New Zealand’s luxury includes adventure, fine dining and remote lodges

New Zealand is known one of the world’s top destinations for adventure. B&R’s new Limited Edition biking trip to the South Island ensures travellers cycle some of the country’s best trails, as well as enjoy thrilling off-bike experiences that immerse them in the landscape and the lore. Rob Grieve, who calls the South Island home and is the Experience Designer behind this one-of-a-kind trip, offers insight into what to expect during this trip. 

For people who haven't been to the South Island before, what can they expect from the landscape? 

If you've ever seen pictures of New Zealand, it's probably the South Island. It's the more majestic of the two islands that make up the country. It's where all the towering peaks are—there's a spine of beautiful mountains called the Southern Alps that run from the bottom to top of the island. It's where your fjords are. It's where your temperate rainforest is on the west coast. It’s where the braided river systems are. It's where the 12,500-foot Mount Cook or Aoraki, our highest peak, is. In a word, it’s spectacular. 

With such varied terrain, what will the rides on this trip be like? 

The beauty about New Zealand is the access to really different landscapes, really quickly. From Christchurch, you start on the Canterbury Plains, a beautiful fertile, flat area. We’ll do a scenic flight over the Southern Alps before getting back on the bikes to ride through the foothills of the mountains where there are incredible biking tracks that are off road. It’s a well-maintained gravel track. Kids, families, everyone rides it. It's super doable. The hiking is amazing too, so that's something that we'll incorporate into the trip as well. 

What’s your favourite activity off the bikes for B&R travellers?  

One of the experiences that we've got is a private jet boat ride up the river in the Matukituki Valley near Wānaka. We’ll spend the morning exploring this braided river system that winds its way between beautiful towering mountains into the back of beyond. Instead of having an outboard motor with a propeller that hangs down and needs depth, it's got a grate in the bottom of the boat. It sucks water through the grate and shoots it out the back, which means the boat can go places that only have two to three inches of water. You can go far upriver to places that often can’t be reached otherwise. Farmers have used them a lot in the past to get access to their properties. 

Speaking of food, New Zealand has a famous wine scene, and its culinary scene is divine as well. What is it that makes it so good?

One of the key factors about New Zealand and the culture here is that because we're so far away, a lot of young Kiwis head out into the world, and then bring back all the amazing stuff that they’ve seen and learned. People have gone overseas, working as chefs or artisans or artists, whatever it might be—culinary, viticulture—then return and set up these thriving little communities. And then there’s our weather, which creates conditions perfect for growing all sorts of beautiful food and produce. Did I mention the incredible wines?