Trail Stories to Inspire

We've put together some stories below to inspire your Nelson Tasman cycling adventure and to help you get a taste for our region.

The old Tin Shed

A new shelter at Aporo Rd is a replica of a ‘tin shed’ that stood nearby for 100 years. The shelter was in poor condition and created a blind corner, so the Nelson Tasman Cycle Trails Trust, Tasman District Council, local bus company, the local schools and the Tasman Area Community Association agreed that the shelter be re-built and shifted to its current position. During the process of moving, stories emerged about the integral role the shelter played in the local community.

Captain Coppermine

He's fondly known by his cycling friends as “Sir Coppermine” and for good reason. Duncan Cunningham, who turns 75 in January 2025, has clocked up more than 200 rides on the Coppermine Trail Great Ride in Nelson. The Coppermine is an alpine ride that has a consistent climb up to Dun Mountain, reaching the rocky tops of Coppermine Saddle almost 900m above sea level before a downhill through the Maitai Dam and beech forest.

Motueka Awa Story

Traditionally, the Motueka River was an important food source for the tribes who lived there. The water channels, swamps and wooded areas associated with the awa (river) were habitats supporting a huge food basket. Oral traditions identify the awa and its flood plain as an extensive and bountiful mahinga kai from which a huge variety of natural resources and food were gathered.

The Back of Beyond... and beyond

The ‘Back and Beyond’ section of the Tasman Great Taste Trail now passes through the Baton Valley, a place that’s long been considered remote. When local writer Kerry Sunderland, who counts a number of Baton Valley residents as friends, heard about the new Baton Valley cycle bridge, she thought it would make a great story for New Zealand Geographic. NZ Geo agreed and, in Spring 2022, published a feature story titled ‘The Back of Beyond’, which begins: The Baton Valley, at the top of the South Island, was named after a young runaway sailor, Batteyn Norton, and it remains a place where life is isolated, physical, self-sufficient, and largely dictated by the weather.

A short history of Baton House

About two kilometres beyond the new cycle bridge over the Baton River, you will find the extraordinary Baton House, a replica of the original Baton Hotel constructed on the same site in the 1860s. John Salmon Taylor and his wife Ann Elizabeth Taylor (nee Firmin) arrived in the valley in the late 1850s. They had 12 children: eight daughters and four sons.

Have a beer in hop country

Nelson-Tasman has a reputation for fabulous craft beer. This is no surprise given it is New Zealand’s hop growing capital. The Great Taste Trail circumnavigates New Zealand’s hop country - a triangle formed by Riwaka, Tapawera, and Brightwater.

Crisp and juicy apples of Tasman

As you ride between Appleby, Māpua, Motueka, and Kaiteriteri Beach, you will notice the orchards stretching out over the rolling hills and plains. Many well-known apple varieties can be found in the region. From the all-time classics like Granny Smith, Cox Orange, and Royal Gala through to the fancy-sounding new ones such as Sassy, Smitten, and Dazzle.

International jetsetters of Waimea Inlet

The Waimea Inlet is an internationally important coastal wetland for migratory birds. Wading birds can best be spotted from the cycle trail at low tide. Possibly our most famous bird is the bar tailed godwit, traveling 11,000km non-stop from Alaska to the Inlet each year to feed.

Taste the wine of Nelson-Tasman

New Zealand Winegrowers describes Nelson as a boutique wine region that produces outstanding Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and aromatics, along with several ‘impressive’ emerging varieties. ‘Nelson’ wines are produced in Tasman, but the regions’ promoters refer to the two districts like a Siamese twin, Nelson-Tasman. Wine varieties are classic New Zealand, but the wine makers capitalise on the unique terroir and plentiful sunshine to bring out the region’s distinct flavour notes.

Māpua Wharf taste central

Māpua is a must-see destination. The fact that the Great Taste Trail winds right through the village and wharf precinct also makes it a can’t-miss taste experience. Māpua is a Māori name meaning prolific, or an abundance.

Motueka Saltwater Baths

Just off the Great Taste Trail on the Motueka waterfront lies an unexpected and free public swimming pool. The so-called ‘public baths’ are nested right on the foreshore, where the waterline rises and falls with the tidal ebb and flow. It’s the only pool of its type in the region, and even listed on Heritage New Zealand as an historic place.

So where are the tastes of the Great Taste Trail?

The Great Taste Trail is so named because of the diversity of the experience. You can get a ‘taste’ of the best bits of the whole region from riding the trail loop. Riders can try the local wines, beer and food, and you also get a fabulous taste of the region’s towns, drink in the scenery, sample the beaches – sort of thing.

Railway to nowhere

Parts of the Great Taste Trail were once parts of Nelson’s infamous ‘Railway to Nowhere’. But that’s as close as the two stories get. The 200km loop of cycle trail was developed over twelve years and delivers riders to and from all main towns of the region.

Bush poetry in the Baton Valley

The most remote section of the Great Taste Trail is described as ‘Back and Beyond’. It’s a self-explanatory title. The area really is back and beyond the bustle of life for most people.

Why is there so much produce along the Great Taste Trail?

Vegetable crops, apple orchards, vineyards, hop farms and pasture, all feature along the Great Taste Trail. So why is the region blessed with such abundance and diversity? Much of the answer lies beneath your bike tyres.

The sacred waters of Te Puna o Riuwaka - Riuwaka Resurgence

An 11km on-road detour from the Great Taste Trail at Riwaka brings you to Te Puna o Riuwaka. Te Puna is the Māori word meaning spring of water, and Riuwaka is the river. It is described as a resurgence, a river that goes underground and re-emerges though a cliff face.

Tāhunanui beach detour from the Great Taste Trail

Tāhunanui Beach is a pleasant summery detour from the Great Taste Trail, about 3km from Nelson Airport. This beach is hugely popular given it is so close to Nelson City and offers gorgeous views across to several Nelson landmarks and out into Tasman Bay. The shoreline is shallow and relatively warm.

Brightwater’s chicken power

Robert (Bobby) Ellis is fondly remembered as an ingenious character of the early 1900s, responsible for the region’s first streetlights. Bobby powered his Kōhatu farmhouse from his flax mill water wheel, using water from the Motueka river that ran though his property. A passion for electricity production was sparked.

Eggstremely good ride fuel

The cafes around the Great Taste Trail make a pretty good brunch. Eggs Benny, or plain bacon and eggs are a favourite start to fuel a day’s riding. As you ride the section between Wai-iti Domain and Belgrove, chances are you’ll be visiting the hens that supplied your breakfast.

Who built the Great Taste Trail?

Tasman’s Great Taste Trail loops around Nelson-Tasman, 200km of trail through the region’s towns, countryside, and coastline. The idea for a trail started with a small group of enthusiastic cyclists in 2007, led by stalwart Bill Gilbertson. Their idea was for a cycle trail from Picton, through Nelson, to Murchison.

Trail Stories to Inspire

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