Riding trails set up to leave you ‘both exhilarated and exhausted’

Published date09 November 2021
THE twin towns of Napier and Hastings are the main hubs for the Hawke’s Bay Trails, one of New Zealand’s 22 Great Rides, which promises 200km of mostly easy, flat terrain, a friendly climate, and a cafe or cellar door around every corner.

‘‘There’s plentiful food and wine dotted beside the trails, as you’d expect from one of the world’s great wine regions,’’ trails manager Vicki Butterworth says.

‘‘What better way to earn your indulgence, although the popularity of ebikes usually results in a net gain of calories by the end of the day.’’

The marketing spiel says riding here will leave cyclists ‘‘both exhilarated and exhausted’’, which sounds like too much wine-tasting and a long vineyard lunch. Where do I sign up?

There’s decent mountain biking to be found at Pan Park Eskdale MTB Park and Te Mata Peak.

The lay of the land

Lashings of visitor attractions are scattered across the fertile Heretaunga Plains. Almost all can be reached via the Hawke’s Bay Trails network, which features coastal and cross-country pathways, stopbank trails along the Tutaekuri, Tukituki and Ngaruroro Rivers, and quiet back roads.

Commuter gaps between Napier, Clive, Hastings and Havelock North have been bridged by the iWay, more than 100km of cycle paths and lanes. Meanwhile, various town bypasses take a lot of heavy traffic out of the town centres. This includes Art Deco Napier, which can easily be explored on two wheels.

The Hawke’s Bay Trails and the iWay combine to form a truly enviable, ever-growing network that’s extending its tentacles as far as Waipukurau and Wairoa. The Bay has got the bug.

Getting your bearings

The Hawke’s Bay Trails website (hbtrails.nz) is a great go-to, with trail descriptions, ride suggestions and interactive maps. Helpfully, the network is geographically colour-coded as the Water, Landscapes and Wineries Rides, as also detailed on the excellent printed map.

The free Napier map highlights trails around town and will suffice if you’re sticking more or less to the city limits.

A town tour

Napier’s must-do ride is along Marine Parade’s foreshore reserve and beyond. The reserve is Napier’s main playground, sporting family attractions, including a junior bike track, big pump track, and Bay Skate for the skateboarders and scooterers.

Marine Parade is the starting point for a great half-day sightseeing ride. It follows the Water Ride north around to Ahuriri, where you can stop for coffee and ogle the boats in the marina before pushing further up the coast to...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT