4-Day Cycle Tour

This is our premium cycle tour and our most popular product. Enjoy the comfort of a fully supported tour.

(Please note that we may recommend some modifications to this itinerary, depending on circumstances at the time.)

Day 1 - Clyde to Lauder (44kms)

Pick up in Queenstown between 8.00 and 8.30am
Transported in the Off The Rails van to the start of the Rail Trail in Clyde.
Bikes, helmets, panniers fitted to begin cycling around 10.30am
We will meet you in Alexandra, to make sure everyone is comfortable, riding well and happy with bikes.
A couple of hours cycling across the Manuherikia River Bridge No.1, through to Galloway, where you will be met by us for morning "smoko", then back over the Manuherikia Bridge No.2, the longest bridge on the trail.(120m)
Lunch at the historic Chatto Creek Tavern. We will check in with you here and see how you're all going.
After lunch, grab Tiger Hill by the tail (at a gradient of 1:50, its hardly a hill!)
Down hill to Omakau and Lauder. We will meet you at Lauder and bring you to our accommodation in Ranfurly.
Dinner at Ranfurly Hotel or Waipiata Country Hotel or Wedderburn Tavern

Day 2 - Lauder to Ranfurly (48kms)

After breakfast, we will return you to where you finished cycling the day before at Lauder.
Crossing the Manuherikia River again, over Bridge No.3, through the Poolburn Gorge tunnels (229m and 201m) and onto the 37m high, 108m long Poolburn Viaduct.
Then down the Raggedy Range to the Ida Valley, with the Ida Burn Dam, which is a natural skating rink in winter.
A side trip to the Hayes Engineering Works can be made before lunch at Oturehua or the historic Gilchrist's Store.
After lunch the Rail Trail's other hill takes you up to Rough Ridge and the highest point of the Trail at 618m ASL
Then it's an easy ride down to Wedderburn and the possibility of afternoon refreshments before the final 13kms into Ranfurly.
Dinner tonight at The Vulcan Hotel in St Bathans.

Day 3 - Ranfurly to Hyde (32kms)

Ride from Ranfurly across the Maniototo Plain to Waipiata to sample one (or two) of NZs finest pies.
Then a pretty run following the Taieri River to Kokonga and Daisybank.
From Daisybank, through the Tioriti gorge, one of the highlights of the Rail Trail.
Prices Creek brings you a 32m high Viaduct and a 152m long Tunnel.
We will meet you at Hyde and bring you home to Ranfurly or backto Waipiata for a rest before heading off to Naseby, where you can try your hand at the ancient Scottish sport of curling before dining at the Royal Hotel, which dates back to the 1860's.

Day 4 - Hyde to Middlemarch (27kms)

After breakfast, we will take you back to Hyde to pick up where you left off.
You'll cycle past the Hyde Railway Station and on to Straw Cutting where 21 people lost their lives in a tragic accident in 1943.
Then you leave the Taieri Gorge behind as the land broadens into the Strath Taieri plain.
Look out for cloud formations known as the Taieri Pet over the Rock and Pillar range.
You will then be met at the end of the Rail Trail in Middlemarch and taken to the charming cafe for some well-earned refreshments.
We then transport you back to Ranfurly where you can freshen up before the trip back to Queenstown, or if you prefer, we can organise for you to get to Dunedin.

Please Note: Lunches and dinners are at the guests expense.