57 Photos
Touring the top of the South – Lyell to Picton
Welcoming in 2024 with a Christmas holiday 'training tour' around the top of the South Island, mixing up old favourites and a few new sections.
Bike
Bike
The route
As per usual plans were being made alongside last-minute packing. In the Christmas flurry I'd sketched a rough route, but it was longer than I really wanted it to be. Yes, it was meant to be a training ride, but it was also a holiday, so a fine balance needed to be struck over the 10-day trip.
Fortunately, it all fell into place – Karen and Tony were in Blenheim and keen to ride an Old Ghost loop and could drive us all to Lyell (skipping the first part of our loop), and if we did that Brian was keen to join too. We just needed to get there in time for a brief weather window, which meant a ferry change to one earlier that day, and an evening blast from Picton to Blenheim. After the Old Ghost loop, Andy and I would carry on by ourselves, revisiting the Hope Kiwi Track which is part of the Tour Te Waipounamu race (which was exactly one month away), then up to Hanmer Springs and the Molesworth, with a few options from there back to Picton.
Day 1: Lyell to Seddonville on the Old Ghost Road
It's pretty rare for Andy and I to ride with others, especially when we're training for something, so it was a real treat to have a bike gang and get to spend a few days with these folks. They also had a high tolerance for Tour Te Waipounamu related chat, given Brian organises the race, Karen, Brian, Andy and I were all going to be racing, and Tony raced the first edition!
After the drive, coffee stop, gear sorting and chit chat, it was 10.30am when we finally hit the trail. It was a more-leisurely-than-intended start given we were hoping to make the Seddonville pub for dinner, not that there seemed to be clear hours for that. Andy and I were relying on it actually, having not brought much backup food for dinner.
We rode at a good but social pace. The weather was decent, and although the clouds rolled in along the tops, we caught plenty of great views. This was our third time through the Old Ghost and it blows me away every time, so much fun! We're already planning the next visit.
The descent was a blast and we didn't stop much. Once down in the Mokihinui River Valley with its clouds of blood thirsty sandflies we stopped even less. On nearing the end Andy and Brian raced ahead to the pub incase they were tempted to close early. The rest of us rolled in a few minutes later, around 7.30, and had plenty of time for a few rounds of food and refreshments before heading down the road to the holiday park for the night.
Bike
Day 2: Seddonville to Murchison via the Denniston Plateau
We'd made no plans for the morning other than to get up when we felt like it. Brian didn't realise that for Andy and I that's well after sunrise, had been up for hours, and was close to dragging us from the tent so we could hit the road.
The morning was punctuated with shop and cafe stops (The Scullery in Waimangaroa was a great find), then a bit of sightseeing up at the old Denniston mine, so it really was feeling much more like holiday pace.
The 'Old Ghost Roundabout' is a classic bikepacking loop, but we'd never made it through the Denniston Plateau part before. A previous plan had been foiled by rain, and a few dry days are needed before attempting the crossing of the Mackley River.
We saw one other bikepacker all day, who took one look at us and asked 'Are you training for the Tour Te Waipounamu or something?' Why yes, we sure are.
The descents were steep, loose and had the brakes squealing. Fortunately, the river crossing was fine – thigh deep and flowing very gently – because it wouldn't be fun to have to reverse out at this point.
The pinchy climbs continued, so much so that a bit of bike carry practice took place. I hadn't expected it to feel harder than the previous day, but with used legs and steeper terrain, it felt like a solid effort.
We popped back out on SH6 where it was a short dash back to Lyell. We said our goodbyes as the others returned to their cars, and Andy and I rode on to Murchison. They were all driving that way, but it felt like a bad look to ask for a lift on a training ride, especially in Brian's presence!
Bike
Day 3: Murchison to Hope Halfway Hut
We took a rest day in Murchison to sit out the rain, which never got as bad as forecast. Even though it had only been two days I was happy to have a lazy one filled with snacks and a visit to the excellent Tutaki Bakery caravan before carrying on.
A morning downpour delayed our start but things cleared up as we followed the Matakitaki River south. A nice quiet road, it gets more beautiful as you climb up to Maruia Saddle. It might be New Zealand's finest stretch of gravel riding, although that would be rivaled a few days later.
The descent always flies by way too fast and then it's inevitable highway for a while, though the lovely West Bank Road is a welcome reprieve before Springs Junction. We'd be visiting the gas station here soon on the race, so spent a while scoping the resupply options and testing pie and coffee milk flavours.
More highway took us over Lewis Pass. It's a beautiful area but there's a limit to how much I can enjoy such a busy stretch of road. The tailwind was brilliant though.
Windy Point marks the turnoff from the highway onto the Hope Kiwi Track. This is part of the Te Araroa hiking trail, and while not officially a biking trail, it is allowed and has been a destination for old-school backcountry mountain bike trips for many years. It's where the Tour Te Waipounamu route goes from being a bike ride to a bit more of an adventure race, with awkward swing bridges, roots and rocky creeks, technical riding and technical not-riding. There's plenty of bike carrying on the Tour Te Waipounamu, but the Hope Kiwi demands more full-body contortion than the other sections, hence coming for a practice run. I did spend a lot of time wondering whether it was really that necessary to remind myself how physical this section was.
I was pleasantly surprised how quickly we made it to the hut, and we briefly considered carrying on to Hope Kiwi Lodge, but decided to relax and had some good chats with the little bubble of Te Araroa hikers who were mostly opting to tent. We chose the hut, knowing heavy rain was due overnight.
Bike
Day 4: Hope Halfway Hut to Lake Sumner camp
The rain did indeed pour heavily for several hours in the night and morning, so we dawdled in the mornng till it passed. It would end up raining on us for a good portion of the day anyway, though the photos suggest otherwise.
The section to Hope Kiwi Lodge gets even more awkward, with deep bogs, puzzling bridges, treefall and steep clambers to negotiate. It's a relief to emerge onto the open flat sections, where you can stay on your bike for whole kilometers at a time.
The trails were sodden, making the usually technical riding a bit treacherous with slick roots and rocks. It was slow going but we eventually reached Lake Sumner and lumpy river flats, where just the final obstacle of the Hurunui swingbridge remained. I'd seen this on the TTW in 2022 and was relieved not to have to use it. The river is usually fine to ford, but was a raging torrent after the rain. Standing at the base of the bridge I saw no option but to take the wheels off to be able to make it up the 45 degree approach, and through the narrow 'doorway'. Sharp wires clawed at clothes and pedals all the way across just to keep things awkward. Andy managed to take his across in one trip, though getting onto the main bridge took a couple of attempts. In hindsight just taking the front wheel off to get that end high enough would have sufficed.
We'd intended to head up river to Hurunui hut to hang out with the hikers from the previous night, but after starting up the awkward hiking trail to get there we abandoned it in favour of seeking out a quiet camp spot. Soon an ideal spot was found on the lake edge, and it even had a toilet. It wasn't late, but we were keen to spend the time up here rather than carrying on back to the land of cars and busier campsites.
Bike
Day 5: Lake Sumner camp to Hanmer Springs
2024 started with a bang. Coffee, sunshine, views and a glorious stretch of riding around the edges of Lake Sumner, Loch Katrine and Lake Taylor. With a raging tailwind to boot. Bliss!
The first half of the day was spectacular, and the second was mostly just bridging the gap to the next mountains, via the straight, flat roads of the Canterbury Plains. Culverden provided some refreshments and real food, and a busy stretch on SH7 followed to get to Hanmer Springs.
The bikes were meant to be feeling pretty dialed for Tour Te Waipounamu by now, but they were both making some sad sounds, and Andy's sounded especially horrific. Given it's hard to fix random bike noises we pulled over so Andy could have a tinker, then ride on a bit to test it. Long story short the bike ended up in an even sadder state, and he accepted a ride for the final 10kms to a campground in Hanmer while I rode and met him there. Fortunately things were pieced back together by the time I caught up, and while not sounding happy, it was rolling ok.
Bike
Day 6: Hanmer Springs to Blairich Reserve via the Molesworth
I'd been getting anxious that despite some good touring days it had been way too long since I'd done a decently long day in the saddle, say 10+ hours, and I figured today was my chance. We hit the road around 7.30 but the day was already heating up on the grunty climb up Jollies Pass, and would continue to slow roast us all through the Molesworth. How is it always so damn hot there?
The headwind picked up in the early afternoon. There aren't so many roads where you largely head in the same direction for close to 100km, but the Molesworth is one such place and the headwind stayed with us for the rest of the day. It was was a beautiful ride, but it was time to get the music on to help the legs keep turning.
We reached the pavement as the sun was setting, and made it to Blairich Reserve just as it was getting dark, after 10.5 hours on the move. It's not the most inspirational camping spot, but it did the trick and we had some nice chats with an impressive family of six cycling in the opposite direction. After the layers of sweat, dust and sunscreen were attacked with an inadequate wet wipe I could finally lie down.
Bike
Day 7: Blairich Reserve to Quartz Creek with some Blenheim mooching
It was a quick dash to Blenheim in the morning where we visited a favourite cafe then went on a tour of bike shops to find Andy a new bottom bracket. He talked one into letting him use their workshop and it all seemed a great success. That was until he pedalled down the road and found that wasn't the source of the sad sounds after all and it must have been the hub.
A rest day and room in Blenheim for a shower, laundry and night on the town (by that I mean some nice food) was debated, but we opted to embrace the feral dirtbag life. Many treats were bought at the supermarket and we headed towards the Wakamarina track. With the usual route through Onamalutu closed, we were going the longer way via Bartlett's Creek. Quartz Creek was just before the start of the climb so we camped there and did manage some laundry and the briefest splash before the sandflies swarmed.
Bike
Day 8: Quartz Creek to Davies Bay on the Wakamarina track
The morning's gravel climb took us up to about 600m where the singletrack of the Wakamarina starts. The ground had a thick layer of beech leaves and sticks making it really soft and slow, and we wondered if it was a mast year or the trail just hadn't seen as much use with the road closure.
The first descent has lots of fun riding, but also lots of on and off to push through awkward rocky sections. Then it's a decent push up again, before the main descent, full of tight switchbacks. I found the descent more of a struggle than last time, losing my confidence after a bit of a tumble, and longed for my unloaded full suss and full dropper post.
We stopped for a snack and cold drinks at the Canvastown pub where the locals were getting stuck into the pints and pokies, and we were soon on our way again.
Down the road in Havelock, we again looked at maybe getting a room for that sweet, coveted shower, but there wasn't much around so we settled for a meal. The waitress at the Mussel Pot cafe in Havelock looked flustered when we arrived and asked if we had a booking, exclaiming they were extremely busy and she wasn't sure if they could seat us. We looked around, perplexed, at the half dozen people and 20 or so empty tables, and reassured her we'd be swift. We inhaled some mussels and garlic bread then pootled on, taking in parts of the Link track and shortcutting a few bits on the road.
Davies Bay is just a few kilometers into the Queen Charlotte Track past Anakiwa has become a bit of a go-to spot for us on rides around here, even when we're not riding the QCT. It's always nice to get away from the busier, road-accessible camps.
Almost two years ago to the day we'd camped here on a training tour for the 2022 Tour Te Waipounamu. It was amazing to see the difference – That time it had been nearly deserted, even in peak holiday time, as the borders were still closed. This time a dozen or more little tents of bikers and hikers dotted the shoreline.
Bike
Day 9: Davies Bay to Picton – home time
We had most of the day before our afternoon ferry, and not too far to ride back to Picton. I'd thought we might ride a little of the Queen Charlotte Track in and out, or loop around on the road, but the week caught up with us and we were both a little lacking in motivation so we enjoyed a long, lazy morning at Davies Bay instead.
It was cloudy but not raining, at least not until we left. At that point it decided to bucket down, absolutely drenching us on the ride back. We arrived sodden in Picton, still with hours before the ferry. The 10-minute timers on the cramped public toilets were tested as we peeled off and wrung out sodden gloves and socks and changed into some dryer layers, then went in search of food and what's become a customary end-of-trip-Picton-pint.