Away from the humbler, but excellent, Mokihinui Forks hut – it was a leisurely hour as we had a shorter day planned. Twenty undulating river-side kilometres to finish the Old Ghost Road, and fifty-five on the road up to Karamea for resupply and prep for the next trail.
Soon looking back at the confluence of north and south branches for which the hut is named.
A few kilometres in and we found some more bikers on the trail! Admittedly at a hut, Specimen Point, they were also having a slow start – making the most of the expensive (if you’re biking, the flat price for all huts makes far more sense if hiking) OGR huts. A wee bit of climbing and some exposure above the gorge, this section of the trail is pretty easy going – although less so if you’re at the end of a long day riding the trail all in one go.
Still plenty of small stream crossings, most rideable, some prudent to walk.
Enjoying the reappearance of the rimus – probably my favourite native tree. This section of riding was plain good fun too.
Not quite the picture I was going for, but at least I didn’t get the one I was after and end up riding one-handed into the creek that suddenly appeared while I was distracted.
Out before eleven, that was the singletrack riding done for the day and time to complete the pair of obligatory photos.
What a great trail, would love to return soon and ride it less-loaded on my mountain bike. Ten minutes on the road to find that we were about an hour early for the small store’s opening hour (noon to one o’clock). A bit of wandering around the adjoining pub and motel units and I found the new owner feeding his chickens – he graciously opened early, and even heated some pies for us. Top service – I was more than prepared to wait until opening time.
Back on the road north (further down the same road we’d left Westport on two days before), it was straight into a four hundred metre climb – strangely warm, but the wind was helpful. That done, there was little climbing for the remaining fifty kilometres of the day. Partly due to the chunky rear tyre (which was a boon on the trail), but mostly because I’m poor on flat tarseal I lagged – ever mindful of the sacrificial drivetrain feeling a bit shonky (but still shifting well). There was the hint of some drizzle near Little Wanganui, but not enough even for me to don my raincoat. The little gravel back road for half of the remaining distance was nice to get away from the wind on the coast, not that it was too much of a bother.
Refreshing to get to our destination well before dark, get organised for the next three days on the Heaphy, wash clothes and eat a lot. Shorter days may not be so interesting, but they’re good for a bit of a reset on tours – and they certainly make for shorter posts here!