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7 Day Nelson Lakes Tour
Duration
7 days
Site savings
$24
From
$2,292 USD
This South Island adventure starts at Picton, a picturesque fishing town at the northern tip of the South Island. It is a small town nestling under the bush-clad hills of Queen Charlotte Sound, named by Captain Cook in 1770. Starting with a magical ride around the Marlborough Sounds coastline, to Nelson, an attractive small city famous for its high sunshine hours. Nelson has become a haven for artists, craft breweries and boutique wineries. Climb gradually to Nelson Lakes National Park, and then it's down spectacular Buller Gorge to the wild West Coast. You will stay at Punakaiki, right by the beach and see Pancake Rocks and Blowholes at Paparoa National Park. From here you can either return to Christchurch or continue exploring the west.
- CategoryRoad Cycling
- TypeFully Guided
- Duration7 days
- Culture LevelFamiliar
- Skill Level2 - Novice
- Activity Level2 - Moderate
- Elevation2 - Moderate
- TerrainMixed
- Distance149.1 miles
- Avg. Daily Distance29.8 miles
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Quick Stats
- Duration7 days
- Main DestinationSouth Island
- Distance149.1 miles
- Avg. Daily Distance29.8 miles
- Elevation2 - Moderate
- TerrainMixed
Route Map (click to view larger image)
Itinerary Details
- Day 1Arrival
You will meet at 4.00 pm at Picton Beachcomber Inn, 27 Waikawa Rd, Picton. Your tour leader will then hold a trip orientation meeting and fit you to your rental bikes. You will then take a short ride of around 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) on a quiet coastal road to Whatamango Bay.
- Beachcomber Inn, Picton
- Lunch and Dinner
- Day 2To Nelson
You will climb out of Picton along a delightful, twisty little coastal road to Mahau Sound and the sleepy town of Havelock, from where the mail boat leaves. The town's claim to fame rests on the fact that two scientific giants grew up here: Ernest Rutherford, who was the first to split the atom, for which he won a Nobel prize in 1908, and later, William Pickering, who spent his career in the U.S. and directed the first successful satellite launches in the late 1950's in response to the Soviet Sputnik program. You will also notice many mussel farms along the Queen Charlotte Sounds.
After riding through dairy farming country you will reach an attractive bush reserve at Pelorus Bridge where you will have lunch. Due to traffic volumes from here, meet at Pelorus Bridge or Rai Valley to drive into Nelson over the climbs of Rai Saddle and Whangamoa Saddle. Keen riders may enjoy an additional (cycling) side trip to Okiwi Bay on a quiet road with excellent views. The cathedral city of Nelson is New Zealand's sunniest city with its craft beer, neighbouring orchards, wineries and sandy beaches.
Picton to Nelson: (pop 46,200)
adv. 110km/ 69 mi
Picton to Havelock:
cas 35km/ 22 mi
Picton to Pelorus Bridge:
Int. 56km/ 35 mi- 21.7 miles
- Rutherford Hotel, Nelson
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
- Day 3Nelson to St Arnaud
Today you will be driven 45 minutes to Motueka at the mouth of the river of the same name which empties into Tasman Bay. You will cycle up the Motueka Valley, a delightful quiet road that passes apple orchards, berry farms, fields of hops, wineries and dairy farms before reaching open sheep country. After a picnic lunch at Tapawera, you will continue to climb through Golden Downs forest and mostly uninhabited country before a final descent to St Arnaud, set in beech forest by beautiful Lake Rotoiti (“little lake” in Maori).
Motueka to Kohatu:
cas. 52 km/ 33 mi
Motueka to Golden Downs
int. 56km/ 35 mi
Motueka to St Arnaud:
adv.97 km/ 61 mi- 32.3 miles
- Alpine Lodge, St Arnaud
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
- Day 4St Arnaud to Murchison
You will take a short walk (up to1 hour) in the beech forest by the lake before starting the day's ride. From St Arnaud, you will follow the Buller River downhill through sheep farming country to Murchison. There are virtually no towns or shops before Murchison, once a gold mining town and best known for the devastating 1929 earthquake.
- 39.1 miles
- Murchison Motel
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
- Day 5Murchison to Westport
There is the option (at extra cost) to raft down the impressive Buller Gorge to Lyell for lunch or cycle the road which continues to follow the course of the Buller river. The river goes through a narrow gorge for parts of the route but other than the mining ghost town of Lyell and tiny Inangahua there are few services en route before reaching Westport and the sea. The sparsely populated West Coast is relatively isolated being cut off by the Southern Alps.
Westport was originally founded as a gold mining town c.1860, then served as a port for shipping coal but is now mainly reliant on tourism and fishing. Before dinner at a superb restaurant on the beachfront at Tauranga Bay, near Cape Foulwind, there will be a chance to visit a New Zealand fur seal colony and see cheeky black wekas (flightless native birds).Murchison to Westport (pop 3,900):
adv. 97 km/ 61 mi
Murchison to Berlins:
cas/int 64 km/ 40 m- 39.8 miles
- Chelsea Gateway Motor Lodge, Westport
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
- Day 6Westport to Punakaiki
At Charleston, the only town en route, you may wish to go caving or underwater rafting. The rolling coastal road offers many spectacular views and delightful sandy coves. The Paparoa Range provides a backdrop of thick native bush and broken by limestone cliffs. At Punakaiki, you will take a walk around Dolomite Point to explore the fascinating Pancake Rocks, where the sea has undermined the sedimentary rock and created spectacular layered rock formations and dramatic blow holes, especially at high tide.
Westport to Punakaiki (pop 75)
int. 57 km/ 36 mi
Westport to Charleston:
cas. 26 km/ 16 mi- 16.2 miles
- Punakaiki Resort
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
- Day 7Punakaiki to Christchurch