Come to the South Island for a couple of weekends stacked with navigational riding with added pre-events in the Alexandra, Otago the weekend before on 1 and a weekday MAPrun event planned. Then head up to Tekapo on mid-week on Wednesday 21 April for a training event, before the Champs events in Christchurch, Canterbury. A pre-event training will be available on the Friday before launching into the Champs events start on ANZAC weekend. The Champs begin with two events on Saturday 24 April – a mass start event in the morning and a Sprint in the afternoon. This will be followed on Sunday 25 April the MTBO Long Distance Champs, and wrapping up Champs with the Middle distance on Monday 26 April.

Canterbury offers a lot of great riding - so allow for sohe extra time. If you want soem hill training head into the Port Hills, try the Bowenvale loops from Huntsbury, and also furthe east the Greenwood, Godley Head and Anaconda trails near Sumner.  Bottle Lake offers soft fast sand riding sheltered in a forest be the eastern beaches. For downhill addicts the Christchurch Adventure Park is the place, complete with lift and cafe. 
To make sure you get value from your bike holiday, plan for some riding time further afield. Hamner is worth a visit (2 hours from Christchurch) and the hot pools offer a good place for relaxing afterwards. Kaikōura has a large 41.7 km trail loop that takes in the area and bypasses an excellent distillery ( 2.5 hours from Christchurch).  
We also recommend you come over and try some excellent multiway trails such as: the St James 59km trail north of Hamner (3.5 hours from Christchurch).  Or on the west coast Old Ghost Road and Paparoa track (4 hours from Christchurch). If you are planning multi-day west coast trips you may want to book huts now –  well in advance!
In Otago, before you start the pre-events start you could also allow for extra ride travel. Check out areas near Alexandra with the 41km Dunstan Trail and you can link up the Roxburgh Gorge Trail (21km) and the Clutha Gold Trail (42km).  

Bailey Moore from Tauranga was our A3 size Autopilot mapboard winner for being one of the first 50 competitors to enter the 2026 NZ MTBO Champs.  And he's looking forward to lots of great MTBO this weekend.

The Autopilot mapboards are the best for MTBO and other navigation adventures on a bike.  These mapboards are robust and can fit most handle bar sizes.  Thank you to Andrew McNeill, who sells these mapboards in NZ.  Connect with Andrew if you are keen to get your own Autopilot mapboard.

Following last weeks storms in the Bay of Plenty, we have lost access to the Middle Distance event map at Onepu. Significant tree fall has closed the park, blocking tracks as well as creating a major safety hazard with partially fallen trees. This is expected to take some time to clear and would not be sorted prior to the champs.

The planning team has subsequently been flat out sorting an alternative Middle Distance venue that meets NZ Champs status needs. We have been very fortunate in securing access to Tui Ridge, thanks to the flexibility and generosity of the Tui Ridge Management team and owners. Consequently, the Middle Distance event will be held at Tui Ridge, which was previously used at the 2016 and 2019 MTBO Champs (Middle and Sprint). We are currently updating the map and will have new courses planned in the next 2 weeks. 

The change in venue for the Middle has also triggered a change in programme order. We will now be having the Sprint and Long distance events on the same day (Saturday), and the Middle on the Sunday. This does create some time pressures for athletes to get from the Sprint to the Long and complete both in the same day. However the planning team have done an analysis on the timings and these have been tweaked to ensure this is achievable for everyone.

This does mean an early start for the Sprint, with first starts 8.30am. There will be a tight but achievable window for athletes to get from the Sprint to the Long, where first starts will be from 12.30pm.  We ask all athletes to not linger at the Sprint and to be efficient with time getting to the Long event. All changes are recorded in the website and if you have any questions contact [email protected]. 

Whilst it has been unfortunate to lose Onepu (and all the planning and work that has gone into that), we believe we have pivoted to something that will be equally good or better, offering great courses and quality racing people expect of a NZ Champs. We appreciate people accommodating these changes in their schedule and please assist us by being organised, especially on the Saturday events. The planning team is super excited by all the events, with each promising some fantastic terrain and courses - we look forward to seeing you there! 

We are pleased to announce that entries for the 2026 NZ MTBO Champs are now open HERE.

Come along for a great week of MTBO and socialising around Rotorua.   Early bird entries close 12th April.  Final entries close 10th May.  Any on the day entries will only be at the discretion of the organisers.

Enter early to win!

Be one of the first 50 competitors to enter early and also go in the draw to win an A3 size Autopilot mapboard.  The best mapboard for MTBO and other navigation adventures on a bike.  These mapboards are robust and can fit most handle bar sizes.  Thank you to Andrew McNeill, who sells these mapboards in NZ.

We are still taking names for the prizegiving dinner on Saturday evening.
This will be at Iceinline in Alexandra, adjacent to the sprint map.
 
Berry Farm Bakery and Catering are providing a BBQ buffet with Pulled pork and beef burgers with a good selection of breads and salads.
There will be lemon tarts, brownie cookies and fruit to follow.
Berry Farm has an excellent reputation and they have been warned that Bike Orienteers have big appetites.
 
It will be a great chance to fuel up after two great races, ready for an epic day in Naseby on Sunday.
 
BYO drinks.
 
Get back onto the NZ MTBO Champs website, and under entries you’ll find the dinner under “order merchandise”.
 
Once entries close at midnight on Saturday, you can still book dinner by emailing [email protected], till a few days before the event.

The closing date for entries has been extended to Saturday 18th January, so make sure you get your entries in by then! 

The planning team are making great progress on the courses, and the events are shaping up really well. Event organizer, Joe Sherriff, says "the diversity and mix of terrain types across each event will really delight MTBOers - each day has a different feel and type of challenge, so we are confident people will really love this!".

Bulletin  and other info will be out by the week before the event, so stay tuned for more info, and get in touch if you have any questions.

Hi everyone, please note some important updates on entry fees:

• Discounts on entry fees for the Recreation classes - this is to encourage newcomers to have a go and try the sport in a low key class.
• Early bird entries close Midnight Sunday 22 Dec 

Details in the Enter O entry portal, accessed through the links on this website, or here.

Make sure you don't miss out, and remind your friends to get their entries in too!

A fantastic weekend of competition, challenge, and fun for mountain bikers, orienteers, and adventure racers of all abilities. Add in the rogaine on the Monday for more nav riding.  The 2025 NZ MTBO Championships will be hosted by Dunedin Orienteering and held in Central Otago over the weekend of 1st / 2nd February, with a non-championship MTBO Rogaine following on Monday 3rd February. The event is to be hosted by Central Otago Orienteers and Dunedin Orienteering 

• Morning Saturday 1 February  |  Sprint distance MTBO championships:  Alexandra 
• Afternoon Saturday 1 February  |  Middle distance MTBO championships:  Matangi Station .
• Sunday 2 February  |  Long distance MTBO championships:   Naseby Forest   
• Monday 3 February  |  Rogaine optional extra MTB nav fun, not a championship event 

We are delighted to confirm the 2023 NZ MTBO Champs will happen near Christchurch on 29 and 30 April! Planning is well underway, so stay tuned for more information through this website and the NZ MTBO facebook page!