Day one is part transit, part ride. Leaving Christchurch’s Spitfire Square at 8:30am we drive to Geraldine for morning ta and a briefing. Then at Fairlie we untrailer the bikes for a short afternoon ride of 47km or 2 hours 15 mins from Fairlie to Tekapo via Bourke’s Pass. We arrive into Tekapo in time for a hot swim, Mt John Observatory walk or a visit to the Church of the Good Shepherd.

After a big breakfast, we pause for photos at the start of the A2O Alternate start, then head out of Tekapo village past the small Tekapo A Power Station (1951). We ride beside the canal system, past the salmon farm, over to Lake Pukaki. Here we will get our first view of Aoraki/Mt Cook – the cloud piercer. Then the beautiful lakeside ride to Lake Pukaki dam, down across the flats to Twizel (a Lord of the Rings film set), more canal system to the Ohau weir, and then stopping at the top of Lake Ohau overnight.

The day starts with a good uphill ride of around 9 km and up to 900 m to the top of the Tarnbrae Track. From here you do a careful descent to the Quailburn wool shed and then out to Omarama. After a cup of coffee and good country scone, you head off east down the top of the Waitaki Valley taking a turn at Sailors Cutting to ride beside Lake Benmore and over the dam itself. Your afternoon is spent riding beside the north edge of Lake Aviemore, over the dam at Aviemore, and then down into Kurow to motel accommodation and a hearty pub meal.

Day 4 is a big day and we will be up and at it directly. We start the day in the Waitaki Valley and end by the sea in Oamaru. Heading east down the Waitaki Valley and the first stop of the day at the Takiroa Maori Rock Drawings just west of Duntroon. There is an important and interesting fossil museum in Duntroon that is well worth checking out. After mid-morning refreshment at the Flying Pig Cafe in Duntroon, we cycle on a short distance to Elephant Rocks then through another movie set (Aslan’s camp, Narnia), through to Enfield and Oamaru.

Start of the Otago Central Rail Trail (OCRT) in Middlemarch, passing through Hyde and Ranfurly to Wedderburn. The original and possibly the most well known of all NZ cycle trails, the OCRT is 150kms long and passes through beautiful valleys, crosses bridges, rivers and goes through tunnels. It has a slight uphill gradient on the first day and a slight downhill gradient on the last day. It also has a planetary trail to help us understand the distances between planets in our solar systems.

Today we complete the Otago Central Rail Trail, New Zealand’s most well-known and original cycle trail. We pass “superb ‘Central’ scenery, rich human history, character eateries & cafes”. Add tunnels and bridges and you get the picture. We end the day in Clyde and overnight in Alexandra.

Starting at Miller’s Flat and riding beside the Clutha River to the Roxburgh dam, then riding over the dam and down to Shingle Creek to meet a jet boat. The jet boat driver will point out many interestingly historical, botanical and geological features in the gorge. After the jet boat drop-off, ride on the Alexandra, and then Clyde via the 12 kms Alexandra Anniversary Track.

The Lake Dunstan Trail is a relative newcomer to the lower South Island trail network, but what a gift! It connects the Clyde Dam to the historic precinct of Cromwell. It’s completely car free and graded 2 and 3 with some fun downhill features and floating cafes. The Lake Dunstan Trail is 55km long with a vertical ascent of 580m. It takes between 4 to 5 hours to complete…. especially if you are waylaid at the Carrick Winery.

We begin our ride in the historic gold-mining town of Ross, once the site of one of the richest alluvial gold strikes in New Zealand. From here, we cycle north to Hokitika, a charming West Coast town known for its greenstone (pounamu) carving studios, artisan shops, and wild driftwood-strewn beach. This is the setting for Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries, a Booker Prize-winning novel steeped in West Coast mystique and gold rush intrigue.

After a break in Hokitika, we follow the scenic trail inland to Lake Kaniere, one of the West Coast’s most beautiful alpine lakes, surrounded by lush native forest. Along the way, we explore the historic Kaniere Water Race, originally built to supply water to the goldfields, and ride sections of the old bush tramway, now reborn as a gentle, well-formed cycle path. Keep an eye out for native birdlife and remnants of 19th-century engineering tucked into the dense bush.