We attempted the Kaikoura trail mid morning on a beautiful Canterbury day. The trail itself starts in the centre of town by the i-site, however we started near our accommodation at the Dolphin Lodge.

The trail is easy enough to follow at the start leading towards the south you travel and a well looked after path along the dunes, then through some pine forests. The trail keeps you off the main road and a few kilometers from town you travel under the bridge then follow along the left side of the ‘Kaikoura Golf Club’. Here you have the choice of following the gravel road along the Kowhai river, or left along a meandering and sometimes tight mountain bike trail. We chose to go along the mountain bike trail, this was a fun and winding way to travel up along the river.

The trail winds its way in and out of the forest, sometimes coming onto the braided river bed. As the mountains draw closer the trail uses more of the gravel forestry roads to make its way up the Kowhai valley. The roads weren’t very well signposted but we were periodically able to get signal so we could check our directions.

The destination of our first leg was the Mt Fyffe car-park. The final part of the gravel road is quite steep and daunting, however the e-bikes had no trouble going up. Make sure you have good tyres capable of holding to gravel. The car-park is the beginning of the Mt Fyffe and Seward Kaikoura Range, this is a grade 4 mountain bike track if you feel adventurous and wish to continue. The car-park has a toilet, picnic area, tables and a very friendly local farm dog that keeps his owner busy.

From here we followed the trail through farmland and open roads. The roads do have some traffic but it is not a main thoroughfare and we found the drivers were courteous to cyclists giving a good distance when passing. We traveled along ‘Postman’s Road’ for some distance then signage directs you up ‘Mt Fyffe Rd’, this road was a little bit of a slog after travelling so long on the flat. We turned right onto ‘Topline Rd’ and were rewarded with a magnificent mountain range on the left and sweeping vistas towards the sea on the right.

The road continues on through a windy service track and across a river with views into a picturesque valley with daunting mountains at the end. We came to a T junction and turned to the left and headed up a steep gravel road for ten minutes until suddenly the track went trough a stream. We determined we must have turned the wrong way and traveled back to the T junction where we saw a slightly obscured sign pointing straight ahead off the road and into some bush. This lead to 5 minutes of winding and meandering through native forest until we came out onto the ‘Koura Bay Golf Resort’

The bar at the golf resort is open to cyclists, so we decided to stop and have a beer and snack. We were able to sit out the front and watch golfers continually fire balls over the green. The view from the bar sweeps all along the coast and down towards the peninsula. We were fortunate enough to have a beautiful day and enjoyed our refreshments whilst baking in the sun. The golf course has accommodation so you could split the trail over 2 days if you wanted to relax a little.

From the resort we followed a cycle lane towards the mountains. The trail follows some then follows some some roads until you reach the Hapuku River. The trail then follows along the river and onto a well worn winding mountain bike track through forest. The trail then comes up to the bridge at state highway one, when you can dismount and go under the bridge avoiding traffic. The trail then continues through forest and bush for a few more kilometers until coming onto a quiet rural road.

The trail then followed near the railway line transporting you from a rural to beach landscape. You can continue along the quiet back-road all the way into Kaikoura township, or you can make a slight detour on a trail that goes along the sand dunes. There is plenty of opportunity to join this track from the main road and if you are not tired I highly recommend it. We stopped a few times, parked our bikes and sat and watched the waves crash over the pebbled beach while locals were fishing in the afternoon sun.

The last part of the trail took us along the beach until we came to the whale watching building. This led us on a sealed cycle path all the way into the center of town and back to the i-site. There is plenty of places here to refuel and have a celebratory beer. We preferred to follow the promenade around the peninsula for a few kilometers until we came to and old style country pub called ‘The Pier Hotel’. This has outdoor seating overlooking the bay and mountain ranges and was a great place to sit, drink and try to figure out where we had been (tip: look for the golf course).

The Kaikoura Trail was a long but relatively easy bike ride that circles the entire region. It offers plenty of panoramic views of the ocean and mountains alike showcasing this unique region. Make sure your E-Bike has appropriate tyres as you will sometimes be on slippery gravel track. Take plenty of water and sunscreen as the day we went it was hot. The trail is 50-55km depending on where you start and end. Our bikes used about 60% of our battery. For a detailed map please follow the link provided by Kaikoura mountain bike club HERE.