Cyclists of varying abilities can tackle the 133km track, which hugs glacial rivers, pebbly beaches and mossy forests

New Zealand’s remote West Coast Wilderness Trail is something of an oxymoron: accessibly wild. It sounds nonsensical, but that’s exactly the experience.

The gently undulating gravel trail in the country’s most sparsely populated region is not only a beginner-friendly cycle, it’s also enjoyed by people with a wide range of physical abilities.

Natalie Gauld, 58, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2022, has completed the West Coast Wilderness Trail multiple times and contributed to the trail’s accessible ride guide. “It makes me feel capable,” said Gauld on a phone call before my trip. “I enjoy its remoteness.”

The 133km trail from Ross to Greymouth (or vice versa) is one of 23 Ngā Haerenga Great Rides of New Zealand. It’s in the West Coast region, a narrow strip of land roughly 600km long wedged between the frozen Southern Alps and the palm-fringed Tasman Sea. Its diverse ecosystems bizarrely buddy up: icy slopes and glacial rivers with steamy rainforests and pebbly beaches.

Viewing the world from handlebars is the way my husband, Paul, and I typically like to travel. Long, short, challenging, easy-going; we’re not fussy once we’re immersed in the landscape on two wheels. Having said that, we are not fans of lugging our kit or working out the best places to stop, eat and sleep. So we joined three other riders on a five-day supported journey with cycling and walking specialists Adventure South NZ, who took care of the tedious logistics and planned snack stops and short side hikes to several West Coast scenic spots.

A bridge closure meant we had to slice off the first 15km or so and saddle up on the road outside Hokitika in the lashing rain. “A real West Coast welcome,” said our tour guide, Tereza Unzeitigova. The soggy start was forgiven as soon as we ducked into the protection of a mossy native rainforest. The West Coast is the only part of New Zealand where significant tracts of lowland rainforest remain, which includes giant podocarp trees that hark back to Gondwanaland.

The boardwalk traverses Lake Mahinapua’s wetlands, where the soundtrack was a sonic experience all its own. For the unversed, like me, it could have been anything from swans, ducks and royal spoonbills to bellbirds, tūī, kererū or cuckoos. A coastal hug back to our accommodation in Hokitika completed the first 20km.