Heading to Taupo in NZ on holiday tomorrow. Does anybody have any trail and bike hire recommendations?

There are trails at a spot called ‘craters of the moon’ worth checking out. If you have time, Rotorua isn’t far away. Awesome trails there. Worth looking at http://www.vorb.co.nz for further guidance, find some local riders etc. Enjoy!!

i believe there is some good riding to be had near the volcanoes of Ruapehu ( sp?) to the southern edge of the lake( see recent article in the IMB)
also there is a trail called teh Tongariro Crossing, which is supposed to be an epic, butnot sure if htats open to bikes or not, I only know about it as a walking trail.
But if you’re going to to Taupo, you MUST visit Taupo Bungy!!

Never seen any bikes on the Tongariro crossing…

Second craters of the moon , the Huka falls track…and I did one other within the Tongariro national Park…

Really enjoyed 42 traverse..

But the best trails..

Well they are here in the UK arent they.

Try Tracks this a useful website, I’d imagine the bikeshops in Taupo hire bikes….it’s a “back packer’s mecca” so there are plenty of options

Rotorua as suggested is worth a visit, even with the large amounts of rain in the last 24hrs both areas dry off well.

Craters of the moon
W2K track
Kawakawa Bay
Huka Falls

Ask at any bike shop for hire and they will recommend trails for you. Rotorua n the redwoods is 1 hrs drive away. Bike hire available at Waipa Mill carpark.

I was on holiday in Nz in November, didn’t ride craters of the moon or the 42nd Traverse (though there are lots of good proper mountain trails there). I can definitley reccomend the redwood trail centre at Rotorua, it’s just up the road from Taupo, there are loads of decent bikes for hire in town, The trails are all way marked and easy to follow. The volcanic soil there makes for very hard fast rolling bermed xc trails, good fun!

Craters of the Moon is very good, nice trails nearer the town too to get to them.

This book’s worth a punt as it very clearly describes the trails including natural stuff, it was a godsend when I toured out there 6 years ago.

http://www.kennett.co.nz/index.php/Books/ClassicNewZealandMountainBikeRides

Cheers all. I had already been round the Rotorua trails (in the potential rain) and managed to squeeze in both the Northern craters of the moon and the 42nd traverse trails. Guess I’m going to have to spend a few days keeping.g the other half happy now prior to riding round Wellington.

Wellington has some great riding. Makara Peak park and Wainuiomata trail project (which is smaller) are both easy to discover and have good networks of trails. Like this one

There is heaps of technical singletrack all round town. There are some epic backcountry rides nearby too.

Wellington was a bit mad in a howling gale (average wind speed of about 50 mph) with a naff hire bike (some merida. Full suspension thing, possibly the most twitchy bike I’ve ridden in years with a rubbish pogo fork). Nice trails though. Queenstown and Wanaka next.

Wanaka is great, seem to recall a small trail centre there, close to town, it’s really scenic, lots of big mountain views. There is also a really cool cinema where you sit on comfy couches and they serve home made cookies during an interval.