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Summer travel: Top tips for cycling holidays and e-biking adventures around NZ

January 2, 2023

The Central Otago Rail Trail is the easiest of New Zealand’s great rides making it great for families. Photo / Central Otago NZ

Need to work off the Christmas feasting? How about getting on your bike? Here are some of the best spots and top tips for a wheely good holiday.

Perfect for families

Auckland

Get the family together and ride from Ōkahu Bay to St Heliers, or as far as your youngest (or oldest) family member can cope. There’s a dedicated cycle lane on the footpath to make it easier and the views of Auckland’s harbour and gorgeous Rangitoto certainly add to the appeal.

Rotorua

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In among the famous redwoods in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Forest is the Mokopuna Trail, a great introduction to off-road riding as it’s a smooth, hard-packed gravel surface, that’s easy for everyone to ride on. Pass through stands of Douglas fir, larch and redwood as you enjoy the tranquillity of the forest.

Taupō

Voted New Zealand’s Favourite Urban Ride in 2017, the 10km Great Lake Pathway in Taupō is perfectly suited to families and offers spectacular views across the lake to Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. Grab the map and work out which bit your family fancies tackling.

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Ōhakune

The Mangawhero River Trail is a well-maintained scenic 2km riverside walk and cycleway that takes you from the Junction end of Ōhakune to the town itself, following the natural flow of the Mangawhero River. The swing bridge midway gives you the option to cut the ride shorter if little legs can’t cope.

New Plymouth

The New Plymouth Coastal Walkway is perfect for all ages and abilities. Right at the sea edge, it’s a wonderful promenade that families just love. To be fair, that west coast scenery is pretty hard to beat. Cycle as much or as little of this 13km track as your newbies can handle, then turn around and head back.

Marlborough

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The Taylor River Trail near State Highway 1 stretches along the river and right up to the Taylor Dam Reserve. It’s a 5km return but with littlies you can pack a picnic and just do a small chunk. There are lots of river spots to paddle in.

Christchurch

Hagley Park has so many paths just perfect to get small cyclists’ legs used to riding with the family. There is a huge array of pathways to try out, sealed and unsealed, all safely away from traffic.

Queenstown

The Kelvin Heights Sculpture Trail is 3.5km and pretty flat as it circles the Kelvin Heights golf course at the end of the peninsula. The sculptures make for some interesting stops along the way, if little legs and short attention spans are involved.

Invercargill

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Walk or cycle the banks of the Waihopai River from the Stead St Bridge to the Waihopai Dam. It’s 15km in total but a map will easily show you the multitude of entrances so you can explore whichever part suits the abilities of your whānau.

E-biking tips

Try before you buy

Going for an e-bike ride while on holiday is a great way to give it a whirl. Towns along the 23 Great Rides and other popular trails usually have bike hire or a tour company nearby. They’ll give you the right type of e-bike and show how to ride it. It’s not that it’s particularly difficult; you just need to get used to how the heavier bike handles before you start gunning it.

Look for a trail graded 1–2, as these will be flat, wide and smooth. Most New Zealand bike trails are now graded according to this system (grades 1–5, easy to expert), making it simple to choose one suited to your abilities.

Having a vine time on the Hawke’s Bay Trails. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Trails

Short circuits around wine country

Wine-touring is an excellent entry-level option for new e-bikers, notwithstanding the need to apply the brakes at the tasting table.

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Fortunately, New Zealand’s wine regions are well into the e-biking buzz. The Hawke’s Bay Trails certainly is, with a bunch of local biking companies ready to launch you on to the dedicated Wineries Ride.

Other picturesque biking wine tours include the vine-lined Gibbston valley on the Queenstown Trails, home to a clutch of cellar doors and a couple of pubs. Hire a bike from Arrowtown to enjoy the glorious Arrow River Bridges Ride on the way there.

Marlborough has a sizeable cluster of cellar doors around Renwick, better explored by e-bike than by any other transport mode. The hire depot at the Vines Village is a good place to set off.

Go the distance

Ever dreamed of doing a long-distance, multi-day ride but don’t think you’re fit enough? Say hello to an e-biking trip, where success is just a power socket away.

The Otago Central Rail Trail leads the charge here. An 150km ride taking 3–4 days, it’s really rather leisurely on an e-bike. Longstanding local tour companies and other bike-friendly businesses can sort all the logistics, so you can ride easy and enjoy the cruise through big-sky country.

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Just up country, the 300km Alps to Ocean is double the distance with a couple of slightly bigger hills, but it’s still achievable by reasonably fit riders with some e-biking under their belt. Again, a bunch of bike-friendly local business can set you up to enjoy this epic journey through amazing landscapes around the Southern Alps, Mackenzie Country and Waitaki Valley.

This is an amended version of previously published stories by Alexia Santamaria and Sarah Bennett from Herald Travel. For more great travel inspiration, go to nzherald.co.nz/travel