Hi folks. Anyone got any experience of riding here? Will be travelling round NZ on honeymoon next month and getting a day's (or half a day) riding in would be nice whilst the other half checks out the Spas/Springs in Hanmer.

Ideally looking for bike/helmet hire plus a guided ride if poss – not sure I just want to wander off into the mountains by myself?

Found one place on the web that apparently do bike hire and guided rides but any first hand experience would be welcome.

Thanks!

Plenty of bike hire shops in Hamner when i was there didn't ride there as we didn't stop for long but being a ski resort getting some riding shouldn't be a problem
Can definately reccomend the riding down at Queenstown if your going there i expect you are.Outside sports on shotover is the best place for advice i found had a great day out around the hills of cromwell cant remember the name of the guy that took me out but they will know him top bloke.
If your into DH then there is a downhill track from the gondola in Queenstown

Don't know about the biking but there is some fantastic trail running. I got a map from the local tourist info and headed out into the hills two days on the trott (as it were). Epic views and brilliant trails. There are two MTB trails (if memory serves) out of the back of town(as you pass the spa entrance take the next right and keep driving along that road, curves up to the right past a store and then a caravan park and eventually you will come to a dirt car park.) Tracks start there

The riding is ok and there are some maps of trails,they close the trails a lot during their summer months due to the fire risk.
Very dull resort, bars are crap (all two of them) dont stay for more than a day and dont do the rafting there, its Shite with a capital S.

Rich

Fantastic riding in the forrests around the town.Dont listen to the guy above,theres heaps to do in the area.Best talk to Neil at Krank dirtwear.He's got a mountain biking clothes shop in the middle of the town{great gear}.Neils a great guy and will point u in the right direction and probably let u into some of the areas best kept secrets.Theres a very active club in the area thats constantly building new track.Im not sure the bike hire is up to much,though.Theres also heaps of bars and cafes so im not sure where postierich actually visited.

Definitely speak to the fella at Krank (and worth bringing your wallet as there is a fair bit of nice kit). Just back from 3 1/2 moths in NZ and I did a fair bit of riding.

Sort of agree that it is a quieter resort, more chilled out than say Queenstown but not crap.

Search the net for Vorb. The Kiwi equivalent of this website.

BUY THE KENNETT BROTHER BOOK… Simply the most comprehensive guide book for a complete country. The detail may not be good enough to ride blind but if the trail isn't in the book it wil not be worth riding. (If you are near Edinburgh you can borrow my dog-eared version).

If you get the chance and the trails are dry ride the Port Hills crater rim straight out of Christchurch. In my opinion just fantastic.

You could ride the Queen Charlotte Track over 2 days with your new wife? A relatively tame ride where you can stay in a reasonably smart hotel (complete with Jacuzzi).

Enjoy

Oh

Forgot to say. I don't think September will be that warm?! I left NZ in July and it was pretty much a UK winter and apparently August gets colder?!

Yep good riding in the trails N of Hanmer between Jacks and Charlotte Pass rds. You can get maps in town easily and just go for a good wiggle through them as they are quite fun. No September won't be mega hot but spring has sprung so you may be lucky and get some nice weather. Hot Pools rick as always and I personally have a very soft spot for the par-3 pitch and putt course which is on the backroad out of town, not the main one. Go past the gold course then turn L from town and go out that way – its on your L. An absolute hoot.
Yeah the rafting there is quite lame – we've paddled our racing doubel through the gorge a few times and thats quite exciting !.

Excellent, thanks for all the info guys – noted.

I've seen that there are some other great MTB locations around the country but it's a honeymoon, my partner doesn't ride really and we have a bunch of other stuff planned (including OZ) so I'll have to settle for half a day's riding in Hanmer Springs really. We're being pretty felixible with the trip though so who knows.

The Kennett Brothers book looks great, might get hold of a copy of that, cheers. I'll get in touch with the Krank guy. Be nice to hire something reasonably decent if poss. A couple of the "mountain bike hire" places I've found on the web look dreadful – £100/40lb Halfords specials :S

Just to close up this thread, I managed to get out on the trails around Hanmer – top stuff, cheers. I went and met Neil in Krank who was totally helpful and annotated a trail map for me with all the best bits. Also spent a few quid on some gear in his shop too.

Hire bike from the shop next door was pretty shonky but was all I could find. Krank had actually ordered a fleet of Specialized bikes to hire out but sadly they hadn't arrived yet.

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated!