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.

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