The best cycling routes of New Zealand

Arrival at Taupo, Northern Island, New Zealand

Welcome to Aotearoa, New Zealand, and your first week on a North Island Adventure! We have booked rooms for this first night; you can arrive anytime in the afternoon. The first meeting will be held the following day after breakfast. Taupo is nicely situated at Taupo Lake; if you want to arrive earlier, just let us know, and we will arrange the extra night(s) for you, depending on availability. Google ” things to do in Taupo”, and you will find options for a local activity! For instance, visit the Maori Rock Carving with a boat.

Atiamuri to Rotorua, cycling parts 42 km/26 miles +591 m/1938 ft

After breakfast at your hotel, please meet your guides at the hotel reception at 8:30 a.m. We’ll start with an introduction and short tour briefing before loading up and heading off to Atiamuri, a small village on the banks of the Waikato River. Our ride starts at the Ohakuri Dam.
After a bike fitting and safety briefing, it’s time for our first ride, which will take us to the Waikite Valley. We will take a self-guided walk through it, with panoramic views of rolling hills, farmland, and forested areas. We’ll enjoy lunch at the Waikite Valley Hot Pools and take a short stroll to the largest single source of naturally boiling water in New Zealand. The cycling stops here.
After lunch, we’ll drive to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, a spectacular geothermal area known for its rich volcanic history and unique thermal terrain. After exploring this landscape of colourful terraces, hot springs, boiling mud pools and fumaroles, it’s just a short drive to our accommodation in Rotorua. Sitting within the Pacific Rim of Fire, the city is known for its geothermal activity and stunning volcanic lakes, as well as for showcasing the fascinating Maori culture.

Rotorua to Lake Rotoiti 61 km/ 37 miles +456 m/1496 ft

Today, we ride around the back of Mount Ngongotaha, a volcanic dome overlooking the city of Rotorua. Following the Paradise Valley through farmland and native forests, we head inland, climbing to the Mamaku plateau. Here are natural ‘statues’ called Tors, unusual rock formations formed by volcanic eruptions that look strikingly different—like nature’s been busy carving and making an artistic statement across the Plateau!
Our route drops down and heads around the less visited northern side of Lake Rotorua, the North Island’s second-largest lake. It was formed when an underlying magma chamber collapsed after a massive volcanic eruption around 200,000 years ago.
We finish our ride on the shores of Lake Rotoiti with lunch at the Orere Falls Store & Beer Garden. Dinner at your leisure tonight with plenty of options on Rotorua’s famous Eat Street!

Rotorua/Okoriere to Cambridge 67 km/ 42 miles +750 m/2460 ft

Today starts with a 40 min drive to the start of our ride, which is immersed in the gently rolling hills of the Waikato region, chosen by Peter Jackson, film director of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, as the home of Hobbiton!
We’ll finish the ride in Cambridge, known as “The Town of Trees & Champions.” It is memorable for its leafy streets, heritage buildings, antique shops, and thoroughbred horse studs.
This afternoon is free to explore this delightful rural town, or you could choose to visit the Hobbiton Movie Set. Here, you’ll be guided on a 2.5-hour journey through the unequivocal beauty of the Shire farmland, around the Movie Set, showing the intricate detailing, pointing out the most famous locations and explaining how the movie magic was made. (early bookings essential).
Dinner at your leisure tonight, with plenty of options.

Cambridge to Otoro and Te Kawa/Waitomo 53k/32 miles, +509m/1640 ft

Today’s ride takes us through the bucolic landscape of South Waikato, a region known for its highly productive dairy farming. We ride through Otorohanga, once a traditional Maori village and today a service town for the surrounding dairy-farming district. From there, the route unveils the raw beauty of the Waitomo Valley – gently rolling and bush-clad hills, lush greenery, and the Waitomo Stream weaving through the terrain like a silver thread.

Our ride ends at Te Kawa.
The Valley emerges into the village of Waitomo, known for its extensive underground cave systems and thousands of glow-worms hanging from the cave walls.
For those keen to experience Waitomo’s brightest Glowworm Cave, a significant cave of New Zealand and a national treasure once used by Sir David Attenborough and the BBC, we’ll head off the beaten track to visit the Cave on a limestone-studded farm.
Dinner and our accommodation are both in the small village of Waitomo tonight.

Waitomo to Piopo: 36 km/22 miles +531 m/ ft

Today’s ride offers an extraordinary blend of scenery alive with sounds and sights, cinematic wonders, and culinary delights. You’ll pedal through lush countryside surrounded by rolling hills, limestone features, native forests and serene farmlands, each turn revealing a new vista as equally stunning as the last.
On a clear day, you’ll see the Central North Island volcanoes, including the North Island’s highest mountain, Mt Ruapehu and towards the West, the majestic Mt Taranaki standing alone. We finish at the charming Fat Pigeon Cafe in the quaint village of Piopio, definitely heartland New Zealand, where world shearing record holders, champion Axemen, and perhaps the greatest All-Black of them all, Colin Meads, all rubbed shoulders in the rugged local hills. (If you are wondering, we are talking about rugby here!)

Piopio to Lauren’s Lavender Cafe : 68km/42 miles, +861m/2824 ft , transfer to the National Park

Our final ride is a very fitting end to a backcountry North Island, New Zealand tour. After a short van transfer from Piopio, we cycle on a mix of seal and gravel secondary roads through a lush hill country, mainly alongside the Ongarue River. There are few things in life better than gliding through a picture-postcard landscape on a quiet backcountry road with a warm breeze at your back. We cycle to Taumaranui and are shuttled to our destination: Lauren’s Lavender Farm, a magical, peaceful environment of lavender fields, farmland, and bush adjacent to the famous Whanganui River. Lauren’s Lavender is a family-owned business and is a perfect example of what can be achieved if you have passion, love, and live your dreams.
After lunch, it’s a short drive to National Park, the highest urban township in New Zealand, where we’ll have our end-of-the-first-trip celebratory dinner.

End of tour, start of your free time

This morning, the guides left early, but the BikePlanet Host will still be there and we have breakfast before we go each our own way!

It is up to you what happens next! In case you booked both cycle weeks, you’ll make your way to the local train station to catch the Northern Explorer to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city and a vibrant hub with plenty to see and do. Whether you subsequently fly or travel via ferry and the Coastal Pacific train between Wellington and Christchurch, your holiday’s South Island cycle leg will start in 6 days!

If you would like us to plan this for you, just let us know. We already have an idea of how to spend these days and make the most of them. We will put more info online as soon as it is available. It will be a guided trip, no cycling. The start will be an extra night at Piopio so we can visit the National Park. With an option for a guided avid walking tour up to Mount  Ruapehu.

Day 9

Either stay a day longer or leave for your chosen destination!

Day 10

Up to you to decide

Day 11

Up to you to decide

Day 12

Up to you to decide

Day 13: arrival at Christchurch

On this day, you should try to be in Christchurch; the second cycle tour starts tomorrow!

First ride on the Southern Island: Sign of the Bellbird to Lyttelton, 43 km/27 miles 757 m/2484 ft

Your South Island adventure starts in central Christchurch at 8 am. We begin with a short drive to the top of the Port Hills, where we will start to cycle along the crater rim of an extinct volcano. From Dyers Pass, we cycle the undulating and almost traffic-free Summit Road, which offers impressive vistas across Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains, as well as the snowy peaks of the Southern Alps. We can also look into the bright blue water of Lyttelton Harbour inside the crater. Riding out to Godley Head, home to a WWII coastal defence battery atop 120m cliffs, we stop and walk to see the views from the peninsula over the Pacific Ocean. Back on the bikes, it’s a short ride back to Evans Pass and then a sweeping downhill to the port town of Lyttelton. There are some cool cafes, colourful stores to explore, and quirky historic buildings along a heritage walk.
We drive back to Christchurch in the afternoon and have free time to rest before we meet for dinner.

Lake Tekapo to Lake Pukaki : 34km/21 miles +173m/567 ft

After breakfast at the hotel, your guides will be waiting in reception at 8 am. We drive south, crossing the Canterbury Plains towards Geraldine, then over the scenic Burke’s Pass to the famous Mackenzie Country, where Lake Tekapo soon appears as a bright blue jewel. We will visit the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd, perched on the edge of the shimmering lake with a panoramic mountain backdrop. After lunch, we join the first of the trip’s Great Ride Cycle Trails – the Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail. This is NZ’s longest cycle path, travelling 300km from the highest mountain, Aoraki/Mt Cook, to the ocean at Oamaru. We spend the next 3 days riding the best sections of this trail. Today, we follow quiet roads with fantastic mountain views alongside the turquoise blue waters of a hydro canal system, go to Lake Pukaki, and then transfer to the small town of Twizel. Twizel is in the heart of a dark sky reserve, so take a walk outside after dark to see the incredible starry skies. Dinner by own care tonight.

Twizel to Omarama direct or add Tarnbrae Saddle, Alps to Ocean Trail, 62 km/ 38miles +299 m/980 ft or +81 km/ 50 miles +756 m/2480 ft

The stunning scenery keeps coming as we ride alongside the Pukaki and Ohau canals with a vast mountainous backdrop, through to Lake Ohau where we stop for lunch. Confident riders can continue on the trail to Tarnbrae Saddle (900m), the highpoint of the A2O. The vast Mackenzie Country views are just a reward for the climb. Alternatively, riders can transfer to the historic woolshed at Quailburn for a much easier ride down to Omarama, our stop for the night.
Translating from Maori as a ‘place of light’, Omarama is known for its extraordinarily clear skies, offering incredible star gazing opportunities at night. This evening we enjoy a meal at a typical small-town pub and experience real Kiwi hospitality.

Omarama to Aviemore Dam, transfer to Cromwell 42 km/ 26 miles , 305 m/990 ft, or 53 km/33 miles, +478m/1568 ft

Today’s Alps to Ocean ride follows the Waitaki River down the picturesque Waitaki Valley, known for its hydro lakes and dams. First, we follow the narrow trail along the shores of Lake Benmore to Sailors Cutting, where we join the lake shore to traverse around the shoreline of rocky outcrops, little beaches and even tree-covered islands. There is an easier option for less confident riders who prefer to avoid this more technical section. Regrouped, it’s a fun downhill cycle towards Aviemore Dam, where we’ll enjoy a picnic by the lake. We’ll finish our Alps to Ocean experience at the dam, load up the bikes and then drive towards Central Otago over the Lindis Pass. We head to Cromwell, where the Lake Dunstan trail is next, which we will tackle tomorrow. There will be time to have a wander around Cromwell old town, a small historic precinct dating back to the gold rush days of the 1800s, with several galleries, cafes and boutique shops.
Again, here are two options for cycling today:
Standard : Omarama to Aviemore Dam – 42km, +305m
Avid : Omarama to Aviemore Dam – 53km, +478m

Cromwell to Clyde: Lake Dunstan Ride 32 km/20 miles 321 m/1053 ft , 51 km/32 miles 568 m/1863 ft

Today, we ride the newest Great Ride, the Lake Dunstan Trail, a spectacular ride through unique and fascinating landscapes characteristic of Central Otago. Our journey starts with an easy ride following the shores of Lake Dunstan. We pass back through Cromwell’s old town and continue along the Kawarau arm of Lake Dunstan to the Bannockburn Bridge. We wind our way through old mine tailings, wineries and olive groves and, from Cornish Point, head into the dramatic Cromwell Gorge.
From here, the track winds around sheer rockfaces and over lake inlets on impressively engineered platforms and bridges rising above the lake to Clyde. For those riders who wish to avoid the more demanding section through the gorge, there will be an option to ride as far as Cornish Point and then return to the Bannockburn Bridge to drive to Clyde and have extra time to explore the small historic town. We stay in Clyde for the next 2 nights.

Cycling Options: Cromwell to Bannockburn Bridge via Cornish Point: 32km, +321m

Cromwell to Clyde – Lake Dunstan Trail: 51km, +568m

Clyde roundtrip: Otago Central Rail Trail: 41 km/ 25 miles or 68 km/42 miles, +223 m/731 ft or +341 m/1118 ft

Great Ride number three is the famous Otago Central Rail Trail, NZ’s original cycle trail.
After breakfast, a short transfer takes us inland to Ida Valley. Here, we join what we consider the best section of the rail trail, passing through tunnels and over bridges that once were the secret preserve of railway workers. We witness the natural beauty and look in awe at some early feats of the first settlers of this region. The ever-changing landscape includes rugged mountains, crystal clear rivers, and steep winding gorges. We cycle through the 229m Poolburn tunnel over the impressive Manuherikia Bridge and Poolburn viaduct.
From Lauder, we continue towards Chatto Creek, enjoying superb Dunstan Mountains and Raggedy Range views. The ride back to Clyde is mostly downhill. In the evening, we are free to sample one of the restaurants in town.
Cycle Options :
Oturehua to Chatto Creek – 41km, +223m/731
Oturehua to Clyde – 68km, +341m/1181 ft

Roxburgh Gorge Trail: Clyde to Roxburgh Dam/Roxburgh - 44km/27 miles,+827m/2713 ft or 56 km/35 miles,+888m/2910ft

Next up, Great Ride number four, is the striking Roxburgh Gorge Trail. Leaving Clyde, we pedal along the wooded River Trail, which links Clyde to the Roxburgh Gorge Trail alongside the mighty Clutha Mata-Au river.
The trail journeys through a remote, barren, treeless landscape, flanked by bluffs up to 350 metres high, following stone-walled water races and other remnants of gold mining activity. We arrive at Doctor’s Point to meet a jet boat to take us on a scenic, historical journey for the next 13km through the gorge to Shingle Creek. Back on our bikes, it’s a gradual climb to Elbow Creek, then through a small, secluded valley with regenerating Kanuka (tea tree) scrubland and into sweeping hill country farmland.
A series of switchbacks lead us to the impressive Roxburgh Hydro Dam lookout. It’s then a further 9km along the river to reach Roxburgh, where we load the bikes and drive to our accommodation in Alexandra.
Cycling options: Roxburgh Gorge Trail
Standard : Clyde to Roxburgh Dam – 44km, +827m
Avid : Clyde to Roxburgh – 56km, +888m

Queenstown Day: Queenstown Trails: 47 km/29 miles +495m/1642ft

Today we cycle the Queenstown Trails, the fifth and final of the Great Rides of our South Island adventure. A short drive takes us from Alexandra into the Gibbston Valley, renowned for its vineyards and Pinot Noir.
We set off riding alongside the Kawarau River to the historic bridge and the origin of AJ Hackett’s bungy jump. Here, we can witness bungy jumpers and zipliners getting their adrenaline fix! We then join the Arrow River Bridges trail, which crisscrosses the sparkling Arrow River over massive purpose-built suspension bridges to reach Arrowtown. Arrowtown is a charming, picturesque gold-mining town, and there is time to explore the old Chinese mining settlement or stroll through town.
After refreshments, we pedal past more colourful Central Otago vineyards to meet the Twin Rivers Trail linking the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers. On reaching the edge of Lake Wakatipu, nestled amongst vast mountain ranges, our cycle trail weaves along the shore and takes us into central Queenstown through the botanical gardens. We finish at the wharf side and arrive at our last hotel for the night in Queenstown. Tonight, we will enjoy our farewell dinner from our great New Zealand adventure.
Cycle : Queenstown Trails : 47km, +495m

On your own again, day of departure

After 1 or 2 or 2 weeks: your trip ends today!