Visiting family in the area was a big reason for having a rest week in Wellington following my Kiwi Brevet effort/ordeal. I soon realised that both Martinborough and Waikanae are not really that far from the capital and there was no point in taking a car on the inter-island ferry – I could just take my bike and ride to visit my uncle and aunts and save more than two hundred dollars in doing so.
First port of call was David and Antoinette in Martinborough – who I hadn’t seen since my cousin Sasha’s (their daughter) wedding in Tuscany in 2008 (thinking about it, that wedding and the resulting trip may be the biggest reason for this website). I’d thought that I’d have to ride the Rimutaka Cycle Trail both ways from & to Wellington – but a quick bit of research showed a coastal route may be possible. Always keen for a bit of variety, I set out on that route on a glorious Wellington day – at a shade under a hundred kilometres and with a ferry ride across the harbour, I was fit and recovered enough from the brevet to attempt it.
Near the end of the morning peak, I rolled down the hills from Karori to Queens Wharf to catch the ferry to Days Bay.
I had to wait a while for the end of the morning rush to pass – the ferry approaches the berth.
Crossing the harbour, the swells were a lot kinder than my Cook Strait crossing three days beforehand.
The crossing was pleasant, short and uncrowded – as this early on a weekday morning most are heading into Wellington for the day, not out of Wellington for a day of fantastic biking. The Days Bay ferry, while small, easily takes bikes (for free) – but at the Days Bay end be warned that the gangway is from the upper deck; it’s difficult to get a loaded bike up the stairs at the stern of the vessel.
From the wharf at Days Bay.
Riding through Eastbourne the road very quickly ended and I was left to follow the coastal path – really just gravelled double-track. At times the path passed through private land, but the signage was rather ambiguous. In the end I decided that as walking or cycling was not expressly prohibited, it must be OK if you kept to the trail – but motorised vehicles were not welcome.
Quickly, I came across the Pencarrow Lighthouses – which are rather small. The views back across the harbour to Wellington were just grand and off in the distance I could see the South Island. The day was strangely calm so far, so that was enjoyable while it lasted.
While one could look back and see Wellington only ten or so kilometres away, I was surprised at how remote the area felt – there was the odd cyclist or walker, but not for long. I was excited to again be out exploring a place I’d never been so soon after the brevet and generally loving life and a relatively unloaded bike (with no camping gear, I had such luxuries as normal clothes to change into – jeans!).
That hill directly above the stake in the ground was about the only climbing for the first half of the day – the going was pretty easy and very beautiful.
Looking back to the city from that little hill.
Suddenly, I was on a sealed road for a brief interlude to the bottom of the peninsula – even that looked good.
As the road ended, the Rimutaka Cycle Trail started, or ended – I was on the right track. I rounded a corner and suddenly I was looking across Palliser Bay to Cape Palliser – the southern-most point of the North Island. Also about that time I found that I had in fact been sheltered from a stiff nor-easter so far and the trail condition started to deteriorate – that was no bad thing as it slowed me down and I had a stunning vista to admire.
There were quite a few times when I had to get off and walk my bike – particularly when crossing shingle fans. That is where all the rocks washed down from the hills have really spread out creating said fan. The only people I saw for some hours were in two large 4WDs and they had a really tough job crossing all the rocks – I was happy to walk.
It was feeling rather remote, rugged and windswept around here.
Occasionally, the trail climbed to skirt some hills – often with signs of the side of the trail having crumbled into the sea. The trail was living up to its name – Wild Coast Trail.
At last, there were signs of a settlement with a collection of baches (a bach is a traditional NZ holiday home – usually rather simple affairs, cobbled together with whatever was available and near a beach of some sort). Judging by the cradles that these fishing boats were on and the tractor units used to move them it must be a long, rough beach.
Dozers, really? Who uses ancient dozers to launch boats?
And I’ve seldom seen such large tyres on boat cradles or such a long drawbar.
A few baches – the word is thought to originate from bachelor, as in bachelor pad. At least, that’s how I remember it.
I joined the road west of Lake Ferry and continued inland, north-east (into the wind). Stopping for lunch on the roadside, I finally had the can of tuna and finished the box of crackers I’d been carrying since Arthurs Pass – before the halfway point of the brevet, not that well thought out that.
Leaving the Rimutaka Cycle Trail as it continued north, I loosely followed the Ruamahanga River on sealed road all the way to Martinborough passing the site of the first sheep station in the country and numerous vineyards. Not quite as exciting as the coast, it was all very nice and I’d had a great day’s outing. But the fun wasn’t over as I visited David and Antoinette’s house for the first time in probably a decade – there were many adventures, holidays (past & present) and family news in general to catch up on over a barbecue dinner and a few drinks on the sun-soaked verandah.
I thoroughly recommend the route around the coast from Eastbourne to Lake Ferry – it would be easy to link it with the rest of the Rimutaka Cycle Trail to make a big day of it. The only qualifier I’d put on that, is make sure you chose a day of not-awful weather.
We started with a short boat trip out of the Otago Harbour into the Pacific to see the wildlife around Taiaroa Head.
Strangely, this little blue penguin was not that shy – we watched it swim around in front of the boat for quite some time.
There were plenty of fur seals lounging on the rocks in the sun – once hunted almost to extinction for their skins, they’re doing much better now having been a protected species for over a hundred years.
Taiaroa Head is famous for having the only mainland breeding colony of royal albatross. At this time of the year, the breeding pairs are taking it in three to four day turns to incubate the large egg while the other is out at sea fishing. We saw many birds sitting on nests and this one spread its huge wings (on average they have a three metre wingspan) and soar off into the wind. Majestic.
After starting off on the Southern Scenic Route following the coast for a while, we stopped overnight in Balclutha.
The south of the South Island has been rather treacherous for shipping over the years – so we did see quite a few lighthouses. This one at Nugget Point.
More fur seals here; you can see how the coast could be problematic for any wayward ships.
At Surat Bay we could get pretty close to the world’s rarest sea lion – but not too close as weighing up to five hundred kilograms, they can get aggressive.
At Jack’s Bay, down another long gravelled road, we stopped to look at a large blowhole two hundred metres inland from the sea.
While it was an awful big hole in ground with the sea rushing in – I don’t think the tide was quite right to create the proper blowhole effect. Still, it was a nice coastal walk.
More gravel back-roads, and a short walk later we were at Purakaunui Falls – apparently some of the most photographed waterfalls in the world. Not particularly large, they are multi-tiered and quite pretty.
The McLean Falls were more impressive, at twenty-two metres high.
At Curio Bay we unsuccessfully tried to spot Hector’s dolphins playing in the surf. I stayed here with my family 
But around the corner at the petrified forest, we did see a few yellow-eyed penguins – including this one coming out of the sea and heading to its nest at the end of the day.
Late in the day, we popped down to the southern most point of the South Island and tried our best not to fall off the cliff into a certain abyss.
Somehow, we found somewhere to stay in the tiny settlement of Tokanui.
After eventually finding some fuel in Invercargill (while I expected difficulty in finding a gas station in rural Southland, the dearth of gas stations in southern Invercargill was ridiculous) we headed out to Bluff and the end of State Highway 1 (it runs the length of the country).
Beautiful pohutakawa blossom.
West of Invercargill we headed out to Oreti Beach to have a very pleasant picnic lunch in the sun. You’re still able to drive down the beach – the scene of some of Burt Monro’s motorcycle exploits that gained more recognition in the film The World’s Fastest Indian.
On a wonderful summer’s day I was quite impressed with Invercargill – people that have lived there tell me it doesn’t deserve its reputation. But it is awfully flat there and a long way from anywhere & I’m not sure I could handle that.
At Gemstone Bay, the stunning beaches just kept coming – but the sea had taken any gemstones away.
Further around the coast, it started to get a bit more wild.
Another, once-typical, South Island crib (a holiday house, not particularly salubrious).
Tuatapere was a lot bigger than I remember from twenty years ago – we struck it in the middle of haymaking season with countless tractors and hay-wagons trundling past.
This is a what a thousand-year tree looks like apparently – always difficult to capture the grandeur of such in a closely packed forest.
After even more gravel road driving, we were in NZ’s largest National Park (Fiordland) looking across NZ’s deepest lake – Lake Hauroko, 462 metres deep. Suddenly, after the plains and small hills of Southland, there were mountains and the wilderness was starting to look inviting. While home to some of NZ’s Great Walks, unfortunately I don’t think there is much biking in the that particular wilderness.
We stopped to look at the Clifden Suspension Bridge – once it was NZ’s longest bridge; now that many years have passed and the Manapouri hydro power station has taken a lot of the Waiau River’s flow – it really does seem a big bridge in the middle of nowhere.
Now, there’s a house I could probably afford.
Last stop on our little tourist trail was some exploring in the Clifden limestone caves; we then hightailed it for home, scooting across Southland and Otago.
Looking back towards home.
Hills and clouds.
The views opened up, naturally, as we climbed – the reservoir in the centre.
We came across the Tweed Run in London. It was all rather odd, but looked a lot of fun.
Glasgow – I was pleasantly surprised to be so impressed.
On top of the UK – most of the way up Ben Nevis was really nice, it was only a little bleak at the top.
Back in San Gimignano.
All ready to leave.
I quite liked what I saw of Antwerp.
Another night, another forest, another wild-camp-site.
Strasbourg.
On the shores of Lake Geneva.
Pretty happy to be at Great St Bernard Pass – four hours of steady, but rarely difficult, climbing.
A day spent looking at Monto Bianco while we hiked.
If I ever got bored of the work in the vines, the scenery was always worth looking at and appreciating.
Our lion friend for the weekend.