We drove into Queenstown, NZ with all the other tourists.
It’s a lakeside melting pot of nationalities. A beautiful picturesque place that
is overrun with people, urgently scrambling to catch a glimpse or make a buck. Standing
amongst the crowds, queuing at Fergberger, I sensed that Queenstown has lost a
little of its original natural allure. It’s a problem that befalls all
locations that become too popular, too well-attended, too loved. But as in the
case of all such tourist destinations you don’t need to travel far off the
tourist trail to catch a glimpse of the original attractions, pre-tourism gold-rush.
Lakeside scenery
7 Mile Bike Park on the outskirts of Queenstown is the
perfect opportunity to wander from the madding crowd. The park is a small
network of lakeside single trail about 7kms along the road to Glenorchy, the
small township at the far tip of lake Wakatipu. We hired cross-country bikes
from one of the many Queenstown rental stalls – about 60 bucks for a morning.
We road straight from the rental shop along Glenorchy-Queenstown Road. The
trails climb and descend on Seven Mile point, super scenic lakeside riding.
7 Mile consists of numerous short, multiple grade tracks
that descend from three central hubs, accessed by a couple of generic return climbs.
It’s a simple and practical format and the climbs are short so you’re never
busting your gut to get to the next descent. My favourite trails were the
faster open descents: Grin & Holler and Kachoong. They ebbed and flowed,
with numerous jump and drop technical lines that you could attempt or avoid at
your leisure.
Queenstown, avoid the crowds and head for a ride out at 7 Mile.
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