While most of our overseas and Australian riders find it much easier to hire an e-bike through us to save on airline hassle, you are welcome to bring your own wheels.

However, because you’ll be riding 275 km entirely off-road, your bike must meet the following standard to handle the terrain safely:

Flying with your bike? Make sure to review our guide on boxing and freighting your bike to ensure it arrives safely and complies with transport logistics.

Best Bike Styles: Hardtail mountain bikes, full-suspension MTBs, trail-ready e-bikes, or gravel bikes with wide, high-volume tires.

Not Suitable: Standard road bikes, city commuters, or hybrids with thin tires.

Pre-Tour Service Mandate: You must have your bike fully serviced by a professional mechanic before arriving. The trails are remote; parts, tools, and service centers are not readily available on the route. You are entirely responsible for the mechanical fitness of your bike.

If you prefer not to travel with your own wheels, we can arrange e-bike hire for your entire journey. Because this itinerary spans several unique regions, your hire bikes are sourced directly from the specialized tour operators located right at each trail.

• How it Works: You will be transitioning between different bikes over the length of the tour. Sometime you have the same bike two days running, sometimes a new bike each day.
• The Fleet: Where available, we utilize high-quality, NZ-designed Sinch e-bikes in small, medium, and large frame sizes.
• Pricing: The cost is NZD $965 incl GST to cover all e-bike hire arrangements throughout the 7-day tour.
• Rider Responsibility: Please note that because you are renting from multiple independent local operators along the route, you are fully responsible for the bike while it is in your care. Any loss or damage caused to an operator’s bike during the tour will be at your own expense.

Interested in hiring? Please contact Peter directly if you plan on hiring a bike so we can secure the correct frame sizes with our regional partners ahead of your arrival.

Because this is a self-guided tour, meals are generally not included in your package, giving you total freedom to choose where and when you eat. However, the unique geography of the trails means your dining setups will vary depending on where you stay:

• Town & Settlement Stays (Independent): For standard nights, your daily itinerary is designed around excellent local cafes for breakfast and lunch, and recommended restaurants for dinner. These meals are purchased independently at your own expense.
• Remote Wilderness Lodges (Fully Included): On the days your itinerary takes you into remote locations—such as the wilderness lodges along the Timber Trail—all meals (dinner, breakfast, and a packed lunch) are fully provided for you on-site. These specific inclusions are clearly noted day-by-day in your itinerary.
• Dietary Restrictions: If your upcoming itinerary includes a stay at one of our remote wilderness lodges and you have severe dietary restrictions (such as gluten intolerance or coeliac disease), it is essential to advise us of this before your tour begins so we can coordinate with the lodge hosts ahead of time.

We understand that a great day on the trails deserves a comfortable, worry-free night’s rest. Our accommodation is hand-picked with two primary goals in mind:

Logistics First: We select our lodging foremost based on the daily riding stages. Our priority is ensuring you finish your day’s ride right at or very close to your accommodation, minimizing extra travel or complicated transfers.

Bike-Friendly Amenities: We actively seek out properties that cater specifically to cyclists. We look for essential features like secure bike storage, dedicated bike cleaning stations, and reliable e-bike charging setups so your gear is ready to go the next morning.

Because this is a self-guided tour, there are no Track & Trail staff out on the trail with you. Apart from meeting local operators at the very beginning or end of trail sections, you are riding independently. Your safety depends on your own preparation, good judgment, and self-reliance.

Before heading out each morning, you must manage and take responsibility for the following:

• Weather Decisions: Check the local forecast daily before leaving your accommodation. You need to make the final call on whether it is safe and comfortable for you to ride based on the conditions.
• Trail Status Alerts: Always check for any active trail closures, maintenance updates, or detours before starting your day’s stage.
• Essential Gear to Carry: You must ride with adequate hydration, high-energy snacks, and extra layers of clothing (including reliable wind and waterproof gear). Weather in the central North Island can change rapidly.
• First Aid & Emergencies: Carry a basic personal first aid kit to handle minor incidents like scrapes or cuts. While a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is provided for the remote wilderness section of the Timber Trail, you must be prepared to handle day-to-day trail logistics on your own.

Track & Trail handles the upfront logistics so your route is planned, but once you are on the track, your care, attention, and independent decision-making keep you safe.

This tour features daily riding stages averaging around 40 km entirely off-road. Because you will be navigating the trails independently, being physically prepared is the best way to ensure you have a safe and thoroughly enjoyable adventure.

To get your fitness and bike handling skills tour-ready, we highly recommend tailoring your training rides to include:

• Off-Road Surfaces: Spend time riding on gravel, packed dirt, and unpaved forestry trails. Getting comfortable with shifting terrain ahead of time is key to confident riding.
• Hill Training: Make sure your training routes include climbing and descending. The central North Island trails are beautifully dynamic but feature regular elevation changes.
• Building Distance: Aim to ride 2–3 times a week, gradually building up your endurance so you are comfortable covering 25–50 km in a single session.

The more prepared your legs and lungs are before you arrive, the more freedom you’ll have to relax and take in the incredible scenery!

Because this is a self-guided adventure, your journey begins independently. While you are free to arrange your travel however you please, the most seamless and common travel pattern for our riders is to fly into Auckland Airport and pick up a rental car.

South Island Travelers: If you are joining us from the South Island, you also have the convenient option to fly directly into Rotorua Airport, pick up a rental vehicle there, and make the short drive up to the starting point.

The Initial Drive: From Auckland Airport, it is an easy and comfortable 1.5-hour (90-minute) drive south via the Waikato Expressway to reach the start of your tour.

Minimal Driving Required: One of the best features of this itinerary is its compact geography. Once you complete that initial trip down from Auckland on Day 1, you have already done the bulk of your driving. The daily transitions between the trail stages throughout the rest of the week require very little time behind the wheel.