Cycling in New Zealand

Cycling in Hawke's Bay: The Wineries Ride

winery cycling

Location - Hawke's Bay, New Zealand
Distance -  33 km round trip.
Terrain - Flat, easy, crushed limestone path. Separated cycle path for most of the way, except Oak Avenue (Ormond Rd) and Omahu Rd (shortcut only).
Difficulty - Easy
Highlights - Lunch in the sunshine at one of the wineries.
Map and website - Download the Hawke's Bay Trails Map here.



Cycling in Hawke's Bay: From the National Aquarium of New Zealand to Bay View.

If New Zealand has a leisure cycling nirvana, Hawke's Bay is it. In a region with a warm, sunny, Mediterranean climate, lovely scenery and lots of things to do on those essential rest days, there are over 200 km of easy year-round cycling trails. Hawke's Bay encompassing the towns of Napier, Hastings and Havelock North in the North Island, is the perfect destination if you have never cycled on a holiday before and want to give it a go. None of the trails take more than a few hours and you will never be far from civilisation.

Download a copy of the Hawke's Bay Trails Brochure from hawkesbaynz.com or nzcycletrail.com, or pick up a copy from an i-SITE & Visitor Information Centre, grab a bike and go!

Cycling in Auckland: Was it worth all the hassle?

Cycling in Auckland
If you read my post a few weeks ago titled A Cyclist's Lament: Welcome to New Zealand you will know that our New Zealand trip got off to a rocky start. Why was I not surprised? The last time we flew our bikes to the Land of the Long White Cloud we struggled to get them through quarantine. You can read the saga here - Life in the Slow Lane: Welcome to New Zealand. The time before that, our troubles began at Sydney airport. You can read that story at  - Queenstown and the Flying Bicycles - or why you should never fly with a bike!

The Hauraki Rail Trail (Part 1), Cycling in New Zealand


New Zealand has some great rail trails. Cycling them is the main reason we are drawn back here again and again. It is also the onlyreason we tolerate the hassle and aggravation of flying our bicycles across the Tasman Sea from Sydney.

(For my blog post on our first experience flying bikes to New Zealand click - here).

What is a rail trail: - 

Rail trails are disused railway lines which have been converted into