While Out Riding The Back Roads of New Zealand
A Bikepacking Adventure, from Christchurch to Queenstown
Lost to my meandering thoughts, induced by the hypnotic nature of pedalling on a long stretch of highway, I was oblivious to the pouring rain by this point as it has been raining on and off for most part of the day, my thoughts (mostly of the pointless variety)are Interrupted by a honk from a passing van which stops a few hundred meters ahead of me, seeing this I smile to myself ,that some kindly person has taken the time to stop and offer help, as I approach the van I’m already preparing myself to thank them for their kind offer and say that I’m quite alright, as I have only about twenty odd kilometers left to the next town, but noticing something in the body language I Instead ask if everything is okay, to this the driver says “stopped to ask if you wanted a ride to the town as it’s raining and you are going up the pass, but the engine just died on me and I cannot seem to get it to start”
Little over a month ago, In November of 2015 I decided that I should use my year end holiday break, and go do something that I have been thinking about for a while i.e. Explore the Amazing South Island of New Zealand on my Bike but I had only a little over a week’s free time to work with, as earlier in the year I planned to join some friends to hike the Routeburn and Kepler tracks during the holidays.
So that I have enough time to properly explore, at least some part of this beautiful region, I took an additional few days off from work before the holidays, and decided to start cycling from Christchurch to Queenstown, through the beautiful Mackenzie countryside ,and also avoid riding on the highways and use the backroads and trails as much as possible.
The first day of the trip, and my little adventure had already gotten to a great start, as I was invited to stay on a friends sailing boat in the Lyttelton harbour in Christchurch while I setup my bike, Having never been on a sailing boat before it was an easy choice to make, I ended up staying there overnight as I had to get the brakes fixed as I lost one of the pads for the disc brakes and the shops were closed that day.
Got dropped off in Ashburton after the breaks have been fixed, as I needed to make up for the lost day.
The weather during the first week had been very patchy, Sunny and pleasant one moment, and the next you are in the middle of a Hailstorm battling finger numbingly cold head winds or heavy rain.
Quite early on in the trip, I started wearing a hat under the bike helmet, to protect myself from the harsh UV radiation New Zealand is infamous for, this also worked perfectly to keep of the rain of my face while riding and sparing my head from the sting of Hail during the couple of Storms that I encountered.
Other than the occasional rain and wind to make things more interesting, day two and three’s ride was mostly through beautiful countryside farm roads, with rolling hills and a few stream crossings.
And so it was on the evening of my third days ride, I see the van stop as I approach Burkes pass, and after talking to him a bit about how the van had been behaving during the day, it was clear that the battery has gone flat and we needed to use the jump leads and ask for one of the passing cars to jump start the engine but unfortunately he had no jump leads with him so we start waving down passing cars and ask if they have any, we were pretty unlucky with the search as most cars would not even stop, as it was still raining and those that did stop had none.
Matti(the driver)tells me that he appreciates my help but I should leave before it gets dark and not get stuck with him, I feel bad leaving him in the middle of nowhere and after all he got into this situation because he tried to help me .
After forty odd minutes of standing in the rain and waving down passing cars, we were finally successful and get the engine started, by this time it looked like there was only an hours worth of daylight left, so I agree when he offers me a ride as I would have ended up having to find a place to camp in the dark if I kept on riding, I load up the bike in the van and get into the passenger seat in the front and was in the process of buckling my seatbelt when he put the van into gear and it jerks to a halt and dies on us , after letting out few explicits we sigh and get out and start all over again.
The second time it takes us way more than a hour to find another car which could help us, as the number of cars passing by had reduced dramatically as the day light faded, having learnt our lesson earlier, this time we rev up the engine for a good thirty seconds before putting it into gear, both of us are quite relieved when we start moving but Murphy’s law was in full effect today and our relief is very short lived when we find out that the lights wouldn’t turn on, we look at each other and burst out into a crazy laugh, by this time it was totally dark outside so we decide to spend the night there and look for help in the morning.
After sharing the food we had with us(well it was more like me eating his food as I was very hungry after a long day)and in the process of preparing to go to sleep by changing into dry clothes, a pickup truck stops by to check why we have stopped in this odd place and after listening to our situation, the driver tells us he will tow us to the top of the pass where there is a large rest area and would be safe to sleep there.
The next morning as Matti tried to find help again, I wander up the road to see if I could find some cellphone reception and eventually find a weak signal, I lookup for a car service centre number and call them up, half an hour later I say goodbye to Matti as he drives away following the service centre truck and I continue my ride under sunny blue skies.
While looking for a good spot to camp, I came across this description of a free campsite online and decided to go look for it after stocking up on some supplies in the town, and so began my hunt..the description I found said the campsite was beside the canal but when I got there I found roads on either side of the canal, my Instinct was it should be on the left but google maps kept Insisting it was on the right..so after failing to find the little old sign that indicated a way down the canal bank..I decided to listen to maps and retrace my way back to the only bridge across the canal, which led me on to the other side after a 40 minute ride and reaching a gate with warning signs for trespassing all over, and so another 3o minutes retracing my way back to where I started Initially, I finally spot the little sign and rode down the dirt track in darkness with my head lamp, It was too late now to find the campsite I was looking for…having spotted a patch of trees which would hide my presence from the top of the canal road, I decided to settle down for the night.
Don’t remember what woke me up but I woke up to an absolutely amazing sunrise, with a backdrop of snow crested peaks bathed in the light of a sky glowing Deep cherry red that slowly dissolved into myriad shades of purple and pink before turning into a deep golden orange as the minutes passed by…. with a pot of hot mint tea in my hand to ward of the grogginess of having slept only few hours, listening to the gurgling stream nearby and the early morning bird song all around me it was one of the best moments of the trip, if not the best.
If I had to pick the best part of this trip, it would be days 5 & 6… Rode through absolutely amazing landscapes, also the weather was playing nice which was a huge plus as this section passed through some highly exposed landscapes and there was nowhere to hide from bad weather if I got caught in one.
The days plan was to ride from Tekapo to Twizel along the alps to ocean trail but as soon as I hit the shores of pukaki, I knew there was no way I was going to miss the chance to camp in this beautiful place.
I Initially Intended to ride from Christchurch to Queenstown, following the Alps to Ocean cycle trail once I reached Tekapo, the trail ends on the east coast at Oamaru, and then planned to ride back inland to Queenstown. After few a days in the saddle I realised that I did not give myself enough time to experience this amazing landscape, If I stuck to my initial plan I would have been riding through this amazing part of the country without giving it the appreciation it was due, I also lost a couple of days due to bad weather when I had to stay off the road due to strong winds and rain.
The updated plan was to follow the alps to ocean track until Omarama and then follow highway 8 and 6 to Queenstown via Cromwell, and get there in time to meet my friends.
Another in the moment decision, with the spell of fine weather following me,I guessed this would be a great place to spend the night with amazing views offered by this high vantage point.
With a small fire by my side to cut down the evenings chill, and a hot meal in my belly, I watched the world slow drift to sleep below as the moon and the stars came out to play in the heavens above,but the ever changing direction of the wind made sleep fleeting.
Woke up to another stunning sunrise ,with beautiful views of the valley below me blanketed in a thick layer of fog and a pot of hot tea in my hand, I quickly forgot the discomfort of sleeping on a mountain with no shelter from the wind.
with mostly clear skies, it was a hot climb up to the pass and I was totally out of water by the time I reached the top… At least it’s only going to be downhill from here (I told myself)and I don’t have to pedal much until I find some water… Well it did not turn out to be that way… as soon as I got to the other side of the pass the wind started picking up and I had to pedal going down hill(yep you read that right, pedal down hill)… An hour later and after some serious bushwhacking down a gully, I finally quenched my thirst from a stream.
Day 9,the ride to queenstown passed through some beautiful country, but with a hell lot of traffic and narrow roads and bridges to contend with as I got closer and closer to the city, and it was also one of the hottest days I experienced In a long time.
With back to back wild campings, I ran out of juice for the camera and had to save my phone’s battery in case I needed it for emergency communication and navigation, so had to refrain using it for the photos and so do not have anything to show for this last section.
After spending twelve plus hours in the saddle, to make it to Queenstown on time, Sitting on the shore of wakatipu, enjoying a massive bottle of cold Fanta (surprised myself by downing the one and half liters in two minutes) while watching the sun slowly sink behind the mountains, felt like a fitting finish to the day and the trip.
What a journey it has been, from riding through hail and freezing rain, to battling brutal winds and hot weather,I have experienced the best and worst of the temperamental new zealand weather. I have breathed in crisp, cold mountain air, drank from fresh mountain streams, slept under a billion stars, and on a mountain top, I woke up to some of the most amazing sunrises I have ever had the privilege of witnessing, and when things did not go my way I slept by the road.
All of this has left me wanting for more, so if things do not go pear shaped I plan to ride the length of New zealand, starting in March of 2017!
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If you have read this far, a BIG thank you for taking the time to read about my first bikepacking experience. I have started and abandoned writing this post multiple times, though it took me a year to finish this, I’m glad I have finally done it, better late than never aye.
