Ride Te Ara Tupua
Ride from our Wellington waterfront depot onto Te Ara Tupua the new cycleway along the edge of Wellington Harbour and on up the Hutt River cycleway
Experience The Remutaka Rail Trail
Ride the historic 25 km Remutaka Rail Trail through the native bush clad mountains. Imagine the pioneers building this railway and its 5 tunnels in the 1870’s with their bare hands and picks and shovels!
Explore the Wild South Coast
Ride the Wild South Coast from the Wairarapa back to Wellington central with impressive geological tectonic plate and historical Māori and European colonial features evident in the landscape.
Six days of cycling taking in the best the southern tip of Te Ika a Maui the North Island of New Zealand has to offer. Amazing harbours edge riding, a historic rail trail set in native bush clad mountains, quaint rural villages, spectacular rugged coasts and amazing wildlife. Start and finish in Wellington.
Our tour takes you on some scenic back country roads less travelled, with rides right by the edge of the Great Southern Ocean featuring views of Palliser Bay and the Kaikoura Ranges in the South Island. The tour includes the Martinborough Wine Village, the famous Ngawi bulldozers, visit the famous Putangirua Pinnacles hoodoo rock formations, Mātakitaki a Kupe (Cape Palliser), and climb the many lighthouse steps for an amazing view. Call in at the very fur seal breeding colony – the North Island’s largest and see all the very cute seal pups and their mothers.
Finally, we bike around the tectonically distorted, historical and incredibly scenic “Wild South Coast” to return to our starting point in the Capital City of Wellington.
Te Ara Tupua: Ride 36 km
Present at Switched on Bikes Wellington Waterfront 15/22 Herd Street at 10.30 am, Te Aro, Wellington 6011 or at Green Jersey’s Martinborough Depot at 16 Kitchener Street Martinborough at 9.00 am. If you are in Martinborough arrangements will be made to get you to the Wellington start point. Note that secure parking is available at the Green Jersey depot in Martinborough. If you have hired bikes, you will be kitted out for these. You will be briefed on your tour. Then you will be your way on the brand-new Te Ara Tupua Wellington harbourside cycleway.
You ride on to the Petone waterfront prior to joining the Hutt River cycleway up the banks of the picturesque Hutt river to find your accommodation for the night at Wallaceville or Maymorn.
Remutaka Rail Trail: Ride up to 64 km
Starting from your accommodation you will ride over the Remutaka Incline Cycleway on a historic railway track, up the Western Lake Road cycle path to “Book Town” Featherston and then on crossing the now famous Tauwharenikau swing bridge to the boutique shopping village of Greytown. Your accommodation for the night will be in Martinborough (via shuttle) or Greytown. If you find the distance or conditions are too much we have alternative pick-up points to shorten this ride.
Martinborough and Surrounds: Ride up to 65 km
Enjoy a quiet day touring the unique wine village or environs of Martinborough. Many folk enjoy a leisurely day of cruising the vineyards, indulging in some wine tastings and lunch. Alternatively, we have some interesting rides on the low-use country roads in the environs of Martinborough for you to choose from, depending on your appetite for distance and challenge! These can include some off-road mountain biking if you wish. Your accommodation for the night will be in Martinborough.
Palliser Bay: Ride up to 70 km
Pedal the amazing Palliser Bay coast to Cape Palliser lighthouse. You will need to allow two hours to walk in to see the weird hoodoo landscape at Putangirua. The team will show you how to look for the ancient Māori landscape remnants and the NZ fur seal colony. You cycle on the coastal edge where the great Southern Ocean meets the Te Ika a Maui (North Island) and creates some dramatic landscapes. Your accommodation for the night will be at Martinborough.
Western Lake Rd: Ride 60 km
Bike south from Martinborough through quite pastoral landscapes to the spectacular Ocean Beach on western Palliser Bay. You cross the barrage gates which were built in the 1960’s to control the specular floods that occur in the Wairarapa valley. There is an option to visit the Boggy Pond conservation area and have lunch at the quaint Lake Ferry Hotel. You will be shuttled back to your accommodation at Martinborough or Lake Ferry.
Wild South Coast: Up to 62 km
Today you will tackle to “Wild South Coast” cycling from Ocean beach back to your start point in Wellington. This area is heavily impacted by the massive tectonic plate collision with the Australian plate stretching out to the west and the Pacific plate subducting under it from the east. In places you can see the boulder banks of previous beaches now raised high above the waterline by significant earthquakes. Groves of karaka trees signify historic Māori kianga or camp sites. We sometimes see orca or pods of dolphins off this coast, and there is some amazing coastal birdlife
Parts of this day’s ride are somewhat challenging and may not suit everyone. We will check in with you the previous night and discuss transport and ride alternatives if indicated. Also, this coast is quite exposed to the Southern Ocean weather fronts so we will be watching the weather forecast and also what the tides are doing and advise you accordingly.
Once back on the Port Nicholson harbour frontage you can choose to bike around Wellington harbour to the Waterfront depot you started at or catch a ferry across the harbour from Days Bay. The Wellington ferry terminus is a short ride from the Waterfront depot. The tour ends when you reach the Waterfront Depot.