E bike Social Riders Hawkes Bay. South Island Tour 2022. Three rides over three days taking in the much-awaited Lake Dunstan Trail. This trail was officially opened in May 2021 and has proven very popular.

The three rides: 1) Cromwell to Bannockburn via Smiths Way 2) Lake Dunstan trail from Cromwell to Clyde 3) The Roxburgh Gorge Trail from Alexandra to Roxburgh.

Ride 7. Cromwell to Bannockburn via Smiths Way. 55 kms. A stunning ride. This ride is part of the Lake Dunstan Trail.

“Such a nice easy and very scenic day of two parts. The morning ride was from Cromwell to Smith’s Landing, beautiful homes running down to Lake Dunstan. After coffee at lovely Afix Cafe in Cromwell the afternoon ride ended at Bannockburn Pub and a beer/wine in the sun with great views. ” – Pippi

Ride 8. Lake Dunstan Trail from Cromwell to Clyde

“Lake Dunstan Trail lived up to its reputation as the country’s best trail. It is a great trail and it was rewarding to see our bunch of recreational riders ride the trail with such confidence. For me it was the highlight of the tour.” – Charlie Davey

“Lake Dunstan trail from Cromwell to Clyde. Lots of climbing, lots of twists and turns, some narrow drop offs, downhills and oncoming cyclists. Great trail and sights to be enjoyed at your leisure 44 and bit kms.” – Robyn Davey

“The (Lake) Dunstan Trail – the anticipated highlight of our tour. We had a chilly early start to enjoy the beautiful reflections on the lake (near where we are camping at Cairnmuir). The feared cantilevered sections were an amazing feat of engineering, but generally not as scary as we’d feared! Some narrow tracks with steep drop-offs, but all in all a very enjoyable ride, and one I’d love to do again one day.” – Pippi

Lake Dunstan Trail | Safety Video

Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail – A guide

Ride 9. The Roxburgh Gorge Trail from Alexandra to Roxburgh.

“Last ride before the Rail Trail, The Roxburgh Gorge Trail from Alexandra to Roxburgh. Some rode the two halves each way while a few of us connected the two with a jet boat ride which, as well as exhilarating, was very informative of the gold mining history in the 1860s. All this and fabulous scenery yet again.” – Pippi

In March 2022, a group from Ebike Social Riders Hawkes Bay, embarked on a tour of New Zealand’s South Island. The tour was devised by Charlie and Robyn Davey, aided by others from the group. Pippi Wells, a rider in the group, has graciously allowed me to use her Facebook posts to recount the trip. This post includes images from various riders and text from Charlie and Robyn Davey.

I include here a series of 4 short videos of riding the Lake Dunstan Trail.