Mr Wilson hoped to reach his target at the tip of the North Island on Friday but, like so much of the rest of the North Island, he misjudged how strenuous it would be.
"It started out flat," he said about the last 40km.
"I haven't seen so many hills. The last 20km, it was up and up and up then down. But I got there."
An elated Mr Wilson arrived at Cape Reinga at 2.32pm on Saturday, after 52 days of pedalling spread over three months to go into New Zealand's cycling history.
He is the first penny-farthing wheelman to cycle the length of New Zealand, a trip that he estimated took five to six weeks longer than expected because of the North Island hills.
He spent extra time meeting people in the communities he passed through, part of the trip to promote the attractions of Victorian Oamaru.
There was also a personal challenge - covering more than 2000km on an 1880s-style, 54in high-wheeled penny-farthing manufactured in Oamaru.
On Saturday after revelling in reaching his target, he hitched a ride back to Kaitaia, making it to Auckland on Sunday. Yesterday, he was up at 4am to catch the train to Wellington.
Mr Wilson will be back in Oamaru on Sunday at 11am for a mayoral reception by Alex Familton.
