21 - 25 February
Insights By Mark T & Ian, Photos By Group
This 4 day ride & river adventure was shared by two groups starting one day apart in Ohakune.
Group One: Andre Westenberg, Michael Chin, Dawson Muir, Ian Galley, Tim Gregg, Mark Wardill,
Klaire Oakes, Julian Ballance & Grant Kiddle.
Group Two: Jessica Hadlow, Graeme Pool , Mark Taucher, Michelle Holt, Helen Rawlinson, Sara Double, Simon Hadlow, John Pennington, Charlie Lewis, Mark Ingram & Francis Ting.
Ian: Day one was a 1000m descent down the Turoa access road on Ruapehu to Ohakune hitting speeds in excess of 70kph. Then climbed up the Old Coach Road constructed in the early 1900s to transport passengers between the two rail heads of the then unfinished North Island trunk line, exploring tunnels and old viaducts ending in Horopito for coffee.
The tracks cobblestones gave everyone’s perineum a decent workout.
Below is the Taonui Viaduct - an impressive engineering feat in curved steel.
and this is why waivers exist....
Horopito is famous for the car yard full of rusted vehicles made famous in movies such as Smash Palace and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
Then another 42km ride through to Ruatiti Hunting Lodge with a swim in the river at Ruatiti Domain on the way. This gave Mike Chin an opportunity to show off his mankini which he thought should be compulsory for any serious cyclist.
At the lodge we discovered that Andre (a Tauranga urologist) has much more interesting work anecdotes and pictures on his phone than we do as orthopaedic surgeons.
Mark T: Likewise, our day one started with a screamer down the road from Turoa ski field carpark, speeds of 70kmph reported, but no disasters. Then after quick coffee stop at the excellent Frank's cafe, the real cycling started & two distinct riding groups formed with the e-bikers leaving us in the distance; pretty much last time we saw them before coming together at the lodge that night (apart from John Pennington who resisted temptation and left his e-bike at level 1 assistance - impressive self control).
Beautiful scenery, mixed with hard cobblestones, blue skies and the odd grizzle about hills.
The Kiwi version of Red Riding Hood - watching out for cows instead of wolves.
After Horopito we followed the Manganuioteao River as it snaked down to the Ruatiti Domain.
The last 6km uphill slog (the gift that kept on giving) proved just a bit too much to face for a couple of the party who opted for a van ride, but the hardcore of the group gutsed it out to Ruatiti Hunting Lodge, where we were welcomed with the best Export Gold any of us can remember tasting.
Ian: Day two is 38km's cycling the Mangapurua Track to the Bridge to Nowhere. Highlights were the long sweeping descents on single track around massive bluffs & crossing the seven small swing bridges.
Mark T: Day two started with a steady climb 5km up the Mangapurua Track into some more beautiful hill country - sadly cloud spoiled any views back to Ruapehu. At the edge of the Whanganui National Park there's a memorial to the WW1 veterans acknowledging the incredibly difficult task they were handed in trying to farm land that consisted of steep bluffs, dense bush, constantly cut off from anywhere with washouts, and non-existent returns through the great depression. Unsurprisingly most of them gave up and walked off their farms after 10 years.
A welcome long downhill segment came next with bike breaking ruts in the track
& some hilarious moments with riders cast in deep mud puddles.
Several swing bridges later we came to the famous Bridge to Nowhere where we sucked in more scenery & fed eels in the stream 40 meters below.
Then we headed off to the Mangapurua landing to be met by Joe the jet-boat driver... a man of few words who looked like he'd seen some serious action in the local establishments, but who expertly navigated us through half a dozen rapids to our destination for the night, the Bridge to Nowhere Lodge at Parinui.
Another spectacular roast meal that night followed by some story telling of the days events, including Charlie Lewis's unprecedented snapping of two chains.
Ian: Day three started with a short trip down river in the jet boat where we picked up canoes for the last 8km to Pipiriki. The short safety briefing was a highlight - essentially;
‘you will be right, SWEET’ - with a confident thumbs up.
Of course the canoeing became quite competitive and we all had our own plans on how to manage the infamous 50:50 rapid. In our case it was the 75:25 rapid with 3 out of 4 boats succumbing to the rivers pressure waves. We must have looked like drowned rats, because when we got to Pipiriki a group of German tourists took one look at us and refused to board their jetboat.
Mark T: On Sunday it was Charlie Lewis’s birthday & he was presented with a pink tutu by John Pennington!
At the canoe pick up, we too received the shortest safety briefing in history & in we jumped to tackle the mighty Whanganui river. Stupidly believing the low water level would mean kinder rapids, (actually just means less area for similar water volume to compress) we approached the first one full of bravado, but fortunately Joe was waiting to signal us away from the dangerous right hand side, (still think we could have made it) and over a fairly bumpy segment with rocks temporarily beaching us. Then on to the '50/50' rapid which, true to it's name, capsized 50% of the group (embarrassingly right in front of a jet-boat full of grinning tourists). After righting ourselves we carried on, climbed out of our divorce machines and waved goodbye to the ever-scornful (in a good way) Joe.
Ian: Then it was back on the bikes for another 32km to the Flying Fox Lodge. We stopped at Matahiwi for a coffee where a young Kune pig took interest in us.
Mark T: A quick change and lunch at Pipiriki landing and then back on our bikes on to the Flying Fox Lodge, via a convent at Jerusalem, the Kawana flour mill and a bloody good coffee at the Matahiwi Gallery.
Ian: To reach the Flying Fox Lodge you have to ring the gong. David Bartle’s baton was carried by us for the entire journey (survived perfectly) & came in handy for this! Group 2 have the care of Roy Craigs baton.
They then send over a flying fox cable car to transport you over the river. The lodge was amazing with wild deer wandering around the property and beautiful gardens and orchards, all of which were used for a magnificent feast that evening. Each room had a record player turntable much to the excitement and pleasure of Tim Gregg.
Mark T: We too arrived at the day's destination, sounded the gong and climbed into the rickety looking
(but we're told over-engineered) flying fox to cross over the river.
Kelly and Jane welcomed us warmly to their extraordinary venue that wouldn't have looked out of place in one of The Lord Of The Rings films.
Lots to explore & discover on this trip!
We enjoyed beautifully cooked roast venison and duck, followed by some more storytelling of the day's events (impossibly, another broken chain for Charlie), before some much needed sack time.
Ian: Our last day started with a 33km cycle to Upokongaro along the Whanganui River Road. A 200m climb at the end tested our cycle fitness before we jumped on a paddle steamer for the last few km's into Whanganui before riding the last 9km out to North Mole Beach to complete the Mountains to Sea.
Mark T: After the easy ride along the Whanganui River we stopped to discuss the looming Gentle Annie hill - with the author assuring everyone it would be easy. It wasn't.
A 20 minute slog up to a gap in the cliff called Aramoana had some of us close to that feeling you might get from a 70's Cook Strait crossing in a Wellington southerly.
Ian: Ben and Rebecca from the Mountain Bike Station did an amazing job organising the logistics and I would highly recommend using them for this trip. Great company exploring this hard to reach country, staying in amazing lodges run by awesome people. A great trip for groups and families.
We even received a few donations on route from members of the public who were fascinated by the baton and the concept of the event.
Mark T: At the Upokongaro 'Behind The Door On 4' cafe we all ordered what were probably the best milkshakes in the world. Across the river and on to Whanganui City center where we met Ben again at the information center to review our 4 days progress across an excellent 3d terrain model of National and Whanganui National Parks. The final 40 minutes riding to the North Mole at Castlecliff were pushing through our only headwind of the 4 days. We crossed the finish line with Roy Craig's baton (also unscathed) on a wild looking west coast day to find a cold beer and snacks waiting. Unforgettable.
