A youth bikepacking trip from Wellington to Wānaka

Wellington to Wanaka- Literally!

People riding bicycles on a dirt path surrounded by trees and mountain scenery under a clear blue sky.

While WORD was born in Wellington, it was only a matter of time before the stars aligned to launch in another region....Wānaka here we come! In December 2021, ten original WORD young people (6 girls and 4 guys- now 17-22 years old) embarked on an epic 1000km fully self-supported bikepacking trip from Wellington to Wānaka to celebrate!

Youth Leadership

WORD is passionate about young people developing skills to be even more amazing humans in the world. Through our Youth Leadership programme, young people have the opportunity to become MTB Instructors! We run training and mentorship to help share their love of riding bikes with the younger generation.

ALL of the 10 young people bikepacking from Wellington to Wanaka were Assistant Instructors, Instructors or even Lead Instructors, whoop!

The Route

Map showing a cycling route from Wellington to B, passing through New Zealand with terrain details, elevation gain and loss of about 200 meters, covering 929 km in approximately 80 hours and 22 minutes, rated as a difficult gravel ride.

The route, accommodation, snack spots, grocery and bike shops are all designed by the group of young people! With the help of Jonathan Kennett, mastermind of the Tour Aotearoa, Kopiko, and author of numerous mountian bike books, the route took shape.

OnWORD covers nearly 1000km of gravel roads, paved roads and a bit of singletrack.

Capturing the Magic

Man holding a camera with a view of his smiling face reflected in the camera's screen. The man has blood on his fingers and is wearing outdoor gear, suggesting an outdoor adventure or hiking setting.

As part of this adventure we hoped to shine a light on the power of young people, the joy of biking, and the benefits of outdoor recreation for health and wellbeing.

We were stoked to have joined forces with the amazing Ross MacKay to document this journey.

'OnWORD' is be the first bikepacking film that captures young people. We had a blast screening it at film festivals around the world as well as schools in 2022!

We did it!

A group of children and teenagers posing outdoors on a grassy field, some wearing orange t-shirts with 'W.O.R.D' printed on them, and a few wearing helmets, smiling and making hand signs. The background features trees, hills, and a blue sky with some clouds.

While the young people are self funding their trip expenses, we raised a total of $14,000 to help cover the costs of filming and editing of the journey.

Spreading the WORD!

Over the past 8 years, WORD has seen the benefit of mountain biking with kids flourishing into incredible people not only just in the mountain bike community but in all areas of life. The bike is the tool to foster personal growth, self confidence, lifelong friendships, sense of achievement, grit, compassion, and empathy.

We are confident that producing a film like this will be an inspiration to the world! We also know that given the right environment, young people can truly save the world... one ride at a time.

Let's do this!

A group of four hikers, wearing helmets and backpacks, walking along a rocky stream in a lush green valley surrounded by steep mountains covered in vegetation.

OnWORD!