Mountain Biking
Mountain Biking on the Kāpiti Coast
INTRODUCTION This is a great place to go if you’re training for a bike-packing mission like the Old Ghost Road, getting into mountain biking but tired of the crowds at Makara Peak, or just out to explore some beautiful coastal forest. It has great variety of track, challenging ups, exciting downs, lovely forest, stunning views … Read more
The Two Thumb Range to the Rakaia
The Ashburton Lakes landscape is noted for its relatively unmodified, huge, harsh and vast inter-montane wetland system of wide open valleys, twelve lakes, and braided rivers. An area surrounded by tussock lands and bordered to the west by the Southern Alps it was never a place of interest to me, except as a place to … Read more
The Tararuas January to December
The 2016 Tararua Calendar – a trip through the Tararuas from January to December By Harry Smith When you are an unemployed layabout, living on boiled rice and scavenged apple cores and reusing teabags six or seven times over, you will accept any freebie you can get your hands on. So when Tony Gazley offered me a free … Read more
Mountain biking in the Tararuas
DOC was recently approached by a group of community representatives, who are keen to see mountain biking options in the Tararua Forest Park. There are currently very limited opportunities for recreational mountain bikers to enjoy the Tararuas, unlike most other DOC managed areas throughout the country. DOC has proposed to allow mountain bikers access to … Read more
Ruapehu Rumblings – August 2014
After a bit of a shaky start – I was up there the weekend of the tragic rainstorm about 6 weeks ago! The snow season is going gangbusters with a 2m+ base, and lodge bookings are going gangbusters as well. Weekends are steadily filling up about 3-4 weeks out, and unfortunately we’re needing to turn … Read more
The Southern Brevet (Part 2 – Queenstown to Tekapo)
Continued from Part 1… Queenstown to Nevis At 7am, the air is cool and clouds gather about the peaks as our water taxi rips across the dull lake. Walter’s Peak Station is silent as we head for the glacial landscape of the Von. It’s long and flat; Julie’s tyre relieves the boredom by loudly disembowelling … Read more
Outrageous Otago mountain biking
Outrageous Otago mountain biking Some of thee best mountain biking in Central Otago including the ????? areas. Toward the end of summer in past years Paul and I have always tried to fit in a multi-day MTB’ing trip—but this time we planned to change that idea and try a number of single-day rides instead. This … Read more
Nelson Mountain Biking
Having attended the obligatory two club tramps before becoming a member, and a trip leading session, it was appropriate to contribute in a small way by volunteering to lead a trip. Encouraged by my brother in-law Mike and the fact that a number of other trips were planned around Nelson at the same time, this … Read more