shebikeshebikes

13/06/2026

Kia ora whānau.

This one means a lot to us. Matiu Taingahue, Carol and I all went through Phys Ed School together at Otago University. Over the years he's faced things most of us never will, including a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. Exercise in nature has been central to how he's navigated it.

We asked him to talk a little about cycling and wellbeing, and to settle a question we're now getting: how do you actually say Kawarau? (It's Ka-wa-rau. Cah, wuh, row). When Matiu recently heard one of his mates talking about it, he assumed it was somewhere in Australia ;-)

Getting out on a trail like the Kawarau Gorge isn't just a good day out. As Matiu puts it, it's movement as medicine: a real lift for your mood, your energy and your head.

We're genuinely grateful he said yes to doing this selfie, it's really hard to get in front of the camera and do a video like this.

Have a watch, and if his story speaks to you, his writing at https://wellbeing.nz is well worth your time.

Get out there, whānau. Mauri ora. 🚲

Part of our series on what cycling and cycling holidays can do for people.

11/06/2026

A day on the Kawarau Gorge Trail might look something like this.

We've put together a wee preview video riding from Gibbston Valley through to Bannockburn, and it's got us properly excited for what's coming.

Picture it. We shuttle you from our Bannockburn depot and drop you at Kinross in the Gibbston Valley, wine country at its finest. Maybe a tasting, maybe grabbing some kai for a picnic along the way.

From there the trail follows the Kawarau River through the gorge, turquoise water, gold mining history and some seriously good country.

Along the way you've got options. Pull in at OXBOW Adventure Co for an adrenaline hit if that's your thing. Stop at the Goldfields Mining Centre and try your hand at panning and learn the gold history of this region. Roll into Bannockburn and finish at Calvert Vineyard, where our depot is located, to sample some wine. If time is on your hands visit one of the many amazing wineries in Bannockburn like Carrick Winery & Restaurant.

Wine, food, adrenaline, gold panning, history. All on one ride.

We had a bit of a laugh making this, because there's been some nervousness about taking on the gorge. Here's the thing: if you've just chucked yourself round the jet sprint at Oxbow, a bit of trail is not going to rattle you.

The trail opens on 19 September. This video is just a taste. Once we've done our own preview ride we'll be back with the real imagery, the proper detail, and everything you need to plan your day.

Keen as to share it with you.

10/06/2026

Just have to share this. What a great deal. Ruru make gorgeous wine and their tasting rooms / home was featured on grand designs some years back as they built most of it themselves.

10/06/2026

Three years of work has gone into this, and it shows.

Go Glamping NZ has just opened near Alexandra, and we're keen to start putting our riders up there. The domes sit 400 metres off the Otago Central Rail Trail, so you can roll off the trail and be kicking back at your dome within a couple of minutes.

These are proper European geodesic domes, built to handle a Central Otago winter as well as a long summer evening. King bed, private ensuite, heat pump, fast wifi, and open country out every window. Seven minutes into Alexandra for a coffee or a feed, and a world away when you'd rather not see a soul.

What John has built over three years is the part worth knowing. He's managed to put the outdoors and real comfort in the same place, which is a good deal harder than it looks.

We can now fold a Go Glamping stay into your trip:

Otago Central Rail Trail
Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold
Or a stay-and-ride base, with Alexandra as your hub for day rides across the region

Have a look at what they've created

A video introduction to the what 3 years of hard work and commitmen...

09/06/2026

Back in 2021, Stuff crowned the Lake Dunstan Trail "New Zealand's most spectacular bike ride." Cliff-clipped platforms, turquoise water the whole way. Hard to argue with and many journalists followed up with the same. Over 80,000 riders and walkers voted with their tyre tracks and foot prints.

Now the Kawarau Gorge Trail is on its way.

A dramatic canyon carved by the river. Gold mining history. Maori history. Suspension bridge engineering. A proper Grade 3 backcountry section where, once you're in, there's no easy way out.

Nobody's ridden the full thing yet. So this is pure speculation, and we want yours:

When it opens, do you think the Kawarau Gorge has got what it takes to knock Lake Dunstan off the top spot? Or are they too different to even compare?

We'll be running hire bikes and shuttles on both from our Bannockburn and Clyde depots, so we're not picking sides. But we're genuinely interested in what your thoughts are at this stage.

Tell us below. What would Kawarau have to deliver to take the crown?

Photo credit for the Kawarau Gorge image goes to Will Nelson

08/06/2026

So many of us are watching this trail come to life. We thought it was time to say thank you to the people who are actually building it.

This trail didn't just appear. It took the better part of a decade if you consider what had to come before it to make it even feasible.

After the Lake Dunstan Trail opened in 2021, the same team turned their attention to the Kawarau Gorge. What followed was three years of consenting battles, a legislation review with the Department of Conservation, challenging landowners, and budgets that inflation had quietly destroyed. Three years before a single sod was turned.

Construction finally began in December 2023. And what a build it's been.

We've watched it from next door, quite literally. Helicopter gravelling. Bluff bridges bolted into canyon walls. Trail carved into terrain that, in 1903, a 21-year-old cyclist described as requiring "strength of limb, straightness of eye and coolness of nerve" just to survive.

We attended the Lake Dunstan Trail's 5th anniversary earlier this year and got to raise a glass with the people behind both trails. The quiet pride in that room was typically southern. Understated, but solidly present.

And here's what it means:

For locals, it's a trail on our doorstep that was worth fighting for. No more riding through the gorge on the road, shoulder to shoulder with trucks doing 100 km/h.

For Central Otago, it's the missing link. Bannockburn and Gibbston are already drawing visitors, but this trail turns a wine region stopover into a destination in its own right.

For New Zealand, it completes a connected network from Queenstown to Dunedin. 550 km of off-road riding. An international draw card on a scale this country hasn't seen before.

None of that happens without years of unglamorous, persistent work by people who believed this was worth doing.

To the Southern Lakes Trails team, the contractors, the landowners who said yes, and everyone who donated or volunteered: this one's for you. Ka pai. 🌟

The full story of how this trail came to be is worth reading:
https://www.southernlakestrails.nz/kawarau-gorge-journey

07/06/2026

Wow, look at those bikes back in the 50's. No Otago Central Rail Trail then, rather it was the Otago Central Railway!

Anyone recognise some of those buildings on lower Tarbert Street? I can see a few that are still there today.

07/06/2026

You want to ride Queenstown to Dunedin. But piecing together five trails across 200+ km, with shuttles, bikes, and logistics you've never done before, is a lot to figure out on your own.

And handing that to someone who's never done it before? That's a risk you don't need to take.

We've been running multi-day rides across Central Otago since 2009. We know the trails, the challenging parts, and yes, the best lunch stops. When the Kawarau Gorge Trail opens, we'll have the full route covered end to end.

Here's how it fits together:

🚵 Kawarau Gorge Trail: Gibbston to Bannockburn
🚵 Lake Dunstan Trail: Bannockburn to Clyde

Then you reach Clyde. And this is where it gets fun.

Two trails. Two choices. Do you take the Red pill or the Blue pill?

Turn left: the Otago Central Rail Trail. 150 km through the high country to Middlemarch. Classic, iconic, deeply satisfying.

Turn right: Roxburgh Gorge and the Clutha Gold Trail, following the Mata-au Clutha river for much of the way down to Lake Waihola. Wilder. Less travelled. A proper adventure.

Both roads lead to Dunedin. You just have to pick your path.

(One gap remains on the right-hand route. The Roxburgh Gorge jet boat section opens fully in early 2027. After that, it's completely rideable.)

We're not putting this together. We're already doing it. Customers have been riding Lake Dunstan to Dunedin during the 2025-26 season with us taking care of the detail.

Send us a message and we'll map out exactly what your trip looks like, what it costs, and when to go. https://shebikeshebikes.co.nz/contact-us/

Left or right at Clyde, we've got you either way.

Tag whoever you'd do this with. 👇

05/06/2026

Central Otago just claimed 4 of New Zealand's top 10 wineries.

The Real Review's 2026 rankings are out, and no region in New Zealand had a better year. Felton Road came in at #2 nationally, Prophet's Rock at #3, Quartz Reef at #5 (with Rudi Bauer taking out Vigneron of the Year), and Rippon at #9. Burn Cottage added Red Wine of the Year for their Sabines Selection Pinot Noir. Four of the country's top ten, from one compact, sun-baked centre of the South Island. Furthest place from the sea in Aotearoa NZ.

This isn't a one-year story either. These are wineries that have appeared at the top of national rankings year after year. The consistency is the point.

Now here's a thought. What if you earned your tasting pleasure on two wheels first? No need for a lengthy flight to France.

Ride through the same schist and tussock landscape these grapes grow in, arrive a little dusty and a lot more deserving, then sit down to explore what the region does so well.

Central Otago isn't a single style. There's elegant, restrained pinot. There's complex pinot gris. There are sparkling wines and rich reds that will surprise you. Nuanced.

Pair any of it with the food the region's restaurants and cafes do quietly well, and you've got a pretty convincing argument for taking a few days to enjoy it.

The scenery earns the ride. The wine earns the stop. The food makes you stay longer than you planned.

Thinking about combining a trail with a wine region experience? We know this country well. Talk to us at https://shebikeshebikes.co.nz/contact-us/

05/06/2026

The Kawarau Gorge is well within range for any quality e-bike, ridden sensibly.

Bringing your own bike? Here's the honest version:

✅ 500Wh+: no worries at all
✅ 400Wh: fine if you're not leaning on turbo the whole way
⚠️ Under 400Wh: worth thinking about your assist strategy before you go in

One thing people miss: there are NO chargers anywhere on the trail. You go in with what you've got. That's not a problem if you plan for it. It is a problem if you don't.

The other thing that kills range faster than distance?
High gear + low cadence (pedaling speed) - when cadence drops below 60 rpm you drop out of the efficiency "sweet spot" on your bike. Solution is simple, change gears to keep rpm 60+.
Tyre pressure, rider weight, headwind, and how aggressively you use assist on the climbs.

We've written the full breakdown on our site, because the manufacturer claims on most e-bikes are... best case.

Full article: https://shebikeshebikes.co.nz/the-reality-of-e-bike-battery-range-vs-manufacturer-claims/

Any questions about whether your specific bike is up to it, drop them below. We're happy to give you a straight answer. 👇

Photo credit Will Nelson