Napier by ebike
One of the best ways to discover a destination is to take a bike tour, an ebike tour is even better. You can cover a lot more area. For around five years, Brian from Fishbike in Napier has been taking tourists out on bikes from his base on Marine Parade. When I last looked three years or so ago there were mostly oldish Flying Cat bikes, but this time we were fortunate to go out on modern Moustache X-Road bikes powered by Bosch Active Line, perfect for touring. They are easy to ride and very comfortable.
Each tour is different, Brian tailors to his audience. We had to pursuade him to go long – many of his clients struggle to go too far having torn themselves away from the cruise ship all-you-can-eat buffet. We headed off past Napier Port – the second-busiest export port in NZ – along excellent cycleways to Ahuriri. This fishing-port and marina area has revitalised itself over the last few years with funky restaurants and bars, boutiques and the like. By bike or by car, it’s worth a visit.
We were lucky enough to be among the first to ride a new section of trail heading towards the airport, complete with great public art. One installation represents the local Iwi in the area, and another the migratory Godwit birds (kuaka) that arrive about mid-September and head North from March-April.
After that we looped around the lagoon, taking in the old road-rail bridge and interesting bird life
Returning to Napier via the much-photographed National Tobacco building and over Hospital Hill (no problem by ebike!), and through some interesting laneways and street art in Napier central.
The trip duration was a bit over two hours (we got the royal treatment) and cost is listed as $95pp for the ebike version.
I can highly recommend cycling around the area. The bike lanes are well done and there is a great network. Better yet, rent an ebike from around Havelock North and go wine tasting!
