Where: Ferry across the harbour from right next to our shop, ride down the coast on easy roads and seaside trail.
Time: 2-4 hours of riding depending on how much you explore. Allow a whole afternoon for ferry rides, riding, exploring and cafe stops!
Who: Riders looking for an accessible out of town bike adventure.
Difficulty: Easy road riding, cars present but no busy intersections. Flat and wide gravel road with loose gravel, some potholes. Option to continue on rougher surfaces and/or cool grade 3 mountainbiking beyond lighthouse. Exposed to the wind – ebike will help a lot!
Features: Great easy off road riding. Remote feeling location right next to the city. Wonderful views of Wellington, the harbour, the heads and the south island Kaikoura ranges. Aotearoa/New Zealand’s oldest lighthouse.
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Days Bay and Pencarrow lighthouse trail
Where To Ride February 14, 2022 - Home
- Where To Ride
- Days Bay and Pencarrow lighthouse trail
Get remote on this gorgeous coastal trail just a short ferry ride from our shop, via a beautiful seaside village.
Head along this beautiful and rugged part of Wellington’s coastline out to the mouth of the harbour itself on a well formed gravel road, to New Zealand’s oldest lighthouse! Featuring a ferry ride across the harbour, and taking in Days Bay and Eastbourne, two beautiful outlying suburbs on the remotest part of Wellington’s harbour edge – this route is a truly beautiful and diverse day out. And importantly, the cafes are good too!
Only 15-20 minutes of road riding on a mellow suburban road is required to access 20+ km of riding on a no-car wide loose gravel track in stunning surrounds. More challenging riding is available further around the coast and around the lagoons near the lighthouse for those wanting even more.
Though the riding is easy, this area is exposed to the wind which can be strong at times. Make sure you also bring water, a little food and sunblock. Our bikes all have puncture-resistant tyres, and we also provide a puncture repair kit just in case.
Directions: Book your bike in ahead of time to insure your place. Make sure you arrive to collect your bikes with plenty of time before your sailing, especially if its the weekend. It’s good to arrive early for the ferry as well, so the friendly staff can help you load your bikes on before all the passengers arrive. Thank them, and give them a smile! We reccomend being at our shop 40 minutes before your ferry arrives to be safe.
After collecting your bikes, take the East by West ferry across the harbour to Days Bay. Most people take the 10am or 12pm sailings, and return on either the 4:25 or 4:55 (no 4:55 on weekends). We reccomend also checking the times on here to confirm.
Hopping off in Days Bay, turn right at the end of the wharf to head south along the only road along the coast – Marine Drive, which then turns into Muritai Road. Stay on Muritai road through Eastbourne and all the way to the end. Soon, you’ll pass through the carpark at the end and start the Pencarrow trail.
The Pencarrow trail is a high quality gravel road. Take this road about 7 kilometers out to find the Pencarrow lighthouses. There are two! One at ocean level and one up a little hill overlooking it. You can walk up to the one up the hill or ride your bikes up one of the trails if you are an experienced mountainbiker.
Continue to ride further around the coast if you like – however, the quality of the trail decreases and becomes more bumpy as you go around.
5 or 10 minutes further around from the lighthouse there is a big lagoon with a few more trails around it that go up over the hills. These are fun if you have some mountainbiking skill, and even better if you have an e-mountainbike. But there is definitely some big uphills and some tricky downhills. This is grade 3 riding. Get the free Trailforks App and download the New Zealand package for a map of these trails and to use your phone’s GPS.
Once you have contemplated the view, explored, picnicked and selfied to your hearts content, head back the same way and catch the ferry home! Ferries keep running into mid-evening – remember to check the last ferry time before you go.
Other Notes:
- There is no water supply out by the lighthouses, take some with you and some food just in case.
- Bring some sunblock, and extra layers in case it gets colder.
- Don’t forget to check the times of the ferries.
Switched on Bikes hires high-quality eBikes, city bikes and mountain bikes 7 days a week. We can get you sorted with all the gear and advice you need to get out and get riding.