zealand

 Air NZ has actually changed this policy, I went home (to NZ) at xmas time and they charged me extra for my bike. Check their site.

 renevw24, did you have one other large item as well, so your bike was extra luggage? We took only one large checked item, so instead of a suitcase, we had bike boxes. This worked for eight of us only a few months ago.

 Air NZ treats your bike as a regular piece of luggage as long as it's boxed, under 2m long and under 23kg. You may get charged for its carriage depending on the number of pieces permitted by your ticket. Standard checked luggage allowance is 1 piece of hold luggage & one carry on (national & international flights) - details here: www.airnewzealand.co.nz/checked-in-baggage

 I flew Air NZ this past Xmas from Vancouver to Melbourne. My bike counted as 1 piece of checked luggage. We had more bags so paid in advance for extra checked bags, $70/bag. My bike was overweight and I was charged for this, which was $150. I think it's pretty tough to get a bike with box and some extras (tools, pads, etc) packed in there for under 23 kg. if you're using an actual bike carrier, which I was (Dakine). They were very strict with weighing things, too. In the end it was still cheaper than renting bikes for several months.
On another note, they are a great airline with pretty good food and excellent staff and service. Would definitely recommend them!

 Wash your gear though. I entered NZ earlier this year with muddy moto boots. I got a free boot cleaning from the super nice (isn't everyone in NZ nice?) airport folks but almost missed my connecting flight. They are careful about the little hitchhikers that might come in on sporting gear.

 On a rugby tour we felt Auckland is great, Thames was very nice, Rotorua kicked ass, Wellington was a hoot, didn't particularly care for Palmerston North, had a great time in Hamilton. If you like lord of the rings at all I'll tell ya the whole rugby team had fun visiting the shire, and we all went to the "weta cave"- Peter Jackson's design and prop studio, open to the public- in Wellington and thought it was cool too. Every single person we met was super nice to us and was proud to show Canadians around. Except for this one dodgey fella, but he was from SA. The whole country felt like a compressed canada, but with less lawyers and political science majors.

 Auckland is OK for biking, but there's not a whole lot to write home about. The good shit starts in Rotorua but there's not a whole lot of let up before Queenstown!

 Decent! Thanks for the info, i kinda figured NZ was awesome - just need to see it for myself now. Thanks boys!

 hit me up, ill show ya round! haha