Dating back to 1898, the Hauraki Rail Trail is one of New Zealand's oldest railway corridors and travels through some breathtaking scenery including Karangahake Gorge. Photo / Supplied
Dating back to 1898, the Hauraki Rail Trail is one of New Zealand's oldest railway corridors and travels through some breathtaking scenery including Karangahake Gorge. Photo / Supplied
The Hauraki Rail Trail has been named one of the top 30 most picturesque cycle trails around the world.
UK adventure tour operator Explore Worldwide has undertaken a study by analysing which bike-friendly paths in the world have had the most photo shares on Instagram per kilometre.
In this ranking, only three New Zealand cycleways made the cut. As the only North Island cycleway in the rankings, the Hauraki Rail Trail ended up in place 18 with 64 Instagram images per kilometre.
The Hauraki Rail Trail is one of New Zealand's 23 Great Rides, spanning 197 kilometres. It officially starts from Kaiaua and traces the Shorebird Coast along the Firth of Thames, continuing to Paeroa, Waihi, Te Aroha and Matamata.
Riders enjoy contrasting landscapes from the Hauraki Plains, to the intriguing Karangahake Gorge and lush farmlands.
The Alps 2 Ocean cycleway starts at the base of Aoraki Mt Cook in the National Park or alternatively at Lake Tekapo. Photo / Supplied
The other New Zealand cycleways mentioned are the Alps 2 Ocean Trail (315km) which runs from Mount Cook to Oamaru and placed 26th (24 Instagram images per kilometre) and the Otago Central Rail Trail (152km) between Queenstown and Dunedin which placed 30th (16 Instagram images per kilometre).
The cycleway with the most photos per kilometre is Blue Ridge Parkway (755km) running across North Carolina and Virginia, USA, with 832 Instagram images shared per kilometre, followed by Going-to-the-Sun Road in Montana, USA, with 730 photo shares per kilometre. Lake Ohrid in Albania takes home second runner-up.
For the ranking, Explore Worldwide researched more than 100 popular cycling routes across the world and analysed which ones are being photographed and shared on social media the most.
For this, Explore Worldwide used the number of hashtags each of these popular bike routes has amassed on Instagram and divided it by each route's length in kilometres.
The Otago Rail Trail spans 152km in the area between Queenstown and Dunedin. Photo / James Jubb
Meanwhile, two key cycleways in the Waipā District will be extended as part of the district council's push to support more transport options.
All up, about 3km of new separated and protected cycleway across the district is now locked in.
Group manager service delivery Dawn Inglis says both projects were part of the council's wider urban mobility programme which aims to support people out of cars, using other forms of transport.
"We're not expecting physical works to start until late 2023, but it's fantastic to have both cycleways set into our work schedule," Inglis says.
In Cambridge, consultation and design work can begin to extend the existing two-way Hamilton Rd cycleway to connect it to the centre of town.
In Te Awamutu and Kihikihi, the existing cycleway on Flat Rd through to Rolleston St will be extended to connect with Kihikihi Primary School and the Kihikihi Domain.
