Cycle the Remutaka Cycle Trail plus excursion to Cape Palliser, with two nights and a full day in Martinborough in the middle. Perfect for those who take both their cycling and indulgence seriously, and don't want to compromise on either!
We provide:
Upgrade your bike: If you're not taking your own bike out on the trail, we can supply one for you! Please see below our list of options, which you can choose once you click the 'book now' button. For more info on our bikes, click here
Itinerary:
Day One - The Hutt River Trail - 32km (48km with Pencarrow Lighthouse extension)
Start your adventure with either a 10am shuttle from Wellington / Hutt Valley or a scenic cruise (timetable tbc) across Wellington Harbour to our start point at our base in Eastbourne. We'll have your bikes ready to go, and will give you a quick briefing on what to expect for the day. If you’re keen for a longer ride today, firstly head south around the Pencarrow coast on an out-and-back 17km ride to check out Pencarrow Head’s beautiful lighthouses and lakes, before heading back to join the main trail.
From Eastbourne, follow a meandering road around the harbour edge to the start of the Hutt River Trail. Ride this picturesque riverside trail through the Hutt Valley, stopping at the numerous picnic spots or swimming holes on the way. Follow the trail through Upper Hutt and to your accommodation at Wallaceville House, a beautiful hotel in a country setting. Find nearby Brewtown a great option for your evening dinner, with plenty of craft breweries and a distillery. Or, nearby Upper Hutt has a number of great restaurant options as well.
Food included: Lunch, Cheeseboard
Day Two - The Remutaka Rail Trail to Featherston - 54km
Begin your day heading back to the trail for a ride through the beautiful Pakuratahi Forest to the Remutaka Rail Trail and our base at Wildfinder Kaitoke. Check in for a cool drink or snack, then follow an historic rail line up a gentle incline, passing through tunnels (headlights provided!) and over bridges, while checking out information boards detailing the enormous task of constructing the old fell railway system. Keep an eye out for trout in the streams and native birds in the treetops - this is a very active and healthy little ecosystem! Reach Summit - a large grassy plateau with the remnants of an old township and railyard, the perfect spot for a picnic or cold drink - then enjoy a fun (but easily controllable) descent to Cross Creek in the Wairarapa, surrounded by some of NZ's most scenic farmland. Continue your journey north along a quiet country road to Featherston. Check out Featherston's many book shops, Fell Locomotive Museum, and for those who love cheese, we highly recommend a visit to ‘C’est Cheese’! You'll be staying the night at the historic and beautifully renovated Royal Hotel, boasting individually decorated rooms, all in a luxurious Victorian design. We highly recommend dining at the on-site restaurant, Brac & Bow, for dinner.
Food included: Breakfast, Lunch, Cheeseboard
Day Three - Martinborough via Greytown - 35km
From Featherston, join the new ‘Five Towns Trail’ over the Tauherenikau suspension bridge to Woodside, then on to Greytown. Explore the many boutique shops this delightful village has to offer, (we personally love Blackwell & Sons Bicycle Store, and Mrs Blackwell's Village Bookshop), as well as the artisan chocolate studio ‘Schoc Chocolates’, and next door the Cobblestones Museum. From Greytown, head along country roads to Martinborough. Accommodation will be at The Martinborough Hotel, a beautiful boutique hotel full of charm and character located in the heart of the village. Either dine at the on-site restaurant, or sample one of the many restaurants Martinborough has to offer, all within walking distance of the hotel.
Food included: Breakfast, Lunch, Cheeseboard
Day Four - Martinborough
Take the day at your own pace, with a relaxing cruise around the vineyards and restaurants of Martinborough. There's no set itinerary for this day, so just follow your nose and your tastebuds, and enjoy!
Food included: Breakfast, Lunch, Cheeseboard
Day Five - Cape Palliser and Lake Ferry - 41km (allow 90 mins for optional 3km Pinnacles walk)
We’ll pick you up in our 9.30am shuttle from Martinborough and drive you out to Pirinoa in the Wairarapa. Follow country roads as you head out towards the epic Cape Palliser coastline. Continue your ride until you reach the Putangirua Pinnacles - aka The Dimholt Road or Path of the Dead from The Lord of The Rings. This is an incredible geological structure, allow 45 mins walk each way (we recommend taking the 3km return streambed trail - lock your bikes up in the car park before you set off, the trail is not suitable for riding). Please note the Pinnacles trail is prone to slips - please click here for any track closures.
Continue on the road as it weaves along the coast to the picturesque fishing village of Ngawi, then on to New Zealand’s largest fur seal colony, often found playing in the rocks just before the lighthouse. Climb the steps to the lighthouse, with incredible views over this epic coastline. We'll pick you up in our 3pm shuttle, and take you back to Lake Ferry, a quiet rustic fishing village on the south coast of Palliser Bay. You’ll be staying the night in one of the modern Te Wheke Lakeside Villas, with any overflow to the Hotel next door. Enjoy the restaurant for your evening meal (we recommend their ‘famous’ fish and chips!), with panoramic views of the Kaikoura Ranges.
Food included: Breakfast, Lunch, Cheeseboard
Day Six - The Wairarapa and Wild Coast - 45km (if finishing at Ocean Beach) or 63km (if finishing at Orongorongo)
Start your day with a ride through the beautiful Wairarapa countryside, on flat country roads. Continue on to Ocean Beach and then around the coast to Orongorongo. This part of the trail is stunning - we've seen orca, dolphins and seals from the trail, and it really is an incredible part of the country. Though beautiful and one of the highlights of the Remutaka Cycle Trail, the coastal track is also quite rugged and may be a challenge for some riders - we provide options to get picked up from Ocean Beach at 1pm (at no extra charge) so you can take on as much or as little of a challenge as you like - we usually leave this flexible, and just confirm the night beforehand based on your experience so far and the weather forecasts for the next day. We’ll pick you up from the end of the trail at Orongorongo at 3.30pm, then shuttle you directly back to your accommodation in Wellington / Hutt Valley, or to Days Bay, where you can relax by the beach with a gelato or a coffee (or something a bit stronger) before finishing your adventure with a harbour cruise back to Wellington. Our default finish time for the tour is 4:30pm, but we are happy to discuss alternatives if this doesn't suit. For those getting shuttled to the airport, arrival time is approximately 5pm.
Food included: Breakfast, Lunch
Important notes - we’ll discuss all of these with you at the time of booking if relevant:
Accommodation specified above is dependent upon availability. If these options are not available, we have several great alternatives.
Pricing is per person, and based on twinshare accommodation. Those wanting a room to themselves, will incur a solo accommodation supplement of $700. This supplement isn’t applied to groups with odd numbers (for example where there are 5 people in your group, so one person has a room to themselves).
Solo travellers will incur both the solo accommodation supplement of $700, and an additional solo traveller supplement of $800. This is due to the high costs of servicing these tours.
The Remutaka Cycle Trail passes through dynamic landscapes, and as such can sometimes experience outages. In this event, we have several great contingency options available.