One of the most memorable cycle tours we’ve organised was a 10-day tour of the South Island with 30 Irish rugby fans during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The tour was a fundraiser for the IRFU Charitable Trust which raises money for seriously-injured rugby players in Ireland.
After watching their team defeat Australia in Auckland (Ireland’s first ever win against Australia in the Rugby World Cup!) the group flew to Christchurch to start their (tough) journey to Dunedin: up Porters Pass, down the West Coast, over the Crown Range from Wanaka to Queenstown and then south to Dunedin in time to watch Ireland take on Italy at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
During our nine days in the saddle we experienced the full range of South Island weather: snow and icy temperatures on Porters Pass, blue skies and sunshine on the way to Haast, more snow on the Crown Range. Luckily we kept plenty of Guinness to hand! It was a lot of fun.
Custom tours are something we love running and we think we’re pretty good at them. Just recently we guided a group of friends along the Alps 2 Ocean trail and earlier in the year I led the Fireflies Antipodes Tour from Christchurch to Queenstown, which raises money for blood cancer research.
So, if you fancy riding in New Zealand with a group of friends, family members or colleagues – or you’re looking for a fun way to raise money for charity – drop us a line. We can help you put together a custom route that suits your riding preferences and abilities and we’ll take care of all the essential logistics, too (things like accommodation along the way, luggage transfer, bike hire and those all-important food stops).
Basically, we do the hard work (both before and during the tour) so all you have to do is focus on the riding. Email us to get the ball rolling.
Have a brilliant week (very cold here in NZ right now – if you’re a skier or a boarder this is your year!)
Andrew Hunt
P.S. We love organising short rides for work groups, Christmas functions and team building events, too. Shout out if that’s something we can help you with.