Rainbow Molesworth Wairau Loop

Area: Marlborough 
Time: 3-5 days
Distance: 452 km loop
Difficulty: Medium

Paved: 98.3 km 22%
Unpaved: 305.5 km 68%
Unknown: 48.3 km 11%

Riffing off the 2015 Kiwi Brevet Route, this is a solid outing through some heavenly remote gravel with an adventurous side trip through Saint James Cycle Trail enjoying some great huts along the way.

If you don't have time to bite off the whole ride in one hit, you can shorten the loop favouring the north or south sections by sneaking across from Sedgemere to the Molesworth (or vice versa).

Whether the section along the West Bank of the Wairau between Blenheim and the Wash Bridge is passable is subject to logging operations and whether the road is currently open, as treefall often takes it out of service. The best is to contact OneFortyOne at Kaituna Sawmill for the current status before you go.

Access to the Rainbow Road is controlled seasonally. Check current status on their website or Facebook page.