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Yes it’s possible! You can get off the plane, assemble your bike and ride to the CBD on nice quiet dedicated cycle trails all the way to the CBD. This is the best way to start your trip! You can assemble the bikes in a quiet corner of the terminal, and then just cycle under the Freeway to Marker Rd. At the end of this (short) road there is a very nice cycle trail called the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail, this leads to the CBD and to the network of trails. To get to the CBD you will have to leave this trail at Flemington Bridge and take South on the Capital City Trail. At Docklands you can take (...)

These are the track notes and details about cycling the Oodnadatta Track in July 2015, from Leigh Creek to Alice Springs, that I took while cycling it. This is not a complete guide. For a guide, check out GJ Coop Cycle Trails Australia website. Infinite and great scenery all the way You can also find more details in this forum post where I give some advice to an aspiring outback-cyclist. For the Oodnadatta Track you will find here my GPX file with useful waypoints from 2015 (things may have changed since, so be cautious) Typical corrugation on the track. Usually there’s a narrow strip (...)

This is a classic tramp in the Arthur’s Pass region with amazing views. It’s accessible to most people and has no perilous sections but you need to check the Cass river water level with DoC staff in Arthur’s Pass before going as you have to cross it several times. It follows a part of the Te Araroa trail and although some parts are classified as a route, it’s very easy to find your way. You’ll encounter four huts along the track so you can choose to walk it in two or three days depending on the time (and weather !) you dispose of and you’ll also find plenty of camping spots. As (...)

This two to three days adventure on the south-eastern border of the King country is a good weekend get-out or if you are cycling through NZ it’s a welcome change from the roads and car traffic. Plus it is on the easy side as it’s mostly downhill... once you’ve passed the initial climb. Access By car: Ongarue is 263 km or 3 hours 30 minutes drive from Auckland. Pureroa is 253 km and 3 hours 20 minutes. By bike: the trail end at Ongarue is accessible via quiet backcountry roads. Pureroa is on the busier SH30 but it still is not too bad. From the east you can join the Waikato River (...)

You’re tired of the tourists' crowds in Otago and want to enjoy a short and easy walk to an amazing place, only a two-hour drive from Wanaka ? This one is for you ! As Lake Ohau is not along the highway and as they have to do a little detour to get to the next cafe of their trip, people often bypass it. That’s a pity for them as it’s probably one of the most beautiful Southern Lakes but it’s a chance for the ones who want a bit of fresh air. This is not a difficult track and you should be able to return to the starting point in four hours, if you don’t take the time to (...)

Bealey Spur views This epic adventure takes you along the tops of Bealey Spur, down Jordan Saddle and to the Waimakariri River following Jordan Stream. In that journey you will pass an historic 1935 musterer hut, walk on a spectacular ridge up to 1,875 metres, with 360° views on Arthur’s Pass and Southern Alps peaks, and climb down rocks in a mountain stream. A true tramping adventure, requiring fine weather, good tramping skills and the ability to find an unmarked route through the landscape. Access Public transport: the TranzAlpine train operates daily from Greymouth to Christchurch, (...)

The Kaimai Range is a small mountain range between the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, between the Coromandel and Mamaku ranges. Just a 2 hours drive from Auckland, it offers a lot of great tramping options for weekends and even more. And in contrast with the Coromandel huts, most of the huts in the Kaimais are basic, meaning only $5 and no need to book. This place is often ignored by tourists who just drive from Coromandel to Rotorua, making it a perfect weekend escape, away from the crowds. Plus it has so many things to see, between old tramway tracks, tunnels, mountains, amazing bush and tracks, (...)

We were wet, cold, and overly miserable after 3 hours of walking in knee-deep mud under light rain. Arriving at the summit of The Cone, we were in thick clouds. The supposedly magnificent views you should get from the 953 meters summit were nowhere to be seen, and we still had more than one hour of walking to get to the hut, continuously going up and down on the ridge, trying to avoid the deeper mud pools. But this is when, jumping from side to side, climbing steep wet roots, with no views, feeling the beginning of a blister on my left foot, laughing at those ridiculous short boardwalks (...)

This is a nice day walk that will make you exercise with a tad more than 1,050 metres to climb and descend in the day, starting from sea level up to the summit of Kohukohunui at 688 metres. The main interest of this walk are the superb views you will get on the Firth of Thames, the Coromandel Peninsula, Auckland city and the Manukau Harbour. If the weather looks bad and you might get no views you can probably skip this one, as there’s 50% of wide, muddy, not too interesting tracks. Access This walk starts from the Waharau Regional Park visitor centre. Car: 1 hour 30 minutes drive from (...)

Access Car: 2 hours (135 km) drive from Auckland CBD to the end of Kaueranga Valley Rd. Bicycle: train to Papakura train station, cycle 85 km to Thames (6-8 hrs), then 22 km along Kaueranga Valley Rd (gravel), lots of paid campsites along this road. Public transport: poor, you can take the bus (InterCity, Naked Bus, etc.) to Thames, but you will still have to do the 22 km of (mostly gravel) road to the start of the walk. You could hitch a ride, especially on Saturday mornings with all the people going there, or you could try to contact local tour companies, like CanyoNZ, they usually go (...)