For the first time, riders will be able to pedal a continuous route from Queenstown to Dunedin and back, following a single thread of trail through alpine terrain, golden schist valleys and rugged coastline that until now existed only as separate, disconnected rides.
The Southern Way 1000 opens this September, stitching together seven established trails across New Zealand’s South Island into one continuous 1,000-kilometre route. Its completion hinges on the opening of the Kawarau Gorge Trail, the final missing link that connects Queenstown directly into the wider Central Otago cycling network for the first time.
Seven trails become one journey
The route strings together the Queenstown Trails, Around the Mountains Cycle Trail, Otago Central Rail Trail, Roxburgh Gorge Trail, Clutha Gold Trail, Lake Dunstan Trail and the new Kawarau Gorge Trail. More than 600 kilometres of the journey runs on Ngā Haerenga, the New Zealand Great Rides, the country’s flagship network of purpose-built, off-road trails developed to showcase its landscape, heritage and local communities.
Riders move from the Southern Alps and Queenstown’s alpine terrain into the golden schist landscapes of Central Otago, before finishing along the rugged coastline near Dunedin, a stretch of country that captures much of the South Island’s geographic range within a single, human-powered journey.
A route built for different paces
The Southern Way 1000 is not designed as an all-or-nothing expedition. Riders with one to two weeks can take on the full route end to end, while those with less time can choose individual sections as standalone rides. Local operators along the way offer bike hire, accommodation and transport support, making it possible to ride a single trail, such as the Otago Central Rail Trail or Lake Dunstan Trail, without committing to the entire distance.
That flexibility reflects a broader shift in cycling travel, as more riders look for slower, self-directed trips that let them absorb a region gradually rather than move through it quickly.
Riding through Central Otago’s changing country
What makes the Southern Way 1000 more than the sum of its trails is the variety packed into one continuous ride. Riders cross from Queenstown’s mountain backdrop into the dry, rocky expanses of Central Otago, past old goldfields and rail heritage along the Otago Central Rail Trail, and through river gorges on the Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold trails, before the landscape opens out toward the coast near Dunedin.
The newly opened Kawarau Gorge Trail adds a rougher, more physically demanding stretch to the route, linking the Lake Dunstan Trail with the Queenstown Trails network and closing the gap that previously kept these rides separate.
