Originally Posted by Expatriate
Yes, Fernleigh is the old railway track, you get to the top and hook a sharp left into the bush. Nice tracks, and you can even do a loop around to the beaches. Jesmond's pretty much the same - a sharp left off the paved bike track takes you into the bush. I haven't ridden it a lot, but it looks ok, and it's close. Saw a wallaby there, which is a big plus. Oh, you can walk to the John Hunter if you get hurt! I gave my wife the FS, so it's 2 hardtails and the tandem (also a hardtail) for me. I've been to Hokitika, and don't recall it being a MTB destination. We want to go back and ride Rotorua some day. Where do you live now?
I live out Elermore Vale at the moment, but about to make the move back into town towards Wickam way. There are some good tracks just outside of Hokitika (they had the southern classic race there last year apparently), so we rode a bit of that track. Was rather demanding and a bit scary at times. Managed to destroy both front and back wheels there as well, which required and overnight courier of some new rims
Nz is an amazing place to ride. Over xmas we rode from Queens town up the coast to Grey mouth then across to Christchurch. An experience I will not forget.
Does the end of Fernleigh take you into Glenrock? I hear that is also good for some MTB action.