Category Archives: national park

bikepacking, bikes, GPS, national park, NZ

Heaphy Day

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Twas worth waiting for the weather, leaving the campground in the dark a cracker of a day dawned. Using the Heaphy Track as my gateway to the West Coast, I hoped to ride to and through it in the day. First there was fifty-odd kilometres of gentle road riding, but the big question was how much snow would be on the track? With a biking curfew during darkness (due to giant land snails, I kid you not), would I get off the track in time or be forced to overnight in a hut or campground? With form of riding the whole trail there and back in two short days around winter solstice, I figured I could easily start at nine in the morning and ride through in daylight – if the snow was kind.

The highway riding was peaceful and a gentle start to the day. Delayed as I couldn’t go past someone parked on a sketchy shoulder struggling to change a car tyre, I started to slip behind the vague schedule. But it was so lovely riding, there were no worries there.

Turning inland, I retraced my path back from the third corner trying to gauge just how much snow remained below 900 m. It was far more pleasant than the driving rain of three days before.

I took the gravel option over Mackay Pass that I’d skipped on the weekend (knowing I would come back for it) – it was worth the little extra climbing. Of course I had time to dive off route and check out a historic bridge and some falls – when was I going to be back?

I shouldn’t have been surprised to see another bikepacker approach as I neared Brown Hut and the start of the track. Into the only real climb of the day, I soon passed another bikepacker going my way – on a tour the length of the country, he was far more laden than most but having just as grand a time. Occasional glimpses through the dense bush afforded views of near hills lightly dusted with snow. At about 500 m snow started appearing trailside and as it gradually built, it was still easily rideable – until 800 m and then it just became easier to walk. Firm and dry it was really easy pushing over the snow, and on such a brilliant day it was no hardship.

A short walk for another view.

I already miss being able to fill bottles from the multitudes of clean West Coast streams.

Reaching the high point took two and a half hours; with gravity to assist, the run down to Perry Saddle hut was easily rideable. Following lunch in snowy solitude, the descent towards Gouland Downs was fun in the snow. More exposed to the sun here, it certainly was a soaking section. More engaging riding followed, especially the drop towards Gouland Hut, where I eventually caught up to a few groups of hikers soaking up the sun over lunch. More friendly chat before I pressed on.

Saxon Hut and more hikers to chat to, including one with a thirty-plus year old macpac pack – classic. Great to see so many families out in the school holidays enjoying the national park. Twists and turns and a smaller climb took me to James MacKay hut; even more pleasing to see a whole family out bikepacking. Oh my, the descent to Lewis Hut.. Three-quarters of an hour of twisting and turning losing altitude the whole time (save any stream crossings), the track is much improved from the big upgrade that was in progress five years ago. I clawed back some distance in short time with the big drop to sea level, various averages playing through my head – I was still confident I’d beat the curfew.

Into the coastal section, the change from snowy bush to riding through a sub-tropical rainforest was complete. Sea level it may have been, but it certainly was lumpy as the trail kept climbing around small bluffs and heading inland and up to cross raging streams. Getting to the end of a long day, all those little pinches were doing a number on me. But, the views!

One last hundred metre climb and down to the trailhead it was – leaving these views behind.

Beating darkness by almost two hours meant the pub was still pretty full and the kitchen open when I arrived an hour later. Well fed, I set off into the gathering dark to be warmly welcomed by Mark and Jenny – good friends of my sister. Running out of superlatives for the day, saying I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, the scenery and the challenge of it will have to suffice. It would have been nice to have had more time to explore further and more slowly, but a lot of the slack in my two weeks had been eaten up. Never mind, more reasons to return sooner.

around home, bikepacking, bikes, GPS, national park, NZ

HBOP 2 – Waihi Rd to Whirinaki via Moerangi Track

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A brisk morning greeted us, thankfully there were some rollers to warm us up a tad before dropping down to cross the Waikaretakehe and head towards the lake. Clouding over as we reached Piripaua power station – the lower of three in the scheme. Surprised again to show Pete a new road, we got off the main road and climbed gravel up to the quaint dam town of Tuai.

Across Lake Whakamarino to the Tuai power station.

Remembering my first ride through here, I was sure we could avoid the sealed section of Lake Rd and ascend beside the penstocks.

Over twenty percent, it wasn’t the easy option – but it was quiet.

It flattened out ever so slightly.

Finding the upper power station, Kaitawa, I figured we’d done enough pushing – heading for the main road it was for the last climbing up to Lake Waikaremoana. The precipitation ranged from mist to mizzle to drizzle, we arrived at the average store well in time for mid-morning pies – even if we had to microwave them ourselves. Still a little surprised to be riding mid Hawke’s Bay summer in rain and 10ºC, we were making good time and should make it to cafe at Ruatahuna before the two o’clock closure.

The moisture did at least damp the dust on the long stretch of gravel – and keep the traffic volumes low. It really was quite pleasant, even if we didn’t see quite as much as usual – the sights were different.

Across Whanganui Inlet

Leaving the lake and heading north.

I wouldn’t have been too surprised if that sign proved correct.

A longer climb took us up to the watershed and deposited us in the other Bay – the Bay of my childhood, Bay of Plenty. As we hoped, dropping quickly we soon left the clouds behind and found some warmth – and an open cafe. The menu was a bit restricted due to illness, but the frybread fish burger went down very easily – along with a pot of tea.

Is that the fish or the frybread?

Heading for the Moerangi Track and perhaps a night in a backcountry hut, we stocked up a little at the store before a pleasant stretch alongside the upper Whakatane River. I do so enjoy riding this area and each time piecing a little bit more of the geography together in my mind. Disavowing some poor lost young fullas that they were on the way to Whakatane, they soon turned and passed us again. Another climb and descent over, we headed up Okahu Rd towards the trailhead. The sudden increase in gradient at the end of the road was not as long as I remembered and by three-thirty we were heading into thirty-five kilometres of Grade 4 singletrack. I was hopeful we’d get out by dark, but a lot would depend on trail condition.

Ever so slightly more rugged gravel road riding.

Not quite looking up in time…

At the top of the first climb, back in Hawke’s Bay and admiring the ferns.

A nice section led us over ever-skinnier bridges, some rideable, some not, and down to Skips Hut.

Where it promptly began to rain again.

Up and over another couple of ridges, it was nice to be out in the late afternoon sun at Roger’s Hut.

Pete emerging from the mature native forest.

The next section to Moerangi Hut climbed steadily, a bit more technical, most was rideable but at times it made more sense to push one’s bike a little. Another break in the sun, snacking, at the hut was called for before the concerted spin and push to the high point of the track. Enjoyable as the long, bumpy descent is – maybe one day I’ll do it on an unloaded full-suspension bike. Occasional breaks in the forest cover gave glimpses of more bush and forest stretching to distant landmarks as the light faded. Just lovely.

At the far trail end by eight o’clock, three and a half hours of riding time with a loaded bike seemed quite reasonable. I was hoping whoever was at the Recreation Camp ten kilometres down a gravel road would take kindly to two smelly bikepackers invading and requesting a small patch of the giant lawn to camp on. The group of five families were lovely and plied us with tea, marshmallows to toast on the fire and a gazebo to sleep in – all we had to offer were, astonishing to them, tales of our day’s ride.

What a day it was too – not an easy day by any stretch (there were a few hills), but with plenty to see and some good breaks in the weather most enjoyable to be out exploring.

family, friends, hiking, national park, NZ, snow

Mt Taranaki

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I had planned to break the five and half hour drive after work to New Plymouth with a stay overnight halfway. But the weather window was good and someone decided that Friday was the day to summit Mt Taranaki – I could hardly miss out on such an adventure and new experiences with dear family and friends. I’ve climbed higher peaks, even in the North Island, but never in winter through such snow and ice cover. So I was pleased to arrive safely in New Plymouth not too tired.

Leaving the parking lot at the North Egmont Visitor Centre, it was just on sunrise and we were treated to the mountain being bathed in a wonderful glow.

The clear skies were also pleasing to see.

A relatively steep double-track road (used to service the transmission tower we reached just before donning our crampons) took us through dense native forest. Gnarled old trees, branches and foliage lost as the mountain stood above.

I was taken with the difference and large crown of the cabbage trees – most unusual compared to the ones I usually see.

As the snow layer thickened, we reach an alpine club hut. A little salubrious – electricity, flush toilets and swipe card access. Crampons were fitted to my boots (and everyone else’s, but it wasn’t unusual for Adele, James & Dan), snacks taken on, sunscreen applied and we were off into the snow and ice.

It took a little to get used to walking around with big spikes attached to one’s feet. Using the handle of an ice axe as a walking pole, on the uphill side of the traverses, was more difficult to get a rhythm going with. Switching hands through the leash (it doesn’t pay to lose an ice axe down the slope) every time we switched directions also required more concentration than simply walking.

After a short section of quite narrow snow between rocks and a drop (great introduction), our route opened into a nice wide gully.

Apparently it was time for me to learn to “self-arrest”. Which basically involved throwing oneself down the hill, getting a bit of a slide going on (keep your feet up to prevent snagging them) and leveraging the ice axe into the snow to stop the descent to certain peril. Brilliant. Two such attempts were enough.

Steep enough for this novice.

We watched a large layer of cloud slowly approach us from the east and smaller clouds blew on top of us and soon fled. It was a surprisingly calm day for the most part. Occasionally we were exposed to a bit of a southerly, but conditions were generally benign. Small patches of white-out conditions had us following the poled route.

Due to my inexperience it had been decided we’d take the easiest, least interesting route up. It was plenty interesting for me but – constant thought of where one was stepping, trying to get as much contact between crampons and snow, driving ice axe in. So much so, that I had to stop to admire the view, rather than looking aimlessly while walking. There were four others that we shared the walk up with – everyone taking slightly different routes up.

Approaching the crater, the ice formations became larger, more unusual and at times surreal.

In the crater, the surface turned from snow to lumpy, knobby ice.

It looked rather windswept. While we were still bathed in sun, a layer of cloud encircled the lower reaches of the mountain.

Out of the crater, one last pitch up to the summit. Here the ice was in much larger lumps, some of them shattered when bearing weight, others didn’t – they all looked potential ankle breakers though.

Five hours after setting off, we had ascended 1500 metres and enjoyed a bit of time on the rather flat and, in this case, calm summit.

Dropping back down to the crater, we lunched in the sun before starting the descent. Back on the snow, it took a little while to get any sort of technique to go at a decent pace – this involved moving from walking across the face using the whole sole of the foot to turning to walk down the steep slope and relying on one’s heels to dig in. It worked, until it was too steep and I became more faint of heart.

The weather closed in again, and after two hours of slow descent (oh for skis) I think I was starting to get a bit fatigued. So repetitive…

One of the other parties inadvertently followed us down – which would have been OK, except we were not going back to the hut where they were heading. As the visibility vanished, we cut back to the poled route so that they did not get lost. Parting ways just before the hut, we missed a bit of the track out by taking a narrow gully – we tried sliding down, sans sleds, but it was rather bumpy.

Back on the access track – golly it got steep, no wonder it was paved in part.

Things cleared a enough to admire a bit more of the scenery.

My legs held out enough to make it back to the car. But how I would pay for it the following days – barely able to get up and simply walk, my quadriceps have never felt so tight. All worth it though – a fantastic day out learning new things, going new places with great people.

around home, Aus, bikepacking, bikes, family, friends, MTB, national park

The Christmas Letter 2016

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Once again, I try to look back on the year. 2016 has definitely been momentous in many ways and on the whole, another excellent year. I’m still loving life in Napier, my work is great overall, having my own house is fantastic and I’m riding bikes plenty (with twelve days to go, I’m rapidly closing in on 10,000 km for the year – easily my biggest year ever; half of that is commuting to work).

The year started off with a couple of overnight bikepacking trips as some form of light training. This one riding the gravel road from Wairoa past Lake Waikaremoana towards Rotorua.

I also persuaded Steve to join me on a great local ride to Everett’s Campsite for another overnighter. The hills back there are well worth seeing and riding.

That and commuting to work was basically my preparation for my Tour Aotearoa attempt. Mum & Dad came up to Napier and dropped me off at Cape Reinga – the goal being to ride 3000 km to Bluff self-supported on a new route that was a mixture of as many cycle trails and backroads as possible (two-hundred odd others were also doing this). It was a grand adventure and I was thrilled with all I saw, the experiences I had and how I rode – finishing two days sooner than I needed to, in sixteen days, overcoming some horrendous weather and slight illness to do so.

Crossing the Hokianga to Rawene – I was feeling far less than brilliant and rested/was sick for a couple of hours in the heat. I got better.

The Timber Trail in the Central North Island was a highlight, even in the early morning mist. I must return.

Much to my surprise, my favourite day was through northern Manawatu. So close to where I went to university – yet I’d never been there, the rural landscape was sensational. The hilly gravel roads were excellent too.

Another highlight was staying overnight in the remote old gold mining area of Big River; even better because best-sister Adele joined me for a couple of days.

The West Coast Wilderness Trail is also on the must-return-to list, as it’s supposed to be beautiful – but it sparked the start of about four-hundred kilometres of rain for me, so I didn’t see much.

After freezing riding up the Cardrona Valley, being blown by a storm to Mossburn and then battling the same storm (reduced to pushing my bike alongside a flat highway into 120 km/hr winds) I was well pleased and satisfied to finish in 16.1 days.

It took quite some time to recover from that; I kept riding to work, but I was eating five meals a day for weeks afterwards – on the ride, I lost about four kilograms that I didn’t really have spare!

My winter break was a week down in Central Otago for Adele & James’s wedding. A fantastic time of family, friends, celebration, beautiful scenery and good food. I loved it.

Perhaps my only bikepacking event for this season, was a very enjoyable four days on backroads around Rotorua. It was fascinating returning to an area near where I grew up and seeing it from the different perspectives that a bike and being older give.

Still recovering from 550 km of riding in four days, came the sudden (but ultimately unsurprising) news of the passing of my grandfather (the last of my grandparents to go). Thus set in motion a whirlwind November. One weekend I was in Sydney for the funeral (it went as well as could be expected), then back to work for a blur of a week, before being back in Australia the next weekend for a long planned trip seeing best-friends from Canada (who were back for a family wedding). A month after all that, it still looms large.

We stayed at Arapiles, where Adele joined me for the renowned rock-climbing (it was quite a family & friends month). I almost popped my other shoulder and swore off rock-climbing forever. I didn’t sleep much camping in the west-Victorian weather, but it was a great trip.

I did, of course, take a bike and managed a great day’s gravel riding in Grampians National Park.

Later this week I head south for two weeks with my family – I’m really looking forward to it. While generally quiet, which is how I tend to like it, 2016 has proved to have its share of momentous occasions and has been one of the best yet. I’m eagerly looking forward to next year and seeing what it holds. There are no fixed plans, but it promises to be another great year in Hawke’s Bay, exploring a little further afield, work will be busy and challenging, and I sure hope for plenty of riding, in different places, with whoever will come along for it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – do come and visit Napier if you’re so inclined.