Old Ghost Rd ride in Lonely Planet
The West Coast’s Old Ghost Rd bike trail has earned a place in a Lonely Planet guide to the world’s most epic bike rides.
The tourism guide spotlights 200 biking trails from around the globe including the Old Ghost Rd, the country’s longest continuous single trail that runs 85 kilometres between Lyell in the Upper Buller Gorge and the Mokihinui River.
The trail, which opened last December, winds along the route of an old goldmining trail, featuring four ghost towns. It is one of nine trails in New Zealand that received a mention in the guide.
Mokihinui-Lyell Backcountry Trust chairman Phil Rossiter said he thought the trail deserved its place in the book.
‘‘It is certainly epic, it absolutely stays true to the book title, the thing about the Old Ghost Road in my mind is that it’s a demanding trail, it expects and takes something from you,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not something you can just waltz up to late one afternoon and do it in a couple of hours. You’ve got to switch your senses on, but in return for that you get a hell of a lot out of it, it is a real adventure.’’
He said the Lonely Planet writers went through soon after the trail opened but cautioned those who aspired to go through it.
‘‘It’s a trail that you want to match your ambition to your ability on.
‘‘It’s a serious adventure but if you plan well, prepare well, and match that ambition, then I think it will surprise you – it will do more than surprise you, it will bloody delight you.’’
Other tracks in the book were Alps 2 Ocean, Auckland to Piha, Forgotten World Highway, Great Lake Trail, Heaphy Track, Mountains to Sea, Queenstown, and Whakarewarewa.