Omarama Saddle, South Island, New Zealand.
MTB Trips
Adventure, flow, and the kind of challenge that is best shared
Mountain biking trips combine a lot of what I love most about adventure — movement, scenery, technical challenge, self-sufficiency, and the fun of sharing the experience with good people.
Why I love mountain bike trips
There is something deeply satisfying about covering ground by bike through remote or beautiful places. Mountain biking brings together effort, flow, and a strong sense of being immersed in the landscape rather than just passing through it.
Trips worth remembering
I’ve biked most of New Zealand’s Great Rides and organised several group trips over the years. Highlights include the Tour Aotearoa Central North Island section, Old Ghost Road, West Coast Wilderness Trail, Heaphy Track, and Bridge to Nowhere.
Also the Sound-to-Sound route down the South Island of New Zealand.
What these trips give back
The best mountain bike trips are never just about the riding. They create stories, laughter, challenge, problem-solving, and the kind of shared memories that stay with you long after the trip is over.
For me, MTB trips are one of the best ways to combine adventure, connection, and a real sense of journey.
Tour Aotearoa - Central North Island
I created a four-day mountain bikepacking trip for 10 people along a section of the Tour Aotearoa route from the Timber Trail to the Bridge To Nowhere. It was really enjoyable group adventure with a mix of trails we’d loved riding before, and new parts of the country we’d never been to.
Heading out of Tauramanui
Timber Trail
Blue Duck Lodge
The Old Ghost Road
The Old Ghost Ride is the most adventurous high country long-distance trail in New Zealand, and a world class ride.
I love the story of how this track was created, as told by the engaging documentary Muscle and Dreams and the book Spirit to the Stone, by Marion Boadwright, who initiated the project.
I’ve organised a couple of trips on the Old Ghost Road. The largest of these was for 15 people from Wellington - 12 mountain bikers and three runners.
There was a decent amount of logistics involved with transport, accommodation, meal bookings and even chartering a plane to Westport! The careful planning paid off and we had a smooth-running trip and a fantastic experience.
The Big Slips, Old Ghost Road
The Boneyard
Top of the Lyell Range
Trail down to Goat Creek Hut
Dinner at the Rough and Tumble Lodge
West Coast Wilderness Trail
The West Coast of New Zealand has always been an awe inspiring environment to me and I’d been keen to bike the West Coast Wilderness Trail for some time after the trail was created. One summer the timing was right and I arranged a trip there for four people as a bit of training ride for the Old Ghost Road
West Coast Wilderness Trail
Coast at Hokitika, New Zealand
Heaphy Track
The Heaphy was the first multi-day MTB adventure in high country I organised. For six people over a weekend, it involved flights from Wellington & drop-off transport with Golden Bay Air, and a couple of nights in huts. You can only ride this track during the winter and we chose early May. Fortunately we were lucky with the weather, but we had prepared for all conditions. It was a great success as a first adventure!
Heaphy Track
Karamea Coastline
Bridge To Nowhere
I’ve biked and run the Bridge To Nowhere track almost more times than I can remember! I’ve organised several trips on it over the years with various groups of people, and both canoed out after staying over night in the lodge and jet-boated out. It’s a mini-adventure in a remote and impressive limestone landscape, which you can complete in a few hours.
Related links
Sound-to-Sound
Gravel Muster
Otway Odessey & Great Ocean Road Gravel Grind