A rail trail is a rail trail; it is an almost flat gravel or dirt trail, unless someone has the bad idea of paving it. It is a great way to travel from one town to the next without having to share the road with trucks and cars. I wish more railways were transformed into bike trails. The good thing about the rail trails here is that I have less chances of hitting a car by being on the wrong side of the road!

Lush vegetation along the rail trail.

We left Thames Tuesday morning hitting the Hauraki rail trail. It’s springtime here, the flowers are blooming, the greenery has that spring brightness to it, it is beautiful! (Some scratch and sniff pictures attached.) We thought we would only ride it from north to south and avoid the section heading east. After riding for hours through fields, talking to cows and sheep, we looked again at the brochure to find out what the excitement was about. Sure, not riding on the road is awesome, but we were supposed to see waterfalls and rivers and rapids and…. So take the section going to Waihi, take an extra day, it’s worth it.

Cooling off in the lovely falls.

It is so warm and sunny here, we are running out of sunscreen! The swim at the waterfalls saved us and helped finish yesterday’s ride! We rode to the end of the rail trail today, another hot one. We ended our ride in Te Aroha enjoying some mineral hot springs.

Anne-Marie is the owner of Liv Vancouver, the first female focused bicycle boutique of its kind in Canada. An avid cyclist & bike packer, she has ridden down the coast from Vancouver to San Francisco twice, among other exciting two-wheeled expeditions. She is now on a bicycle tour through New Zealand with her daughter Frederique & colleague Kelsey. Visit Anne-Marie’s personal blog here.