The Top 5 Day Rides in New Zealand
The New Zealand cycle trail offers plenty of choices for multi-day rides. The longest being the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail, a week long whopping 320+ kilometre plunging from the base of Mt Cook to the Pacific Ocean. However, there’s no shortage of stunning day rides around the country. Whether you are short on time or just keen to avoid daily saddle sores consider a short journey on one of these top five New Zealand day rides.
The top spot is reserved for the trail that has it all; convenience, charm and a no-shuttle-required circuit. Starting in Nelson City, the Coppermine is as convenient as hopping on your bike and setting off from the suburbs to head up to the sub-alpine region. Also, this track has tracks; the climb is literally on the alignment of the country’s earliest railway with the charming remains of sleepers under your tyres as it passes along the edge of the Brook Waimārama Wildlife Sanctuary. After reaching the rocky ultra-mafic barrens and before crossing the Coppermine Saddle, there are stunning views over Tasman Bay. Finally, this scenic circuit drops you back into the heart of the city with time to spare for the abundant café culture. This day ride rocks!
This trail connects the legendary Otago Central Rail Trail with the most underrated trail of all: the Clutha Gold; yet the Roxburgh Gorge Trail is greater than gold – it’s a precious cycling gem! From Alexandra, the trail gently rolls downstream beside the currents of the Clutha River following a path that navigates the rocky Central Otago landscape. Then the trail abruptly terminates, this is where a pre-arranged jetboat driver picks you up and transports you further downstream. The driver/guide points out historic gold mining relics and piles of tailings that tell tales that enrich the experience. Back on the bike and land, the trail continues on a cross-country route that takes in the sights of one of the country’s grandest river gorges.
The new kid on the block joins its older brother, the Otago Central Rail Trail, at Clyde. She is the poster child of our national cycle trail network and thousands are taking to bikes (and e-bikes) to experience her greatness. What makes this trail so great? Well, the star of the show is undoubtedly the suspended bridges that hang from the vertical rock cliff faces – they defy what seems impossible for a route, and can be described as a magic carpet boardwalk. Yet the meandering trail offers more than just awe-inspiring structures, as they, in turn, are dwarfed by the mountain scenery dressed with desolate herb fields, garnished by rocky tors that sit above the basin of Central Otago lakes. This trail is a beauty.
While we don’t have the Great Lakes of North America we do have one kinda big lake … and the Lake Taupo trail network is hard to beat. These trails weave their way around the edge of the supervolcano before following the Waikato River to several must-do water-based stops. The first cycling rest is the whitewater chute of Huka Falls, it is easy to spend time here watching nature's flow being squeezed like a tube of toothpaste. Continuing downstream to the halfway point is Aratiatia Rapids – here, if you get your timing right, dam water is released to surge through a narrow gorge which fills in moments. After crossing the dam the loop heads back on the opposite riverbank to reach the free hot spring at the Thermal Spa Park. This is the perfect riding finale. To sit, soak and soothe sore muscles in a free hot spring before closing the loop. It’s riding heaven.
This is a little known, but a top candidate for a day of riding greatness. Built in the deep south is the private hand-crafted loop of Welcome Rock Trails. Just a short hop south from Queenstown, the beginning of this circuit starts above the treeline and continues that way as a meandering ride alongside a historic gold mining water race. History is here in spades, literally! One of the several trailside artistic pieces is 30 old shovels standing heads up in a line; they represent the 30 workers that dug the water race over a century ago. While you can stay overnight in the restored raceman’s mud hut; the trail is short enough to cycle in a day.
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