Tākaro Trails owner Jenny Ryan “absolutely loved” studying at EIT.

Studying for EIT’s Diploma in Recreation and Sport was a trigger for Jenny Ryan establishing Tākaro Trails, an award-winning company offering cycling tour packages in Hawke’s Bay.

Ten years ago, Jenny felt she’d had enough of running her travel agency in Auckland.

“I’d been working for 30 years at that point,” she says, “and decided to take a year off. I’d travelled a lot, to some 70 countries, so I didn’t have a burning desire to do that. I decided to study for a sports diploma instead.”

A frequent visitor to Hawke’s Bay, she was drawn to this region so she sold her business and moved. “I absolutely loved the diploma programme,” she says of her EIT studies. “It was a small school with a real care culture and the experience recharged my battery.”

While studying, she started thinking about setting up a trail bike company. At the time Hawke’s Bay offered just 50km of bike trails (it now has more than 200km) and the only cycling package offered in New Zealand was the Otago Rail Trail.

Over the years, Jenny has moved her business’s focus from casual bike hire to a range of packages that can include degustation dinners, accommodation at luxury lodges and pick-up
support.

This year Tākaro Trails was the supreme winner in the Hawke’s Bay Tourism Industry Awards. 

Never a cyclist herself, she says EIT study gave her the confidence to advise clients on bike skills, nutritional aspects and the importance of hydration.