JustMTB – NZ Mountain Bike Adventures on Tap
How long would it take to explore New Zealand in its entirety? A lifetime I expect, so let’s rephrase that – how long would it take to explore New Zealand by bike? Still a large chunk of time, more time than some locals have, more time than many gap year travellers, and much more time than the average holiday maker, even if the holiday covers a whole summer!
On my recent trip to New Zealand I rode some amazing trails, from stunning, scenic mountain passes to gorgeous floral back country valleys to machined bike park gravity fed goodness. I had three months to see as much as possible and I still struggled. The number and variety of trails on these far flung islands are so numerous, 90 days of riding and exploring was just not long enough. Some days my boyfriend and I struck gold, with hours and hours of sweet single track to explore and some days we hit rock bottom faced with uphill fire road slogs and a descent not worth the climb. Admittedly these days were few and far between but with a finite amount of time available we were disappointed when we realised we weren’t onto a winner! The hit and miss was all part of the adventure, along with all the planning, preparation and research that goes on but it can be all consuming and tiring!
With this in mind and a week with JustMTB tours on the horizon, I began to ponder the advantages of a guided mountain bike holiday. I started to imagine the simplicity of my days on such a holiday – wake up, be fed, ride bike, be fed, drink beer, go to bed and repeat. Every detail thought out for me and accounted for be it accommodation, food or the trails, it sounded like heaven on a bike!
JustMTB are a mountain bike guiding company based in Auckland on the North Island. The founders, Aaron and Mike, have built a company devoted to creating MTB tours with handpicked trails specifically for each group. New Zealand has over 1000 dedicated MTB trails and the guys have explored and sussed out the best of them so they know just where to take you, how and when. Whether you love an all-day cross country mission on little worn tracks or whether gravity fed thrills are more up your street. Maybe it’s somewhere in-between and you love what we all seem to be calling ‘enduro’ these days, JustMTB tailor make a package to suit you. Although based in the North Island, JustMTB run tours on both islands in New Zealand with 7 or 12 day South Island adventures over mountain ranges stretching the length of the island and 8 day North Island experiences taking in the distinctive volcanic surrounds of the north. As I alluded to above, not only do JustMTB sort all the logistics for you and cater to your trail requests they also fill the après bike time with a range of activities – I chose to sip a beer in the sun after a dip in the lake but you could continue thrill seeking with a bungee!
My tour began with a midday pick up from my accommodation by my guide for the week, Stu. My bike was ratcheted securely onto the bike rack on the rear of a very swish pickup truck and we were off. After picking up another rider Paul from Rotorua we were whisked away straight out into the wilderness surrounding Lake Taupo in the North Island. I was pretty excited as the trip was starting with a bang – helibiking! First time in a helicopter for me meant I was a little nervous but couldn’t wait to get up there and see the fabulous mountain ranges stretch for miles.
We flew on a beautiful warm, clear day and the views were incredible, vast spaces of woodland interspersed with flat valley floors with rivers and streams rushing through like low lying jewels in the landscape. It was hard to comprehend the area we were flying over, it appeared to be limitless! The helicopter came courtesy of a company called Heli Sika who predominantly deal with ferrying huntsmen and fishermen to and from the habitable huts in this wilderness but today they took 4 bikers and their overnight kit instead. The huts are overseen by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) and a number of local trusts who maintain and look after them. A hut will usually consist of a wooden, one story building containing a number of bunks and mattresses, a wood stove and sometimes a water supply – perfect for a nights rest when out in the back country. The network of huts to stay in is enormous, as I said so much exploring to do!
Our heli ride eventually took us to one such hut, the Oamaru Hut in Kaimanawa Forest Park but only once we had had our fill of some open mountain side singletrack! The heli dropped us at the top of the trail, right on the peak of a mountain at 1500m on a patch of land no bigger than the average person’s back garden! From here we admired the view and then raced down to meet the chopper at the bottom!
The single track was so sweet, a slither of hero dirt weaving its way amongst the low lying bush, with the sun reflecting off the long grasses it was picturesque to say the least. Our cameraman, Cam was in his element but even he had trouble stopping us for a photo as we whooped and hollered our way down. Riding in style the helicopter picked us up and took us for the short flight over to the Oamaru Hut, dropping us off with our overnight kit and food supplies. The hut was at the base of a trail and the plan was to ride the 20km out the next morning to the carpark where the truck would be parked waiting with lunch inside (good logistics, ay?!)
Settling in for the night we bagsied a bunk each, lit the stove and then settled down for dinner at the rustic wooden benches within the hut. It was here we realised that our guide Stu has a very talented chef for a friend! She had cooked us an amazing Moroccan inspired meal complete with dessert, all in separated tubs to cater for the gluten free one (me) and the vegan one (Paul). We simply warmed it all through on a camp stove and ate our fill watching the sun set over the river.
With no phone reception for miles and miles and no electricity we whiled the evening away chatting, laughing and talking bikes before turning in. There is something so satisfying and peaceful about being in such a place, away from the hustle bustle of normal life, worlds apart from the packed trails of popular locations – I love it!
We made a leisurely start the next morning at 9am, sharing out all the supplies and utensils between our packs and making sure sleeping bags were properly attached! We part rode, part hiked our bikes through beautiful native beech woodland to reach the summit of the Te Iringa trail, from which it was only a stretch of awesome single track that stood in the way of us and lunch!
The Te Iringa trail appeared relatively untouched by bikers but when we left the hut that morning I could see that many people and their bikes had stayed at the hut and enjoyed the trail by the comments left in the visitor’s book. It was refreshing to ride a trail with none of the normal ruts and rails left by rider after rider, another reminder we were out on our own in the New Zealand bush!
After lunch had been ravenously consumed we set off for our base for the next two days near to Rotorua. On first sight the elevated self-catered house looked amazing with its balcony overlooking the lake. On second inspection we all deemed the house to be absolutely ‘rad’ with its huge open plan kitchen area with wall to wall glass making sure we could drink in the fabulous views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Collapsing into a luxurious bed that evening after Stu demonstrated his own cooking skills on the BBQ I felt relaxed and comfortable, loving not having to think about the next day’s logistics, just dreaming about the trails.
Day three took us to Rainbow Mountain with its Maori name of Maungakakaramea meaning mountain of coloured earth. The mountain has a purpose built mountain bike trail climbing up to the summit, an unusual rounded knob known as Tihi-o-Rua or the owls perch I am reliably informed! The view from atop of this perch over the geothermal area below are astounding, I could see through 360° and a multitude of volcanoes, all from just about 400m of climbing effort – result!
The descent from Rainbow Mountain, called the Te Ranga trail is probably the best descent I have ever ridden! After three months riding in New Zealand it tops the charts as the most grin inducing piece of single track I have ever had the delight of my tyres touching! Whoever designed and built this trail I salute you and I thank Stu and JustMTB for taking me there! Not done with impressing us with mountain biking gold, Stu then grabbed four cold beers from the truck and led us a couple of minutes further down the track to ‘Kerosene Creek’, a geothermal stream! This was so novel to me I couldn’t resist a dip – a cold beer and a 30° natural steaming pool to sit in was lush – New Zealand really is an amazing place! The day ended back at the ranch with more delicious BBQ and salad, perfect fresh fodder for hungry bikers.
So far on my mini tour courtesy of JustMTB I have experienced many different scenes for biking – mountain top singletrack, back country wilderness and epic purpose built mountain bike trails. Day four took us into another sphere again with a day at Auckland’s 440 MTB Park with an uplift! Here we razzed round bike park berms, over table tops and chased each other over the roots, spending a day snaking down the mountain with a prompt and efficient lift back to the top. Maximum downhill bike time and a great end to the week for tired legs!
Speaking to our guide Stu and after doing my own riding in both the south and the north islands I know that the tours planned by JustMTB will take in some awesome trails and really allow riders to experience the best of New Zealand. From the South Island beech forest bush of the West Coast and sleepy old mining towns such as Reefton to the buzz of adrenaline packed Queenstown and the gondola on offer there. Not to mention the stunning views from the trails on volcanoes near Lake Taupo and the myriad of mouth-watering single track in the Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua on the North Island. New Zealand won’t disappoint, I think you owe it to the place to make the most of whatever time you have, forget logistics – just ride!
For more information check out the JustMTB website
Words: Rachael Gurney