Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail

Welcome! We’ll pick you up from your accommodation in Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city. Then we’ll drive across the iconic Mackenzie Country, a rugged mountain valley basin, past two turquoise alpine lakes: Tekapo and Pukaki. You’ll start your cycling from Braemar Station, a large sheep farm on the shores of Lake Pukaki. You’re on the edge of the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, with close-up views of New Zealand’s highest mountain.

You’ll follow the Lake Pukaki shoreline on a new purpose-built track, finishing at the Lake Pukaki Information Centre. It’s flat and mostly downhill, through tussock grasslands with beautiful lake and mountain views.

This morning we’ll cycle 10km on a flat trail to the former hydroelectric town of Twizel, now a water sports and winter sports mecca. En route: amazing views over the Mackenzie Basin and the dramatic Benmore Range.

From here you’ll follow an undulating trail with short, steep sections to tonight’s destination: beautiful, glacial Lake Ohau, in the Mackenzie High Country. You’ll stay at the lovely Lake Ohau Lodge.

Tonight, be sure to head outside after dinner for some of the most spectacular stargazing on earth. The Mackenzie Basin has recently been named an international dark sky reserve, as its night skies are amongst the world’s cleanest, driest and darkest.

An undulating path today, with some short, steep sections. We’ll follow a newly built off road trail traversing the lower slopes of the Ruataniwha Conservation Park, enjoying views back over the Benmore Range. From here you climb to the high point on the trail, then it’s a steady downhill through the Quailburn, a historic sheep-farming area where early musterers lived a harsh life with many hardships.

Next, we’ll follow State Highway 8 passing through Omarama township, at the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin, for the final stretch to the village of Otematata, set between two hydro dam lakes. With today’s cycling completed, it’s on board your coach for a short journey back to Omarama and your night’s accommodation.

Tonight, relax with a cold drink at your hotel, or perhaps try the local outdoor hot tubs for a relaxing night’s sleep.

Picking up the trail at Otematata we have a short, steep climb to follow the Benmore Dam, past the power station. We’ll skirt the shores of gorgeous Lake Aviemore and follow the Waitaki River to Kurow in the Waitaki Valley.

After lunch, it’s off to Duntroon, another quiet inland country town that harbours big surprises: geological formations that interest researchers worldwide, and fossils of sea creatures which lived here millions of years ago, including two extinct penguin species. Nearby are fossilised whale bones, and Maori rock drawings, hundreds of years old. There may be time to visit the excellent Vanished World Museum. We return to Kurow where we stay the night.

Today, it’s into the home stretch through the North Otago countryside to historic Oamaru. At your guides discretion there are 2 routes to choose from. If you don’t feel up to a ride that is over rolling hills on the trail proper, we can offer a ride on an easier route directly to the small town of Windsor where we pick up the trail again and ride to the completion of the trail in Oamaru.

Both routes pass unusual limestone plateaux or ‘tables’, including the unusual Elephant Rocks, well-known as one of the locations used in filming the movie “The Chronicles of Narnia”. Our route takes us through the Awamoko Valley to Ngapara (Maori for ‘the tables’) and tiny Enfield.

Our journey ends in Oamaru, the largest town in the district. We’ll cycle right up to the heart of Oamaru: the picturesque harbour in the middle of its remarkably preserved Victorian precinct, featuring beautiful 19th century buildings carved in the local white Oamaru stone.

We’ve made it… we’ve cycled almost 300 km from the Alps to the Ocean! After a celebration, we’ll drive you back to Christchurch, or you may wish to continue your adventures from Oamaru.