We chose to do four rides in the Ohakune-National Park area on our eBikes, in May 2022. The weather forecast looked mainly dry. On the Monday, we drove up from Hawkes Bay via the Taihape-Napier Road. The day was cloudy with unusual cloud effects above Mount Ruapehu. Two days later, the weather cleared to reveal that it had been snowing.

Trails: Ohakune Old Coach Road, Fishers Track, Marton Sash and Door

Road: Ohakune Circuit including Ohakune Lake

All the trails/roads have rough surfaces comprising of cobblestones (The Old Coach Road), tree roots, gravel/shingle, old sleepers and railway ballast. Recommendation: Electric Mountain Bikes are ideal for these rides. My husband and I don’t have eMTB’s, we rode our “Moustache Xroad 3” eBikes. We strongly suggest eBikes with a torque of at least 65nm and knobby tyres to do these rides fairly comfortably. All these rides required our intense concentration.

Hyperlinks to the rides are highlighted blue.

The Ohakune Old Coach Road – Grade 3 Length 15kms Duration 2-4 hours

Fishers Track – Grade 2 Length 27kms Duration 2-3 hours

Marton Sash and Door – Grade 3 Length 22kms Duration 2-3 hours

Ohakune Road Loop including Ohakune Lake – Grade 2 Length 21kms Duration 1h 30m

We stayed at Ohakune Court Motel. We drank coffee at Mountain Rocks Café. We ate out at The Cyprus Tree, Osteria and Powderhorn. Shuttle Services: Kune Shuttles Ohakune to Horopito (OLD Coach Road), Owhango Adventures pickup end of Fisher Track.

Photo credits: George Spiers and Jill Lambert

Author: Helen Wenley