Back in May / June earlier this year I managed to cycle my way around four different harbours in 4 cities around New Zealand. I didn’t plan on the 4 harbours in 4 weeks but as I had already cycled around 2 of them before I had an idea that it would be a fun thing to do.
As a cyclist loop rides are more interesting than out and back on the same route. Add in a ferry ride and that makes it even better.
And if you are in a new city getting up on a tall hill is a great way of understanding each city. I do that too but harbour rides are very scenic. June in New Zealand is winter and two of these rides were definitely cold weather rides but I had sunny days for two of the others.
For the first 3 rides I was on a very old steel framed bike with 26” wheels and gravel tyres – no suspension. Except for the Eastborne to Pencarrow extension all of these rides could be made on a road bike.
The fourth ride was on a 5 year old aluminium framed MTB that has front suspension and 29” wheels. Both bikes are analog. You could do these rides on an electric bike although lifting those bikes on and off ferries can be a bit more effort as they are generally double the weight of my bikes.
Ōtepoti / Dunedin Harbour Loop
May 29th – Rode from near the Dunedin city Marina to Portobello to catch the ferry. Went anticlockwise on the South side of harbour. Relatively flat. Parked at the Marina because close to city but often empty and free for parking. Stopped for a coffee along the way with a friend ( yay Paul.)
Had to book a ferry ahead across to Pt Chalmers. A very small business but highly personalised because of that. Had to pay a separate fee for the bike $15 & $20 for a person. Only a 5 minute ferry ride but highly recommended.
Total cycling distance 23 for South side & 11k on the North side. 34k in total. I looked around Portobello village which added a few k’s.
https://www.porttoport.co.nz/portobello-ferry
Diamond Harbour – Ōtautahi / Christchurch
June 7th Lyttelton to Diamond Harbour. To get to Lyttelton you either drive through the tunnel or you can cycle over Evans Pass from Sumner Beach like I did on another occasion.
There is another road through Dyers Pass that comes out at Governors Bay but I haven’t tried that one yet. That is 9.4ks from Lyttelton so if you got the ferry back you would then have to cycle that after the ferry. In my view just easier to start and stop at Lyttelton.
Distance around the bays to Diamond Harbour: 28-30k. Some decent hill climbing so allow extra time if you are analog like I was.
https://www.blackcat.co.nz/diamond-harbour-ferry/ Bikes free if they have capacity & fares are $5-6 plus concessions.
It is about an 8 minute ferry ride. You could of course do just take the ferry ion both directions. There is a brewery over there too if you like craft beers.
Pōneke / Wellington CBD/ Te Ara Pua
Cycled clockwise to Petone then Petone to Eastbourne. Ferry back. There is a new walking / cycling track from the city.
June 13th. The ferry goes from Queens Wharf in the city to Days Bay on the other side just before Eastbourne.
https://eastbywest.co.nz/ An adult fare is $17 and there are concession too. Bikes need to be booked separately. No charge but capacity is limited so I recall having to book.
Second distance is return to catch the ferry at Day’s Bay.
The distance is 28km. There is a new trail from near the main Railway Station to Petone. It is called Te Ara Pua https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/te-ara-tupua From city to Eastbourne it is mostly sealed cycle paths.
While I was in Eastbourne I had some extra time so carried on towards the Pencarrow Head lighthouse. I didn’t quite get there because I ran out of time ( before the ferry) but I cycled another 20k ( there & back) The access to the main lighthouse is further on and would add another 5 k plus a decent hill. A fair amount of this is gravel and sand in sections so more suited to gravel or mtb’s. I was staying in Brooklyn so actual total distance was further with more hills to climb at the end of the day.
Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland ( Greenhithe Bridge)
On June 27th – This loop was from started from Ponsonby but I cycled West from there to Kingsland to get to the main North/West Cycleway. This is a ride I do fairly often and sometimes combine with other city rides to get longer distances. A variation is to go on the Hobsonville ferry back to the city.
That cycleway goes to Westgate about 20k’s out then a series of roads and cycleways take you over the Upper Harbour Bridge at Greenhithe. From there I ride through Wairau Valley to Takapuna and then Devonport to catch the ferry. My version was 48k but you could be a bit a less.
Auckland has 10 ferry services but the main one you want is Devonport to CBD. An adult fare is between $7.80-12 depending on payment type. Bikes on Auckland ferries are free but it is good to ask in case that changes on the day.
Riding around 4 harbours in 4 weeks was not planned but it just worked out like that. I had been further South doing some other rides and decided to do the harbour rides on a slow trip back from Otago to Auckland.
