Between Lakes and Snow Peaks: Riding New Zealand

Queenstown is a small town on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, a lake about 80 km long. The Remarkables range, at about 2,300 m, rises across the water, and a gondola runs up Bob's Peak (about 790 m) behind town. People come here to ski in winter and to ride and hike in summer.

This route leaves town on a lakeside cycle path, then climbs onto gravel and dirt tracks above the lake and follows the ridges down with views of the water and the mountains. It is about 68 km with roughly 1,200 m of climbing in total, making it the most demanding of the five routes. There are several short, steep climbs, so managing the battery matters.

The Queenstown Trail, one of the Great Rides, covers about 130 km around the area. It links the lakeshore, the Kawarau River gorge, the old gold-mining town of Arrowtown and the vineyards of the Gibbston Valley, so on days when the ridge route feels like too much, you can ride this instead at an easy pace.

After the Central Otago railway closed in the early 1990s, its route was turned into a cycle trail that opened in 2000. It runs about 150 km from Middlemarch in the east to Clyde in the west, and it is often credited with making multi-day cycle touring popular in New Zealand.

Because trains once ran here, the gradients are very gentle, and with no cars it is easy going even for first-time e-MTB riders. Wide basins, brown hills and flocks of sheep line the trail, and a small town turns up several times a day.

Each town has an old hotel, a pub or a café, good for lunch or a night's stay. Most people ride 30–50 km a day, starting from either Clyde or Middlemarch.

New Zealand's longest Great Ride starts below the Southern Alps and runs about 300 km down to the east coast town of Oamaru. There are two starting points, Aoraki/Mount Cook Village and Lake Tekapo. The Mount Cook start includes a short helicopter hop across a river, so many riders begin at Tekapo instead.

The first few days cross the wide grassland of the Mackenzie Basin between glacial lakes. Lake Pukaki gets its milky turquoise colour from fine rock flour ground by glaciers, and on a clear day Aoraki/Mount Cook appears at the far end of the lake. The trail then passes Lake Ohau and the hydro lakes of the Waitaki River, losing height as it goes.

On the last day you ride past limestone hills and farmland to reach the sea. The trail loses height overall from start to finish, so with a kind wind it can be easier than you expect.

Rotorua, in the middle of the North Island, is a town in geothermal country, where steam rises from the ground and mud bubbles. You can smell sulphur around town, and it is also well known as a place to see Māori culture up close.

Whakarewarewa Forest, right next to town, is one of the best-known mountain bike forests in the country. Californian redwoods planted in the early 1900s have grown tall, and a large network of trails, from easy to very hard, runs between them. New Zealand grades its mountain bike trails from 1 (easiest) to 6, which makes it easy to pick a trail that fits your skills.

If forest trails are not for you, try Te Ara Ahi, a Great Ride that runs from town south into geothermal country. It passes lakeshores and geothermal parks on the way to the colourful hot springs of Waiotapu.

Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, sits on a narrow strip of land between two harbours. Around 50 small volcanoes are scattered across the city, so as you ride along the coast you keep seeing round, grassy volcanic cones.

Tamaki Drive runs east from the city along the harbour, linking beach suburbs, with Rangitoto Island across the water. With little climbing, it is a good ride for your first day to get used to the bike. In the city you will also find Te Ara I Whiti, the Lightpath, a pink cycleway built on an old motorway off-ramp.

You cannot ride across the Auckland Harbour Bridge. To reach the North Shore, take your bike on the ferry to Devonport. A day trip by ferry to Waiheke Island, riding the hilly roads between vineyards and beaches, is also popular.