The Best Way to Explore NZ's South Island by Bike
The Great Taste Cycle Trail, which begins near Nelson on New Zealand's South Island, is a multi-day trek that combines heli-cycling with stops at wineries.
You’ve heard of heli-skiing, now try heli-cycling. Only in New Zealand could you charter a chopper with your bike in tow and land atop a mountain, 007-style, to ride among the valleys and dazzling aquamarine bays of the remote Marlborough Sounds. It’s a spectacular diversion and one of the highlights of this fully bespoke, multi-day guided experience by Wheelie Fantastic Cycle Tours in Nelson, near the top of the South Island. The adventure pairs Tasman’s Great Taste Trail – 175 kilometres of urban, coastal and rural terrain in one of the country’s best food and wine regions – with bucket-list cycling and stays at luxurious lodges, including Edenhouse and Te Koi The Lodge at Bronte. Tying together a string of charming towns on the Tasman Bay, the trail passes pretty beaches, craft breweries, fish and chip joints and pie shops, including must-visit Ginge Dynamite Go Go Food & Coffee (Main Road, Riwaka; +64 21 168 8736). Cycle as much or as little as you like then rest your legs by choosing add-on vehicle-based activities, such as art tours, wine tastings or kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park.
Image credit: Dean Mackenzie.
