Home › Forums › General Discussion › What maps do you recommend? › Re: What maps do you recommend?
It depends on whether you want maps on the computer, paper maps, or maps for a navigator of some sort.
For computerized maps the best I have found is the one from TUMONZ (http://www.tumonz.co.nz) but I would not like to use it as a map to plan routes or to print out for following a route during a ride. It can be difficult to get just the details you want without extraneous information. But for computerized seaching for road names or features it can be useful.
For paper maps my recommendation is the series from Kiwimaps. There are Pathfinder maps for all districts of NZ, and Minimaps for local areas. I've heard that they are available in book form, but have not seen this. The maps have names on every road, and there are town maps for most of the towns and villages in the district covered by the maps. I don't know if they are available outside NZ, but most bookstores and map shops in NZ carry them.
If you are members of the Canadian equivalent of NZ's Automobile Association, then there are a large number of good, detailed district maps that will be available to you free of charge. But you will probably have to collect them personally from an AA office or agent. Make sure you bring your membership card.
The NZ Motorcycle Atlas can be useful, but I have two problems with it. One is that some of the maps are really old. For example the one of South Auckland shows Highway 22 south of Tuakau as being a State Highway. It is not, and has not been for many years. The second problem is that very few of the roads are named. So if you want to find out where you are by checking on road names, you are out of luck. It has a few town maps, but not very many, and only covering the CBD of the cities.
For navigators I don't have any experience except with the Navman maps (http://www.navman.co.nz). They are detailed, and all roads are named. But the route planning part leaves a bit to be desired.
If you plan on spending any time in the South Auckland/Waikato/Coromandel/Bay of Plenty area I'd be happy to give you a few route suggestions, depending on what type of ride you want. Whether scenic, gravel, twisty backroad, or just the quickest way from A to B.