Epic Mountain Biking Through Jaw-Dropping Scenery

“New Zealand is a great country to witness by bicycle,” says the Independent’s Christopher Wakling. “The government wants you to ride there. At a cost of more than $75m it recently completed Nga Haerenga, or the New Zealand Cycle Trail. Nga Haerenga comprises some 22 ‘Great Rides’ across both the North and South Islands.”

“Together they take in some of the planet’s most jaw-dropping scenery, but unless you’ve unlimited time you’ll have to pick a route.

“I would have loved to explore the full length of the track from [Marlborough’s] Ship Cove to Anakiwa, but time was tight. Determined to investigate as many different kinds of cycling as possible in New Zealand, I had booked myself on to a road-cycling event called the Marlborough Grape Ride.

“The irony of the trip is that while the pace and reach of cycling allowed me to enjoy the parts of New Zealand I visited, ultimately it convinced me I’d only seen enough to know I’d seen too little. I’ll have to go back.”

Original article by Christopher Wakling, The Independent, May 10, 2014.