Lake Dunstan. Photo credit: David Wall and Tourism New Zealand.

Fancy a mountain biking holiday in New Zealand?

Recently, the New Zealand Cycle Trail project has been approved.

The upcoming nationwide cycle network is expected to consist of 18 ‘Great Rides’ and 2000 km of cycleway.

Rotorua. Photo credit: Legend Photography and Tourism New Zealand

Australasia travel company Austravel predicts an increase in Kiwi biking holidays.

Says Ben Briggs, spokesperson, Austravel:

“Keen cyclists already know that New Zealand is great for biking – there are few other countries that can offer such a diverse range of landscapes in one bike ride, from glaciers to fjords to beautiful beaches – but the trail will open cycling holidays up to one and all, even novices.”

The first sections of this cycle network project are expected to open by September 2011.

Right now, here are Austravel’s top bike rides:

• The Central Otago Rail Trail – a 150 km track in the South Island that runs along the route of the former Otago Central Railway.

• The Queen Charlotte Track – a 71 km route that takes in the historic sites, secluded bays and coastal countryside in the Marlborough Sounds.

• The Kaimanawa Mountains – a helicopter flight takes riders to the summit of a trail that goes through countryside that overlooks the scenery of the Tongariro National Park.

• Canterbury – here cyclists can undertake the Heli Bike Challenge, a 1300m vertical sprint down Mount Benmore on a narrow dirt track.

For more info, visit Austravel.com.