They flipped into Lake Wakatipu, raced down a Cardrona hillside and cruised Queenstown's wine trail...as mountain bikers invaded the resort for this annual event. The AJ Hackett Fat Tyre Festival attracted hundreds of mountain bike riders to Queenstown for a long weekend of fun and racing.

Riders from throughout the country- including some of New Zealand's best- took part in numerous events, including a ride and overnight camp at Skippers Canyon, a Lake Jump in central Queenstown and the world famous grape to grape wine trail. A large crowd gathered to watch as riders jumped off the Steamer Wharf on Saturday evening, spinning , twisting and somersaulting into Lake Wakatipu.

Racers got there chance to impress at the Queenstown Goldrush Hillclimb, providing spectators with a break from engine power as they raced down the Waiourau Nordic Ski Field access road.

The final event of the festival took place at Moke Lake just outside the resort town. Gravity Cross..based on the snowboard boarder X event..saw groups of riders battle head to head through a very challenging course.

The Festival, one of N.Z's largest mountain biking events, was filmed for an upcoming series on Queestown for the Discovery Channel.