Cycle Touring Route - Gisborne to Opotiki

It is a journey of 141 kilometers from Gisborne to Opotiki on state highway 2 via the Waioeka Gorge but you can also go to Matawai and ride to Opotiki using the Motu cycle trails. The reward will be that you ride on isolated back country roads and tracks where there are few people or cars.

It is a ride of 70 kilometers from Gisborne to Matawai where we stayed in the hotel after a hard day into the wind. The small settlement of Motu is 13.3 kilometers away from Matawai using the Motu Rail Trail. There is then a significant climb rising from 500m to 750m but the road while shingle is superbly graded.

There is then a choice of riding down the road or using the Pakihi track to get to Opotiki.

Matawai Hotel

Matawai Classic Kiwi Pub

We went down the Pakihi track which is a walking track that is also used for mountain biking. My touring bike was not really suitable for this ride. There are significant drop offs down to the Motu river in the valley below so care needs be taken. It proved easier and safer to walk my bike down the track but this took most of the day. The option of using the road trail rather than the track may have been a better option on my bike.