Bikepacking the Tour Aotearoa route (North Island) & Picton to Hanmer Springs 11-24 February 2017

If you are here to read my earlier post on walking the South Island section of Te Araroa; click here

I took two weeks leave to do a ‘bike packing’ tour following the route of ‘Tour Aotearoa’ through the North Island and then cross Cook Strait and bike through to Christchurch. This sort of trip requires a bit a preparation; starting with booking a plane flight from Christchurch to as far up the country as I could get, which is Kerikeri. From here, I had a bus trip booked from Kerikeri to Kaitaia. I had the name of a local nice guy Oli Lancaster who would be willing to shuttle me to Cape Reinga. Also I needed to organise the crossing of Kaipara Harbour. Rod and Cheryl from Shamrock Charters were doing a fishing charter on Monday 13^th so could pick me up late afternoon from Pouto Point. There would nothing for the rest of the week. I was going to have to get to Pouto Point by Monday afternoon or face a bit of a detour

The bike I was going to use needed a bit of work; new wheel hubs, handlebars and tyres. I was taking my old mountain bike a 26” hardtail Kona Cinder Cone. I also needed new bike packing bags to make it as light and manageable to ride bike trails and do long daily distances. I settled on Revelate bags; a Sweetroll handle bar bag and a Viscacha saddle bag. My one-person tent could fit into a drybag strapped to my top bar.

I did a trial run one weekend with an overnight trip up to Kaikoura using the inland road on the way up and coastal highway for the return leg. All relatively quiet and an interesting ride because of the recent earthquake damage. The bike needed to be packed into a bike box with as much gear as possible but kept at a maximum weight of 23 kg. The rest would need to be jammed into a carry-on bag with a maximum weight of 7 kg. This took a bit of last minute head scratching with the carry-on bag being over 9 kg of stuff bursting out of a cotton shopping bag.

The bike loaded up on trial run to Kaikoura

Saturday 11^th – 50 km – Cape Reinga – Utea Park

I had to wake at 4am for the 6.00am flight to Auckland. This involved getting Corina out of bed who is no ‘early bird’. I was a bit nervous checking in hoping the bike box weight would be ok and I would not have to do a last minute repack. In my nervousness I only grabbed the one boarding pass from the check-in machine.  Luckily I noticed before hopping on the plane and went back through security and found it kindly placed on top of the machine. After a couple of hours wait in Auckland Airport it was on to a smaller plane to Kerikeri on a fine day. The flight was momentarily delayed while a woman passenger was asked to come out onto the tarmac and investigate the vibrating noise in her luggage which turned out to be a battery powered shaver.

Bay of Islands (Kerikeri) airport is just a small building opened to receive the flight and send the return flight back again. I asked where I could assemble my bike and where I could leave the bike box. I set it up in a quiet corner of the car park and a woman came out took the box away in her keenness to close up. Once loaded up I headed the 6 km into Kerikeri to find a supermarket and stock up on a bit of food. I had a couple of hours to kill before the bus ride so I rode out to the historic stone store a few km out of town. It was lovely day and I was feeling positive about the whole trip. I got back to the bus stop and took the wheels and pedals off the bike to ready it for the bus. The bus was late arriving after being delayed by a road accident on its way up from Auckland. The passengers are then first dropped off to buy their lunch at the shops by the bus stop while the driver heads off to swap the bus for a smaller bus and fresh driver. The bus trip to Kaitaia is over 100 km via SH10 through Kaeo. I tried phoning Oli to say I would be late but he wasn’t answering his home phone. There was nothing to worry about as he was there waiting for me at the bus stop with his beat up old ute. It turns out he is retired and lives in an old cottage on the land of a friendly farming family some 20 odd km from the Cape. He regularly picks up walkers and bikers from Kaitaia and takes them up to the Cape and asks for very little reimbursement.

While driving up he is giving me a commentary on the place. I was a bit uneasy with his driving as he was bit all over the road often across the median strip and other times running close to the shoulders where the road drops away steeply. Just while I am thinking I hope we get to the Cape without an accident we come across a young Asian lady standing on the side of the road trying to wave us down. Oli doesn’t seem to want to stop so I said ‘stop Oli there is a car in the paddock’. I could see someone still in it. I got out and ran across the road, at the same time another guy coming in a car from the opposite direction also stops and we both head through the hole in the fence and down to the car which appears to have rolled but is now upright. Approaching the car, the engine sounded like it was still running but it turned out to be the stereo hissing off station. A young Asian woman was still in the driver’s seat, the other guy opened the door and went to help her out but she was caught by her hair. I pulled the hair away from where it was stuck around the crumbled door pillar. We helped her up to the road. She was confused about where she was and what had happened. I went back to the car and tried to turn off the stereo, and grabbed her wallet, phone and some clothes. Back at the road a few more people had stopped. I gave the driver her phone and zipped her wallet into her pocket. The other woman was complaining of a sore neck, probably whiplash. The driver had a few lacerations to her head and right upper leg. I cleaned up her leg with water from a bottle someone had. The cuts were deep and would need stitches. A guy had brought out a first aid kit and we used it to cover her cuts with gauze patches and a bandage. There was no cell phone coverage here so Oli had tooted his car horn to get the attention of a neighbour he knew on the hill across the road. The guy came down with a cordless landline phone and called the local volunteer ambulance service who were going to take 45 minutes to arrive. After doing all we could and with a large group of people now attending to them, Oli and I decided to slip away and head for Cape Reinga

Arriving at the car park I put the bike together. Oli can’t walk too well so I biked down to the lighthouse to take the obligatory photos while he waited. It was getting late and he had suggested he should take me down to Te Paki Stream to start my biking from the hard sand on Ninety Mile Beach. Here I was going to miss out doing the first 22 km of this length of the North Island ride. Driving down the stream I found out it was deep in parts and had a lot of soft sand. Oli mentioned a lot of people get themselves stuck here but it had never happened to him. Shortly after saying this he manages to get the ute stuck and I started to sense another drama unfolding. I was out of the ute frantically digging his back wheels out. It turned out he probably didn’t have it engaged in low ratio 4WD properly and after a bit of jiggling with the gears it popped out of the ruts.

I said thanks and goodbye to Oli at 5.30pm. He said he only wanted fifteen dollars but I gave him fifty. I was underway just after low tide, in my hurry I hadn’t bothered to put on any padded bike shorts. There was a steady side wind and supposedly hard-as-concrete sand felt a bit draggy. The evening was fine as I pushed to get as far down the beach as possible before dusk. A couple of hours down I came across a couple biking slowly in the same direction. They were making a day trip from the Cape and were running out of steam. They were still hoping to make it to Ahipara that night. Just after 8 and just before the sun began to set I spotted the flag for Utea Park and headed through the sand dunes. I found the last empty cabin and claimed it just before a station wagon with a couple of tourists turned up from the road end.. I found the shower and washed up. The owner Tania turned up, she ran a relaxed set-up, I asked her what she wanted, and fifteen dollars was all she asked. In the kitchen I made my meagre meal of two satchets of Cup-O-Soup with a handful of biscuits washed down with a mug of black tea.

The night was clear with a full moon shining through the curtain-less windows of the cabin. I awoke during the night to strange stomping noises. I sat up to look out and see a mob of horses grazing their way through the campground.

Stone store, Kerikeri

Car after accident

Starting with a visit to Cape Reinga

Thanks Oli

Ninety mile beach not always tailwind and hard sand

Cabin at Utea Park

Sunday 12^th - 155km - Utea Park – Waipoua Forest

I got up early and got underway on the beach while still close to low tide. The wind was more a tailwind then the previous evening and I made quick work of the last 30km into Ahipara. I had to push through soft sand to get up to the road. I went looking for the campground to use the water hose to clean the salt and sand from off my bike. After this I stopped at the general store for a couple of sloppy pies and then sat on a park bench to give Corina a call.

From here the route takes back roads through Broadwood and Kohukohu to catch the Rawene ferry. I stopped at the store in Kohukohu for more food and made the 2pm crossing. While on the ferry it began to rain so I left Rawene wearing a jacket in the sticky warmth. At the turn-off onto SH12 the rain stopped and I was relieved to be able to take the raingear off again. I stopped in Opononi for an ice cream break before biking through Omapere and the steep climb up the hill that looks back over the town. Not long after this the road climbs up into Waipoua Forest with a long 300+ metres altitude gain. After a short stop at the large kauri tree Tane Mahuta I began a long descent to the turn-off to the Waipoua Forest café and campground. I had enough for the day and ahead was another 250 metre high climb which I was not in the mood for doing now so I headed down the gravel road to find the campground without any idea what to expect. I arrived to find no one there. I propped up the bike and began looking around for what to do when a guy Lance appeared. He was surprised to see me as he hadn’t heard a car arrive. It turns out I was the first person to turn up for the night and I could have a cabin for twenty dollars. I asked if there was any food left by other campers in the kitchen.  Lance then offered to grab a serving of lasagne from the closed cafe and heat it up for me. After I had a shower he turned up with a plate with the lasagne accompanied by a corn on the cob with a slice of melting butter, fresh salad and slices of buttered bread. He didn’t want anything for it and I enjoyed a nice meal. Lance then left for the evening and I had the campground to myself

Ahipara's biggest store

Rawene ferry in the rain

Cabin at Waipoua Forest campground

 

Thanks for dinner Lance

Monday 13^th – 152 km – Waipoua Forest - Helensville

The night was muggy and the mosquitoes pretty active in the little cabin. I was up early and headed off towards Dargaville knowing I wouldn’t get any phone reception until the top of the climb. At the top of the hill my phone beeped for a message received. It was Cheryl from Shamrock Charters. They weren’t sailing today because of windy conditions and there were no further planned sailings until Thursday. It was windy up on the ridge but I had been hoping that wasn’t the case down on the flat. I carried on to Dargaville contemplating the extra 100 km I was now going have to bike to get around the Kaipara Harbour. I stopped at the lovely Bakehouse Café for a coffee, pie and muffin. While at the café I spoke with Rod on the phone, Cheryl had mentioned in my initial phone enquiry that they sometimes pick people up in their van. They were going to be out for the day but if I gave them a call when I got close to Brynderwyn they may come and rescue me from SH1.

After a trip to the supermarket I headed out of Dargaville on SH12 in warm and windy conditions. Luckily the wind was mostly a tailwind. The road starts to climb through hills after Ruawai. I stopped in some shade of a building near Maungaturoto to rest and eat. A while later on reaching Brynderwyn just before 4 pm I tried to ring Shamrock Charters but no one was answering. So I carried on down the busy SH1 to Wellsford 27 km down the highway. I pulled into a rest area just short of Wellsford and then received the phone call I had been waiting for. Rod and Cheryl would drive out to Wellsford and pick me up there. They were keen on eating out at one of the restaurants in the town. I got into town and bought an ice cream and waited on a park bench. We spotted each other straightaway. They were disappointed to find the Roast Kitchen was closed on Mondays. So they head back the nearly 50 km to Helensville and I suggested they find their next favourite eatery to go to and I would shout them a meal. We ended up picking up takeaways at Kaukapakapa and headed to their place. I could sleep overnight in a caravan in their backyard. I stayed up till near 11pm listening to stories from their work with boats on the Kaipara Harbour. The main subject of the evening being the sinking of the Francie last November while crossing the Kaipara Bar that claimed 8 lives. They had been previous owners of the Francie so their knowledge of the boat was of interest to the police investigating the sinking. 

 

Free accommodation in Helensville 

The lovely hosts - Rod and Cheryl

Tuesday 14^th - 110 km – Helensville – Miranda Springs

I awoke to light rain. Rod and Cheryl are not early risers and I had left my cycle shorts to dry in their bathroom so I couldn’t just head off. Anyway the advice was to wait until after the peak morning traffic before heading into Auckland. It was after 10 am before I got to say goodbye and got underway in light rain. I just followed SH16 until the big roundabout and the GPS was directing me down Taupaki Road which had me initially doubting it was the right way as a good number of trucks began passing me on this narrow road. Eventually I ended up in the suburb of Massey and found my way onto the North-western cycleway – a joy to be on. I never saw another cyclist but that may be understandable with the persistent rain. I found my way into Grafton in sight of the Skytower and looked to find Khyber Pass Road. Seeing a convenient café on a corner I stopped for a coffee and a muffin. The rain eased so I could shed my wet weather gear before heading down to Newmarket train station where for seven dollars I could catch the 2 pm train down to Papakura with the bike. It was appalling to watch the behaviour of a group of feral kids that got on the train and were giving the guards the run-around as they tried to get away without paying.

Getting into Papakura, I looked for a supermarket to stock up on some food. I left the bike in the trolley bay in the entry foyer and picked up the likes of oats satchets, soup satchets, tinned fruit, bananas and buns. The bike was left untouched always a concern in big cities where shopping centres are always full of little shits. It had started to rain again as I worked my way out of Papakura on the Clevedon Road. I thought the GPS route I was following was the coastal option so I was surprised when it directed me to a turn-off and starting climbing some big hills. I had bit of trouble with gear changing and there were a few instances of the chain dropping off to the inside of the small ring as I went to climb a steep hill. It was a nice area to bike through but disappointing to see the amount of rubbish dumping on the side of the road.

The rain was annoying and there were a few sections of muddy road to get me covered in mud as well. I finally got to take off my wet weather gear while taking a break at the Mangatangi Fire Station This allowed me to dry out a bit before getting to the Miranda Holiday Park around 7 pm.   I was going to use the tent but being wet I went for a $60 cabin instead.  There was a takeaway next door at the hotsprings pool and the lady at the camp suggested I get around there before it closed. The place was busy and there was long queue waiting to order. I soon heard the message the kitchen was closed and the only selection available was fish n chips. I ordered and expected a big wait and was pleasantly surprised when she called my number well ahead of others and handed me the package with a wink. A further pleasant surprise was finding two fish fillets instead of the one I had ordered. The room had a fan heater that I could nicely arrange my wet clothes in front of.  After eating dinner, I took a soak in the campground hot pool followed by a shower where the bike shorts and socks got a wash. Later a catch up with Corina on the phone and then off to sleep pretty quickly.

 

Auckland cycleway

Auckland train

Auckland rubbish on the side of rural roads

Cabin at Miranda Hotsprings

Wednesday 15^th – 158 km – Miranda Springs - Arapuni

The fan heater worked nicely to dry my clothes out by morning. It was a fine weather day and was underway a little after 8 am. I saw a cycle tourist go passed on the highway as I headed back down the side road from the campground.  I caught up to Darnel and we biked together for the next hour until the big bridge. He was a young Maori guy who now lives in Brisbane. The last couple of summers he has come over and cycle toured around NZ. He was riding a Giant Boulder with a couple of rear panniers and was drying out his clothes and  bike shoes from yesterday and just riding in nylon long pants and Crocs. He was heading out to do a circuit of the Coromandel after just having done a circuit of Northland. He was out of food so I shared the last of my biscuits with him while we stopped at the other end of the bridge where I was to turn off on to the Hauraki Rail Trail and he was heading on to Thames, We took photos of each with our bikes, he was impressed with the light gear setup I had and I was amazed he was making do with even cheaper and older mountain bike than mine.

The start of the Hauraki Rail Trail was getting overgrown by the long grass of summer. I met a few cyclists coming the other way as I made my way down. The Convenient Cow café at Hikutaia was a pleasant stop, nice food at a reasonable price. The trail continues on into Paeroa, where I only stopped to fill up my water bottles at a service station. In Te Aroha I ended up spending a bit of time fiddling with the cable adjustment for the rear derailleur on the old railway station platform as I was having trouble changing gears as the outer cable was getting damaged by the roll bag hanging off my handlebars.

From here it was on back roads to Matamata. The town is busy with tourists as all Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film fans come to Matamata to visit the Hobbiton film set. Even the local information centre is done out like a hobbit dwelling from the Peter Jackson films. I went looking for a supermarket and found the New World. While locking up the bike I was joined by a Chinese guy cycle touring on a folding bike; a Birdy. We had a short chat before going in the supermarket. Later coming out of the supermarket there he was again taking photos of my bike. I guess it’s the bike packing bags that interests other cyclists.

As I headed out of Matamata and turned into a side road I noticed a plume of smoke up ahead.  Shit it looked like a hedge was on fire. By the time I got the 100 metres up to the hedge it was pretty full on. I biked through a wall of smoke and ash and stopped to see if anyone was on to it. A couple of guys were frantically moving stuff back from the hedge and were being joined by a couple of neighbours. I then heard the fire siren go off back in town. There was not much point me getting involved so I took a couple of photos and carried on.

This section of the route took me out to SH29 which I had to follow for 10 km and then a short bit of SH1 so I was relieved to turn right on a quiet back road. The road was narrow with no shoulder as it headed down a steep dip and then up around a few blind corners. As I was biking up around a corner there was a 4WD also coming the other way I was startled by a long toot on a car horn behind me. The vehicle, another 4WD then came around next to me with the passenger window wound down, the driver was shouting at me something like ‘get off the fucken road, you made me have to brake for you’. I was taken back by his audacity so I let him know I had every fucken right to be on the road. He then stops his vehicle and this angry young guy covered in tattoos gets out and it is going to be all on. I put my bike down against the bank and headed straight at him. Just then a couple of cars come up behind his wagon parked there in the middle of the road. This emboldens me to start mocking him ‘now look what you are doing, holding up the traffic, get the fuck out of here’ He got back in his wagon ranting on about if he saw me again he would run me down and drove off. All through this a woman had sat in the front seat looking straight ahead and never said nothing, probably seen it plenty of times before and knows to keep her mouth shut. I wrote his plate number down in case I came across him again and then carried on, stunned at what had just happened. There a still plenty of morons out there who think the road is all theirs and no one should ever get in their way.

I turned off at the Little Waipa Reserve, looking at the possibility of camping there. There were a a few campervans parked there but no one camping. There was a toilet block with long-drop toilets but no drinking water source. I headed out on to the Waikato Trail and rode the section to Arapuni. I climbed up to the road in the township and found a drink fountain for the water I was keenly after. According to the Tour Aotearoa guide there was a backpacker accommodation here. I tried the cell phone number but no answer so I phoned Corina and got a landline number. I got through and found out the address, they had a bunkroom bed for $35 a night. I found my way there and met Lorraine and later Steve, an English couple who have settled here. Apart from the backpackers, Steve has a school bus run, and has a shuttle van for the demand from the nearby cycle trail and Lorraine does relief shifts as a nurse at Rotorua hospital. No one else was staying so I had the bunkroom to myself with bedding supplied and a clean near new bathroom to take a shower in.  I mentioned I didn’t have much to make for dinner so they offered to make me a burger as they were about to light the BBQ for their dinner.  A further pleasant feature was free Wifi so I was able to catch the weather forecast for the next few days; rain! And then there on dusk it began to lightly rain.

Cycle tourist - Darnyl

Afternoon excitement leaving Matamata

Backpacker accommodation in Arapuni

The reason we have Arapuni

Thursday 16^th – 86 km – Arapuni – Pureora Forest

I awoke to light rain and made breakfast; instant porridge and a can of sliced peaches washed down with a cup of black tea. The guide book gave an alternate road route for the next stage as the Waikato Trails were supposed to be difficult through this part for loaded bikes. Steve came out for a chat and to give some advice before heading out on his school bus run. I left after 8 am in two minds about what to do. I headed back to the Arapuni dam and the swingbridge for a look and then decided ‘what the hell give the trail a go’. The bike ride to Jones Landing was not too bad at all. After this, there was a road section climbing to the top of the Waotu Quarry. Up here it was all clouded in, I could hear the machinery in the quarry below but had no view of it. The track descends in a long series of switchbacks which wasn’t that bad to do with the loaded bike. From here it followed a lot of forestry roads before climbing up a steep trail before descending down steep stairs to Waipapa Dam. The rain was pretty persistent at this point and I was feeling chilled. After a short break I decided to follow Waipapa Road from here into Mangakino. Arriving in Mangakino I was feeling pretty shit with the rain seeping in everywhere. I pulled up under the verandah on the main street and found a good café to buy a pie, sandwich and coffee. I had got a call out to Corina earlier and there were now texts waiting for me to read, my sweet girl had organised accommodation at Pureora cabins for me. A key would be there waiting. This perked me up no end I had something to aim for. The official route takes further trails and back roads to Pureora via a spot that marks the centre of the North Island. I decided that with the wet weather the best route was the direct route straight up SH30. I found my way to the cabins about 4.30 pm and found the key in the fire hose reel cabinet outside Cabin 2. This was perfect; no one else there, a room with a fan heater and kitchen facilities and along the verandah was the bathroom with a hot high pressure shower.

I had a couple of cup of soups along with peanut butter on toast for dinner. There was no cellphone coverage but I made do with listening to National Radio on the phone. All the while it continued to rain. The only interruption to the evening was Moana the lady who Corina had organised the cabin turning up to see if I was ok. She was moving stuff from her car into Cabin 1 and said something about that she was staying there but then drove off and I never saw her return.

Grey wet day

You can't just ride through these stiles. There are an endless number of these on the North Island trails

Extra chores on a wet day

Friday 17^th – 100 km – Pureora Forest - Tauramanui

I awoke to steady rain so I got ready slowly. At times during the night it had rained quite hard. The Timber Trail was going to be hard work in the rain. I was starting to think the best option would be to just bike along the road to Tauramanui and hole up at some accommodation for the rest of the day and hope for better weather tomorrow. After a while I went and looked at the start of the Timber Trail and met an older guy who had come down from Matamata to take an e-bike through to booked accommodation at Black Fern Lodge.  I first needed to drop the key off and pay for the accommodation at Pa Harakeke 2.5 km away. On the way there the rain stopped and things started to look more optimistic so I rode back and headed out onto the Timber Trail. Another couple of guys were readying themselves in the car park and promised to catch me up. On to the trail there was no sign that the guy with the e-bike had set out.

The ride was enjoyable through the trees as it steadily climbs up through the forest. The rain came back lightly but didn’t seem that bad under the trees. I got to the highest point feeling good. The downhill from here is quite enjoyable though I was starting to feel a bit chilled. Coming out of the forest at the 27 km mark there is a shelter which I pulled into for a snack and to put on an extra layer. As soon as I got underway again the rain stopped and the sky started to brighten. I whipped through Piropiro Flats while spotting the construction going on to build a new lodge. I stopped at the Maramataha Bridge for a lunch break as the sun came out so I lay my clothes out to dry.

From here there is a short climb to the start of the tramway section. My memory from a previous ride through the Timber Trail was it seemed all downhill from here. I was disappointed to find the wet track was making it drag on my tyres and it wasn’t easy freewheeling downhill. In the cuttings the track was particularly rutted up and wet. Coming into one cutting on a downhill piece I noted how rutted it was and got myself in two minds between racing through and slowing down. The front wheel dropped in a hole and I tipped over the handlebars and face planted into the mud with the bike landing on top of me. I quickly thought, ‘you’re ok, get up’. I hopped back on the bike covered in mud and at the first stream cleaned myself up a bit. The real downhill part did come and the last 10 km to the road which includes the Ongarue Spiral is a real hoot.

I made it into Ongarue about 6 pm and started heading along Back Road to Taumaranui. The bike, the bags and myself were absolutely covered in mud. I spotted a water tank with a hose outside a farm building on the side of the road and stopped to clean myself up, to look at least halfway decent before getting into town. I couldn’t get phone signal until I hit the main road outside McDonalds. I called Corina to organise if the Taumaranui Holiday Park had a cabin available while I went into McDonalds  for a quick meal. Next I went to the supermarket just before it closed. Corina phoned back to tell me they were holding the last available cabin for me. I had to put the lights on to bike in the evening gloom as I biked through town and 5 km down the highway to the campground.

I was paying for a ‘family cabin’ and the cabins are in pairs. The adjacent cabin was occupied by a young couple who were permanents at the campground. There was a dog kennel on the porch and their door was open and they were sitting up in bed watch TV yelling at the dog to shut up while I sorted out my bike and wet gear. The girl came out to have a smoke and I found out they were staying there because they couldn’t find rental accommodation in Tauramanui. Every time they thought they had a place lined up some other prospective tenant would be get the preference. Her partner was working in forestry 75 km away in Raetihi for which he got a ride out to. She couldn’t work because she couldn’t drive as she had a history of seizures. Looking for a place to live in Raetihi wasn’t an option as ‘all they have got there is a Four Square’.

I spent a bit of time cleaning up, showering and washing my mud-caked biking clothes before making myself a meal in the kitchen and making a late night call to Corina while watching a rat scoot across the patio and into the scrub. My clothes were hanging all around my cabin, the fan heater kept tripping off, the TV was on loud in the room next door, giant moths that had got in earlier were banging around the room and these weird looking beetles were flipping all over the floor as I lay down to try and sleep.

Contemplating another wet day

Not so bad in under the trees

The sun came out for a lunch stop at Maramataha Bridge 

Ongarue Spiral part of the great downhill

End of the trail, covered in mud

Cabin at Tauramanui Holiday Park

Saturday 18^th – 113 km – Tauramanui - Jerusalem

It didn’t rain in the night as it was forecasted to do and I got away early about 8 am. I was supposed to head towards Whakahoro to follow the trails heading down to the Whanganui River. I have been there before and know how sticky the papa soils in this part of the country get after heavy rain so instead I intended to head along SH4 to Raetihi and then turn to follow the road down to Pipiriki to re-join the official Tour Aotearoa route. First there are some good climbs heading out of Taumaranui. I stopped at Café 39 South for coffee and scone before continuing the climb getting to National Park for another stop for a pie and coffee. From here is becomes generally downhill all the way to Raetihi. A nice highlight of this bit was humming along at 40kmh when the Northerner train came along side and the driver gave a toot on the train horn and a friendly wave.

I took a bit of a look around in Raetihi as this was the town my father was sent to and bonded to a job for the first two years after he immigrated to New Zealand back in the early 50s. At the time it was the government’s policy to spread immigrants around so they wouldn’t form ghettos. Raetihi seemed pretty quiet. From chatting to a group of teenage boys on the main street I found out most people were probably down at the A&P show a little way out of town. I stopped at the town’s only supermarket; the Four Square and stocked up on food. They had jandals for sale but not my size. My spare shoes, old running shoes were getting pretty rank from getting wet so I was keen to throw them out.

It was mostly downhill to Pipiriki and it looked like rain was threating. Seeing the river all swollen in flood with logs floating down I was relieved I hadn’t tried to go down to the Bridge to Nowhere. The cabins at Pipiriki were all booked out by road workers fixing up the endless flood damage along this road so the only option would be to camp but with the threating rain I chose to carry on to Jerusalem, Jerusalem or Hiruhārama has an old nun’s convent that has been turned into a backpackers. The last two remaining sisters now live in a small Lockwood cottage up behind the old building. I found one of them sweeping out the church and got the ok to stay. At the old convent there was only a German family staying in a family room and a couple of guys doing possum control work in the dorms so plenty of room to spread out. During the evening a thunderstorm came over and it poured down for a while before clearing just before dusk. After the rainstorm cleared I went for an enjoyable walk along the road before going back to the warm and muggy upstairs dorm room to sleep.

Makatote Viaduct

Worst in Raetihi

Best in Raetihi

High flow in Whanganui River

Church in Jerusalem

Backpackers in Jerusalem - the old convent

Ready made clothesline in the dorm rooms

Sunday 19^th – 130 km – Jerusalem - Huntersville

I got away about 8am in misty, warm and humid conditions. I enjoyed this section following the Whanganui River Road through the small settlements of Ranana (London), Matahiwi and Atene. My enjoyment with this section was tempered by the cage on my front derailleur breaking. I could still change chainrings but the small piece hanging on would touch the chain now and then making disconcerting noises. I stopped and taped up the break. I also noticed a few loose spokes that needed tightening. The road is in poor condition after floods from June 2015. There is a lot of road works going on including rebuilding retaining walls on the Gentle Annie climb where at the top you get a good view back up the river. It then descends down to SH4 where I stopped at Upokongaro at a café. A crap café, the proprietor was reluctant to fill my drinking bottles (would only do one). The scone I ordered was only a half of the ones on display.  And to confirm it wasn’t just me, some guys who came in on bikes began complaining about what they ended up with.

As you come into Whanganui there is a cycleway that follows the bank of the river. Getting into town, I stopped at The Warehouse for a pair of two dollar jandals so I could throw out by stinking shoes. After shoe shopping I went to the supermarket to buy food for lunch. Whanganui has a cool secret, a tunnel that leads to a lift that takes you to the top of a Durie Hill that overlooks the town. Here I enjoyed eating my lunch in the warm sun before heading off along back roads to Hunterville. Soon I found I was heading towards these ominous looking dark clouds and sure enough; in rolled a thunderstorm as I took shelter in a woolshed. It carried on raining on and off as I biked into Hunterville. After buying takeaways for dinner I found accommodation at the Station Hotel. After a shower I went into the bar for a beer and there was no sleep until the drunks outside my window stopped arguing sometime after midnight and drove home.

Leaving Jerusalem

Broken derailleur cage

View from top of Gentle Annie looking back up Whanganui River

View from Durie Hill, Whanganui

Accommodation at a classic kiwi country pub Hunterville

Monday 20^th – 150 km – Huntersville – Palmerston North

The hotel manager had given me the key to the back door so could go inside to make breakfast. They have a couple of boxer dogs that keep guard over the yard that followed me everywhere I went. I got away about 8.30am and at last the weather was promising to become settled. The route was sending me north up SH1 at first. I passed a turn-off to Highway 54 a tempting shortcut that would have taken me to Palmerston North via Fielding. Instead I faithfully followed the official route up and down mostly gravel back roads through localities like Rangiwhahia and Apiti. At the 80 km mark I was as close to Palmerston North as when I started in Hunterville. There were no shops or cafes open and I didn’t find the Waterford Café that is located a few km before Ashurst. I was not happy with that day. After 140 km I finally got to stop at a small supermarket in Ashurst and bought a pie and drink and gave my sore feet a bit of a rest. From here I followed the river trail in Palmerston North though it does veer back on the highway for a bit in the middle. I found a supermarket and then used the GPS to find the holiday park by using the address of the place that Corina had given me. The ‘open street map’ I have for the GPS doesn’t have a search for campgrounds. Arriving at the campground I found out there were no cabins available so the tent got unstrapped from my bike for the first time. Across from me was a South African family who had moved down from Auckland. They were paying 200 dollars a week to stay in a tent at the campground as this seemed better to them than paying a weekly rent of $500 for a suitable house.

Manawatu back blocks - endless

First night in the tent

Tuesday 21^st - 120 km – Palmerston North - Masterton

I woke up to find there was plenty of condensation in the tent even though I had kept the fly open. It wasn’t going to dry before getting away so I just folded it up wet.  The weather was promising to be fine and I was underway around 8.30 am heading for the Pahiatua Track into the Wairarapa. It is an easy climb to the top and then a nice downhill to Pahiatua where I stopped for a coffee and pie. From here on to Eketahuna using some back roads for another café stop. The route down to Masterton involved a few gravel back roads. As I got into town I turned left out passed the hospital to head out to Peter and Maria’s place. I had put their address in the GPS but something was not right with the address location and I failed to recognise their place as I went by and did an extra 5 km up the road. I finally found Peter at home, up the back cutting up firewood from some trees he had recently cut down. We had a couple of beers in the warm sun before I took a shower and he finished his work. Maria came home and cooked a lovely dinner and we stayed up late catching up.

Every town has got have something - Eketahuna's kiwi

Peter and Maria's accommodation house

Wednesday 22^nd – 120 km – Masterton – Bluebridge Ferry

I got up early, at the same time as Peter and got underway on a nice fine day. I was supposed to take back roads to Martinborough and then turn towards Featherson but I compromised and took back roads to Greytown and then down SH2 to Featherson. I had a coffee and scone as the only customer of the first café I came to in the town. From here I grabbed a few things at the supermarket before heading out to Cross Creek. The climb up the Rimutaka Incline Rail Trail went relatively easy. There are a few tunnels to go through. The one at the top definitely needs you to have lights on. I stopped at the summit shelter for lunch. I anticipated a good downhill but the gradient wasn’t steep enough to counter what proved to be a stiff headwind. The Hutt River trails start out a bit disjointed around Upper Hutt but move to a more continuous path of smooth asphalt closer to Lower Hutt. The northerly was now proving to be a good tailwind zipping me along. The only hazards were people walking with their dogs off their leashes. I had arranged to go to my sister and brother-in-law’s place for dinner; Rikki and Derek who live out in Wainuiomata. My initial idea was to ride into Wellington and meet Derek at his workplace on the wharves and catch a ride home with him. But through an earlier phone call I learnt he hadn’t taken his work van in that day so at Petone I turned off and climbed up over the Wainuiomata hill to get my free dinner.  Later in the evening Derek dropped me at the Bluebridge ferry terminal. I was booked on the 2.30am sailing with a cabin. For this you get to board earlier and then get to sleep before it sets sail. The boarding was a bit delayed so I didn’t get on until after midnight. I got to sleep for only a few hours before being woken by a loudspeaker message at 5.20 am. I got ready by taking a shower and getting into my biking clothes and disembarked at 6 am feeling fresh for another day’s biking.

Beautiful day to bike the Rimutaka Incline

Looking forward to a downhill but the headwind cancelled out the gradient

Zipping along the Hutt River with a tailwind

Honest climb to the top of the Wainuiomata hill

Cabin on the Bluebridge ferry

Thursday 23^rd – 150 km- Bluebridge Ferry – Molesworth Campsite

It was still dark when I got off the ferry so I didn’t fancy biking down SH1 yet with all the cars and trucks coming off the ferry. So I found a bakery open, the Village Bakkerij and had coffee and bacon and egg pie for breakfast before running the gauntlet down SH1 to Blenheim arriving as the sun came up. In Blenheim I went to a supermarket and stocked up with a couple days of food before heading out of town on Taylors Pass Road. This road turns to gravel as it climbs towards the pass. I was mostly in the shade on what was becoming a warm day. Down the other side the road joins the Awatere Valley Road. Initially it is sealed as it goes through vineyards but then it becomes interspersed with sections of gravel before it eventually stays gravel, horrible corrugated gravel for the rest of trip. There are few good climbs along this road. I stopped near the top of a climb in a shady gully with a creek to eat some lunch. About 3pm I arrived at the spot where a big slip had closed the road for two months after the Kaikoura earthquake. There were road workers still working on this stretch of road. The biggest climb of the day was Upcot Saddle. Being a steep gradient and by now feeling knackered I hopped off the bike and walked. A little dog came running out of the scrub on the side of the road. This dog then continued to follow me to the top of the saddle even running ahead as I got on my bike. The dog had a collar on so must have been left behind by someone. I didn’t know what to do with it. I tried giving it water thinking it may be thirsty. At the top was a big downhill. The dog wasn’t going to keep up so it was ‘good bye dog’ and off I went. Hopefully its owners would backtrack and find it ok

I pushed on into the evening and arrived at the DOC campsite at Molesworth about 7.30pm. At the campsite there were another two cycle tourists in a tent looking very shattered and an older couple in a campervan. I set up my tent next to a picnic table close to the campervan. While setting up the tent, the lady comes out for a chat and within a few minutes I am in their campervan getting water boiled for my dinner and subsequently many cups of tea. They are a retired couple who have a home in Auckland but spend a fair part of the year travelling NZ in their campervan. It was very nice that they looked after me

The road in front of mee

Freedom camping mess

The location of the earthquake slip that closed Awatere Valley Road for two months

Goodbye dog. I hope your owner came back for you

Finally reached Molesworth, campground around the corner

I was anticipating cold food for dinner until invited into the campervan

Friday 24^th – 85 km – Molesworth campsite – Hanmer Springs

Friday was another beautiful day but freezing cold morning as I crawled out of my tent that was well coated inside with condensation. While getting dressed the DOC warden came over to see if I was the guy she was expecting to have arrived from Acheron. No one is supposed to camp between here and Acheron. She then went off to take the other two cyclists up to the top of Ward Pass in a DOC ute and probably go looking for the missing cyclist. I had my breakfast in the relative warmth of the campervan. The couple in the campervan then also left. I waited until the sun came down to my tent before packing up but the tent even then it was still soaking with condensation.  I got underway but just passed the lookout to Molesworth I was held up by a young female shepherd moving a flock of sheep along the road. I had always thought there was no sheep on Molesworth Station and she confirmed I was right. She was from nearby Mueller Station and was just moving this mob to some grazing they had inside Molesworth. The climb up Ward Pass went easily. After descending down the other side I met Bram, the missing cyclist. He was a Dutch tourist who bought a bike and panniers in Christchurch and was biking up to Hamilton. He had way too much gear with him which left him pushing his bike with the slightest of gradient. A puncture had slowed him down so he never made the 60 km from Acheron the day before. 

The Molesworth is beautiful but shit the gravel road was rough going with all the corrugations. There appeared to be a lot of traffic; more traffic than normal as it seems many people are using it as a shortcut between Hanmer Springs and Blenheim rather than going via Lewis Pass as SH1 is closed due to earthquake damage.  I stopped at a recently built shelter for a lunch break having only cereal bars and stale date scones left. The shelter sits in a scenic spot looking back up the river. Further along I caught up with the two cyclists from the campground who had been dropped of at the top of Ward Pass also pushing their bikes uphill with way too much gear. It confirmed to me that my lightweight setup was proof of less is best. After a rest in the shade at Acheron I headed into what had become a strong headwind for the stretch along the Clarence River. I decided to turn-off and take the rougher and steeper but shorter route over Jollies Pass. It wasn’t too bad but there was no cell phone coverage at the top so I had to wait until I had bounced and clattered my way down to the bottom before phoning through to Corina to come pick me up. Ideally I should take another day and bike all the way home to Christchurch but there was a big family get-together planned for the following day and didn’t want to arrive for that all shattered. Also SH7 was now an extra busy road with the closure of SH1 north of Kaikoura and I had biked it one other time and hadn’t enjoyed all the heavy traffic.

I biked into a busy Hanmer Springs on a warm afternoon. I bought an ice cream and sat down to check my phone. There was a message from a work colleague, Hamish ‘Hey Andre I am camping in Hanmer for a few days drop by if you want’. So the trip ended with me having a couple of beers and nibbles with Hamish and his family. I also had time for a shower (drying myself with a big bath towel instead of a weight conscious micro towel) while waiting for Corina to come pick me up. Thanks Hamish

Waited for the sun to come up before stating out

Sheep on Molesworth

Bram has way too much gear

Wide open spaces of Molesworth from one of the new shelters

The shortcut to Hanmer Springs

Finished