Five Rivers, Around the Mountains Cycle Trail © Tourism NZ
KAIKOURA to AMBERLEY
HURUNUI Trail
3-4 days
BEST FOR: Submerging yourself into the rural good life, where every inch of scenery confirms that our countryside is seriously good looking.
205km TRAIL INFO
HEARTLAND RIDE • HURUNUI TRAIL
3-4 Days 205km
TRAIL GRADES: KAIKŌURA TO MT LYFORD VILLAGE GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) MT LYFORD VILLAGE TO WAIAU GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) WAIAU TO CULVERDEN GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) CULVERDEN TO HURUNUI BRIDGE GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE)
Kaikōura countryside © Getty Images BELOW: St James Cycle Trail © Canterbury Christchurch Tourism
South Island’s rural beauty is all-consuming. This is a ride where you’ll stop often; bike stationed before yet another glorious landscape while you pause to appreciate the rolling views.
The journey will see you crossing both the Kowhai and Waiau rivers, using a mix of seal and gravel roads over a mostly flat terrain, but with just enough segments of undulated track to allow for some fun slopes. Fling your legs up and re-enact childhood.
resh country air, punctured permanently, yet somewhat pleasantly, by the rich smell of farmland, the Hurunui Trail provides a quieter, safer alternative to SH 1, through gorgeous countryside communities laced by large pastoral farms, tussock land, creeks, rivers, vineyards and hilltops crackled with remnants of snow.
There is an opportunity just past the small village of Culverden to detour off the trail by 36km to Hanmer Springs. Cyclists feeling the aches of exertion will welcome the hot pools at Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa.
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Connecting Kaikōura to Canterbury, the trail can be ridden in either direction via a series of low traffic country roads. Cars are infrequent but trundling tractors must be expected. Cattle being moved may also slow your progress, but is there anything more delightfully rural than stopping to watch a farmer work their land?
TOP TIP – If you want more, this trail is conveniently close to the St James Cycle Trail Great Ride, as well as the adjacent Molesworth Muster and Rainbow Trail Heartland Rides.
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Back on the main track, solitude is an expected highlight; sometimes there will be nothing but you, the road and views as far as the eye can see, but keep a look out for ancient landforms chiselled into their new faces by the massive 2016 earthquake, the beautiful vineyards of the Waipara wine region and limestone outcrops along Pyramid Valley Rd. Once in Christchurch, your ride expels its agricultural cloak, and the fizz, pop, whizz of a modern city takes centre stage.
HURUNUI BRIDGE TO WAIKARI TURN OFF GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) WAIKARI TURN OFF TO AMBERLEY GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE) MOBILE PHONE COVERAGE: Generally good with just two trail sections currently with no coverage – 50km of the Inland Kaikōura Rd (10km from Kaikōura through to Mt Lyford); and also a 12km section on Broxton, MacDonald Downs and Ram Paddock roads in the hills to the north of Amberley. FOOD & WATER: There are numerous cafés and shops in all the towns on the route, with the longest unserviced stretch the 61km between Kaikōura and Mt Lyford Lodge. TYPE OF BIKE: With approximately 20km of gravel, a sturdy touring style bike is recommended. E-bikes, with sufficient battery capacity, are permitted in accordance with New Zealand Road Code. Riders should ideally have basic mechanical skills and carry a tool kit; most villages on the route have general mechanical repairs available. GRADE 3 (INTERMEDIATE)
