Queenstown to Te Anau via Mavora Lakes (2 days, 115k)
On the first night you will be camping in the isolated and very
beautiful area known as the Mavora Lakes. These are two beautiful
and remote stretches of water in the Snowdon Forest Conservation Area.
On a good day, the lakes are glassy, blue and clear enough to see trout
cruising the many bush clad bays and inlets. Thick beech forests fringe
the lakes and in the distance are the snow capped peaks of the 
Livingstone Mountains. The area is also
famous for its tramping tracks.
The route is unsealed but with a good surface and will easily take hybrid bikes. It is quiet and scenic with the added delight of a ferry ride across Lake Whakatipu in a vintage steamer. This is a good alternative route to Te Anau from Queenstown, but take note; there are no stores between Queenstown and Te Anau on this road. Stock up on supplies including water for two days.
Day One: Queenstown to Mavora Lakes (50k)
Take the ferry
T.S.S. Earnslaw from Queenstown to Walter Peak and start cycling
from this point. The Earnslaw is a great experience being a restored
vessel with all the brass-work and varnished timber you associate with a
ship nearly a century old. The engine room is visible with all the
pistons and valves chugging away amidships. Lake Whakatipu itself is
arguably the most beautiful lake in New Zealand with its blue waters and
perfect backdrop of mountains frosted with snow and rugged hinterlands.
Disembark
at Walter Peak and start cycling from this point. The road undulates and
then climbs gradually to 700 meters passing a restored settler
cottage. This is a remote spot even today, but you can imagine life here
a hundred years ago... beautiful, even idyllic, but isolated and cold in
winter. At the end of the day there is a right hand turn (clearly
signposted) leading to a pretty side road through beech forests to the
lakeside camp-sites. This road stretches for about ten kilometers and
there are several DOC camping spots along the way with toilets
available. There are also several water tanks although you will have to
boil or filter your drinking water. (Do take insect repellent).
Day Two: Mavora Lakes to Te Anau (65k)
After your previous
day's climb this day is relatively easy. The road gradually descends
through the hills and across plains. It forks before the main highway
(94) to Te Anau. Take the right hand fork for Te Anau and the left if
you want the junction to Mossburn and Invercargill.
Te Anau (described elsewhere) is a pretty tourist town set on the edge of a lake. From here you can consider a trip to Milford Sound.
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