4-Day Cycle Tour
This is our premium cycle tour and our most popular product. Enjoy the luxury of a fully supported tour.
(Please note that your driver 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
- Transfer in Off The Rails' van to start of the Rail Trail in Clyde.
- Bikes, helmets, panniers fitted to begin cycling around 10.30am
- Our driver will meet you in Alexandra, to make sure everyone is comfortable and riding well.
- A couple of hours' cycling across the Manuherikia River and through Tuckers Gully gold diggings.
- Lunch at the historic Chatto Creek Tavern. Our driver 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, there's nothing to panic about)
- Down hill to Omakau and Lauder. Our driver will meet you at Lauder and bring you to our accommodation in Ranfurly.
- Dinner: Ranfurly Hotel
Day 2 - Lauder to Ranfurly (48kms)
- After breakfast, our driver will return you to where you finished cycling the day before.
- Crossing the Manuherikia River again, through the Poolburn Gorge tunnels and onto the 37m high 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.
- Then it's an easy ride down to Wedderburn and the possibility of afternoon refreshments before the final 13kms into Ranfurly.
- Dinner: Our driver will take you to an historic country hotel for dinner.
Day 3 - Ranfurly to Hyde (32kms)
- Ride from Ranfurly across the Maniototo Plain to Waipiata
- Then a pretty run following the Taieri River to Kokonga and Daisybank.
- Prices Creek brings you a 32m high Viaduct and 152m long Tunnel (this is where you really need that torch!).
- Our driver will meet you here and bring you home to Ranfurly for some r&r before heading off to Naseby, where you can try your hand at the ancient Scottish sport of curling before dining at an iconic pub dating back to the 1860's.
Day 4 - Hyde to Middlemarch (27kms)
- After breakfast, our driver 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.
- Off The Rails' driver will meet you at the end of the Trail in Middlemarch and take you to one of the charming cafes for some well-earned refreshments.
- It's all aboard for the scenic drive back to Queenstown, with pit stops for sightseeing and refreshments or a trip out to the 'Edinburgh of the South' if you have booked the Dunedin option.
Please Note: Lunches and dinners are at the guests expense.
Contact us for other four day options. We can tailor a tour to suit your needs and budget.