For many years doing one of the New Zealand Great Walks was on everyone’s bucket list. Now you can do a Great Ride – Cycle New Zealand!
I have never met anyone who did not have New Zealand on their bucket list – even those of us who live here have more of New Zealand they want to see. And one of the great features is our scenery – in a small country we have everything from Glaciers to hot pools, beaches to lakes, sand dunes to rainforest.
For many years the focus of many has been to complete one (or all) of our Great Walks – marvellous multi day walks accessible to anyone with average fitness.
The Good News – Now you can Cycle New Zealand
If you are Really Serious, you can now cycle the length of New Zealand Much like Te Ara Roa – the long walkway the length of New Zealand, there is now a cycle trip.
For those who want to make a start, the easiest and most famous is the Otago Rail Trail.
You can hire a bike (an ebike if you want) book accommodation and even have a guide – but seriously you can not get lost on this.
It is essentially a beautiful ride from pub to pub in stunning country along an old rail line – so no massive hills.
The Great Rides App – download this free App to see all you need to know about the 30 or so Great Rides around New Zealand.
Most of these have short one day rides you can do if that is all the time you have, hire a bike and have a go. Many have electric bike hire if you need a little more encouragement. I recently hired a bike for half a day in Queenstown and rode out to Arrowtown on the amazing bike trails there.
I have recently completed the Alps to Ocean Ride and the Clutha Gold Trail – and I am keen to do more. I have an electric bike and mostly take that on the back of the car for the trips. Bike Hint is a great site I follow for biking stories.
More articles on visitors Cycling in New Zealand here
