Boys on bikes in South lsland high country
I had been thinking of doing this trip with some friends a couple of months earlier, which l to be aborted because of a duck-shoot, so it was pleasing to finally get down there. I l heard stories of cycling in snow on this route (highest point 1347m) at this time of ye but the temperature was good, the weather fantastic (apart from rain on the first ni and downpours on the last leg of the journey from Blenheim to Picton) and autumn colours brilliant. Having done the trip, I would actually recomm o off we set, a couple of tough old Life Members in
Brian and Dennis, and the "youthful" brigade of Glynne, Peter and myself. We were dropped off in the rain on the Rainbow skifield access road tofindapozzie for the night. We cleared some wood and set up our tents. "Who's getting the water for the morning brew?" grizzled the wily Brian. "There's a creek two minutes down the road." Glynne, aware of the hardy reputations of these old-timers and keen to maintain standards, volunteered and set off in the dark.
We got into our sacks and prepared for a good night's sleep. After 20 minutes I heard something outside. "ls that you Glynne?" It was Brian, finishing his fag. "lsn't Glynne back yet?" Half an hour ticked past; 45 minutes; an hour - still no sign of him. At an hour-and-a-half the search party went out. "GLYNNE, WHERE ARE YOU?" the calls went out into the forest
I set off on foot one way, Brian on bike the other. I got to the stream after 5 minutes, half expecting to find an unconscious Glynne after having slipped and bashed his head on a rock. Still no sign. Then I saw lights approaching down the road. It was Brian - he'd found Glynne, empty billy in hand returning after his fruitless search. Pity no one told him the stream was the other way. He had not turned back earlier being acutely aware of the exacting standards of his experienced companions. Someone else gotthe water.
Next morning the rain had stopped and we were off, cycling along the rough gravel road through beautiful beech forest, awesome scenery and great mountain biking. Everyone was covering the ground at the same pace so we made good progress. The bikes were heavy, with a lot of gear and food required for this 4-day adventure. But as with tramping, the bikes got lighter each day and the overall fitness improved continually.
We left the trees and got out into the vast, barren landscapes, which we were to cycle through for most of the trip. The Rainbow road runs parallel with the main electricity pylons running through the South Island. With Glynne an employee of Transpower, this led to a series of fascinating conversations about electricity. We were all grateful for the enlightening facts and figures given throughout the trip.
Paul Abl doing the route at this time of the y<
Therewere numerous streams coming down from hills but we were wary of drinking the water as some v coming down from near the skifield and there was a lc cattle around. All except Brian that was. "Pathetic!' exclaimed every time we refused to drink from the shea Dennis, the other tramping club hardman, bore the br of most of these remarks. "The world's gone soft," B would say as he filled his bottle.
There were a few minor teething problems with the b on the first day - panniers bouncing off carriers, gears working properly, then a slow puncture, which Bt maintained was the reason he was the last one up Isl Saddle. This, however, enabled us to take a breather enjoy the brilliant views down the Rainbow Valley. arrived at our campsite for the night after B0 km cyclinl the beautiful Lake Tennyson, the source of the Clare River and surrounded on three sides by golden hills. Jur we arrived Glynne suffered the first major bike probl having snapped his front gear cable. This proved challenge to our Dennis and Brian, who with the stanc No. 8 wire and other various tools they had brough managed to rig up a solution to the problem.
The second morning was cold but brilliantly fine we set off following the Clarence River. Whereas the prev day had been predominantly uphill, the first 40 km to were down a gradual slope and we could crank the b along at a good pace on the corrugated surface of road. By midday we had reached the southernmost pr of the journey, and passed the turn-off to Hanmer Spri just 10 km away. We headed east into the Molesw< Station and had lunch near the historic cob cottage.
Despite the time of year, temperatures were quite t and the sweat was pouring off us. We were now heac into a slight headwind, and despite the uncertainties of surface of the gravel road, we draughted off each otl taking turns in front to share the headwind.
Heading up the Acheron Valley after lunch, we l ourselves amused with the cattle which would run alonE and in front of us on the road. We were back into gradual uphill and everyone was shrffed, the rests becon more frequent. By the time we stopped for the night, had covered about 100 km -the biggest day of the tr
Tramping and Mountaineering 2001 /2
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Heading south from the top of Island Saddle (Paul Abbott)
Day 3 dawned fine again, and we headed off into the blinding sun ahead. The mist and the early morning golden colours were quite spectacular, as was the grunt up Ward Pass, easily the steepest of the passes we encountered. The dusty road wound down to the Molesworth Cob Cottage, which was the originalhomestead, built in 1865. We put in another long, hot day, leaving the aridity of the Molesworth and entering the winding, undulating Awatere Valley. We found a neat campsite next to the river and enjoyed the remaining sunlight and a huge feed. Not a vegetarian meal in sightl re and evious today r bikes of the lpoint rrings, worth
A cold, misty start to the finalday and the last 15 km of gravel before we hit civilisation again and tarseal. Before this we had the joy of a huge downhill out of the Awatere Valley and onto the flat plains stretching out toward Blenheim. With a tailwind, a slight downhill and everyone feeling fit, we absolutely caned the next hour in top gear, draughting off each other along the way.
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Before reaching Seddon, we had the option of heading over one more pass - Taylor Pass - to get to Blenheim, rather than dodging trucks on State Highway 1. Dennis, Glynne and I opted for the pass while Brian and Peter took the main drag. Despite the climb, the shorter route enabled ofthe other,
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Tramping and Mountaineering 2001 /2002
/2002 ll us to reach Blenheim 15 minutes ahead of the others. We made a brew in the main square over lunch and impressed some eight-year-olds who thought we were competing in some adventure race.
Just as we set off down SH1 to Picton the rains came. HEAVILY! We took turns in the front as we draughted the last leg into some torrential rain, Peter putting in a huge stint at one stage. We knocked off the 25 or so kilometres in pretty quick time and hit the showers at Picton Wharf. The traditional meal and beers at Toot'n' Whistle and we were on theferry home.
We'd covered approximately 300 km over the 4 days, 90% of which was on gravel, a solid Medium/Fit trip. The route is very isolated, so you need to carry all your bike spare parts, food etc. The time of year was great; several times we commented how hot it must be to do the trip during summer, as it is a very arid area with no shelter for the most part. It is a pretiy spectacular part of the South Island hill country, however, and I would highly recommend it to mountain bikers and cycle tourists.
Punters: Brian Goodwin (leader), Dennis Gazley, Glynne Lloyd, Peter Misich, and Paul Abbott.
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