Category Archives: family

around home, family, MTB, NZ

North and south family visits

Leave a comment

With a big bikepacking trip cancelled, a pandemic did at least leave me with masses of annual leave and substantial flight credit. Internal travel restrictions eased, it was high-time to pop down and see family in Central Otago. For mid-winter, it wasn’t as cold as one would expect in Naseby and we managed plenty of time outside.

Flying into Dunedin, Naseby nestled over yonder in front of the Ida Range.

First up, a walk around Sutton Salt Lake – NZ’s only inland salt lake apparently. A pleasant little walk around the geographical curiosity.

The Rock and Pillars completely devoid of snow – glad I didn’t bother to bring my skis down.

Plenty of rocks to negotiate; smoke from a burn-off drifting lazily down the Taieri Valley.

For a change, I’d not travelled with a bike and hadn’t really planned on doing any riding. James had other ideas…
Forgoing a bike my size due to lack of front brakes, I tried to remember how to mountain-bike on a bike two sizes too large and in shoes too small. I ended up riding it on five consecutive days, much fun was had – especially when a pedal became near impossible to unclip from.

Naseby Forest.

Adele didn’t have to expend much effort in getting me to join her on a rogaine. She was looking well forward to her first athletic event after over a year of baby-related layoff. We realised it was the first event we’ve ever done together – All Pheasant and Correct turned up, ran a little, got slightly lost, walked a lot, and found as many checkpoints as we could in the three allotted hours. Much fun traipsing over the hills just out of Alexandra – even if the singletrack had me wishing for a bike, and the briar roses and matagouri thorns tore us to shreds. Impressive to see so many families and children out running around every which way

The Clutha flowing through Alexandra.

Such an unusual landscape for NZ; all those trails…

Already further west in Central, it was a good opportunity to meet online friends, catch up with old friends and stay with family in Wanaka.

We may have snuck in a Sticky Forest ride too. Superb; not much snow over here either.

The rest of the time in Naseby was spent riding, walking around, discussing house-build plans, short doses of nephew-entertaining/minding and working on depleting the gin stock. All too soon twas time to return north.

But one week later, Mum visited for a week (a trip planned pre-lockdown). Conveniently, many of us were sent to work from home for three days – so that was timed well. Such a visit deserved another long weekend; I was keen to show off Mahia Peninsula, so that way we headed for a few days of walking, gravel roads and even a little caving.

Couldn’t believe I was up here without a bike!

The peninsula’s scenic reserve has a great technical walk through thick native bush. With plenty of stream crossings, we managed to keep our feet dry – just, and generally avoid the mud.

We explored to the end of Kinikini Rd, if only I could find a link through to make a loop…

Another place to add to the list of where one might find horses freely roaming the roads.

Sunday was time to take in another favourite gravel road before checking out the short walk behind Morere Hot Springs – things one doesn’t do while bikepacking. Well worth a visit if you’re going past.

Tunanui Rd is still fantastic.

The grove of nikau palms is startlingly large – I was quite taken aback.

Monday was for retracing part of a scouting ride from last year – I thought Mum would like the cave I’ve not heard anyone else mention, but I think is pretty neat hidden away in a paddock at the top of a sizeable hill.

There’s a steep climb up through some limestone bluffs to begin with.

We enjoyed scampering around Mangaone Cave for a short time.

There ended a fun little weekend away around Mahia with Mum. After what is now an unusual flurry of travel, some normalcy is returning to life as attention turns to sorting HBAT details – as that pandemic allows.

bikes, family, GPS, travel

A Little Niue Biking

Leave a comment

It didn’t take long for me to assemble my bike, but finding the time in the busy swimming, snorkelling and eating schedule was a different matter. Adele was also keen to explore a little by bike (i.e. get around the island without being confined to a damp, musty van with suspension that groaned with every pothole – of which there were multitudes). So Wednesday morning, she borrowed a bike, with fetching basket, from her friends and set off to follow one or two of the designated cycle routes.

I’d done just enough research to learn that there had been some small effort to attract cyclists to Niue to ride various small loops of main roads (quiet), back roads (even quieter) and jungle tracks (quietest). With the map of island in hand we set off to cross the island and form a couple of small loops. Leaving the main road and the coast, it was straight into a steep climb up to a transmitter tower and onto the plateau.

Soon we were on dirt tracks getting deeper into the jungle. At times we passed small patches of cultivation and the occasional dwelling. Apart from dense tropical jungle, little seems to grow around here. The small fields mostly contained more taro than I would ever care to contemplate.

Joining the sealed road that approximately bisects the island, we headed east to find the Vinivini bush track. The trees were a bit larger through here, even less traffic was to be found and only one pack of dogs – they were rather worrying, but. We reached the trailhead and were surprised to see a car (obviously a rental) parked there – would we actually see other people? It threatened to rain, but was generally warm and humid.

We found more taro, and even a bit of papaya. The one we picked didn’t last so well in the basket.

Trail marking wasn’t great, but we’d preloaded maps onto our devices and could mostly work out where we were supposed to be going. After taking the obvious, clear track at one point it quickly terminated at another taro patch. So that left a partially overgrown path to take – plenty of fallen trees to ride around, lift bikes over and tall scrub (not of the stinging variety) to bash through. A little bit of adventure in what was generally a sedate ride. The trail was clear under the canopy, but anywhere the foliage on the ground got light – it was a little out of control.

I found something to clamber over and #bikesrestingagainstearthmovingmachinery.

With the briefest of showers, we reached the end of the trail and joined the perimeter road.

A leisurely hour took us back across the island, past the schools and university campus (?!), and I had to take a peek at the island’s power station – one diesel generator and a decent solar array. I think I earned my two rotis for lunch from that pleasant little outing.

Determined to at least ride around the island once (it’s only logical), the following morning seemed good as the McKirdys were off on a fishing charter catching dinners for subsequent nights. Once again, the roads were deserted and I found for the most part riding was just as fast as driving. Giant and numerous potholes are far more easily avoided on a bike – and there’s not really any need to slow. Weaving through the obstacles I continued in a clockwise direction, avoiding more annoying (and sometimes worrying) packs of medium-sized dogs. They did me no harm, but after encountering dogs while riding in other countries wariness accompanies me.

Plenty more derelict houses peppered the sights of the jungle.

About two-thirds of the way around, along the rugged and even-more-deserted east coast, I found the trail to Togo Chasm. A wide walking trail through lush and unspoilt jungle, I tried riding it for a few hundred metres; alas, it was covered in too many slippery roots and rocks. The pleasant stroll under the canopy deposited me on top a large section of uplifted fossilised coral. The path descended to the top of the chasm and a ladder built for giants descended to the sand below. Sheltered from the Pacific crashing nearby, in this still and sheltered area a few coconut trees had thrived. I enjoyed the peace for a bit before climbing the ladder out.

My bike had not been consumed by the tropical forest in the time I was away.

Unfortunately the rain returned and, strangely for the daytime, set in. It was still warm and interesting riding – just plenty wet! So no more riding photos; as I went around the south of the island the remoteness faded and I was soon passing the only resort. Thankfully, the main road headed inland and the perimeter road went back to being deserted. Nearing Alofi, I found what came closest to being an industrial area – the island’s tip, a quarry, and container compound. It was curious to see a large barge, on wheels, deposited next to a playground surrounded by isotankers – I guess that’s how all the fuel comes in.

I found the others at the Crazy Uga Cafe. It was nice to be out of the rain and get some hot food. The day’s spectacle was the tying up of the monthly-freighter. With the wharf not having a sufficiently deep berth, the small ship had to be tied up out in the bay. What goods was this ship bringing, would they backload empty containers? Just how were they going to get the containers off? That last question at least was soon answered as a very large front-end loader roared down the road towing the aforementioned barge behind it. Over the following days the combined effort of two cranes, a pilot vessel/tug, the barge and the ship’s own crane transferred a series of containers between the ship and shore. It’s a nice reflection of the slow pace of island life that this was quite the spectacle and going-on.

So a couple of nice little rides had me seeing much of the island. I never got around to zig-zagging my way down the centre of the island – but the weather was far more conducive to swimming and there was much to be seen underwater. In that light, it probably wasn’t worth taking my own bike (although that’s always nice) – I could have easily borrowed one and had a less comfortable and reliable adventure!

family, travel

Niue Nukes Nanking

Leave a comment

That poor attempt at alliteration for a newspaper headline in sixth form English was about as much as I knew, or didn’t, about the small Pacific island of Niue until last Christmas. Adele started to talk of going to holiday there in the winter. Upon being invited along, I was rather indecisive – I’d not been on an island holiday before, there really wouldn’t be much biking and I’m not much of a swimmer. Somehow I got talked into it; tipping the balance was the fact that such opportunities are obviously rare for me.

It worked quite well, a week relaxing on a tropical island was just the tonic to deal with the post-marathon tiredness. A bike was still packed, as I maintain that bikes are a great way to explore somewhere. The rest of the McKirdy clan arrived a few days before me, so by the time Adele met me at the airport everyone else had island life down. I’d done minimal research – Niue is a self-associated state of NZ, one of the world’s largest coral islands approximately equidistance between Fiji and the Cook Islands it is home to only 1600 people (most Niueans live in Auckland).

At the beginning of winter, it was strange to be surrounded by reminders of home (similar vehicles, street signs, groceries imported from NZ and so on) yet it was almost 30ºC everyday. Unfortunately, it was unseasonably wet with heavy downpours most nights – but the regular daytime rain was generally quickly passing showers. When we spent so much time in the water, more water falling from the sky didn’t really curtail activities – anyway, we didn’t usually have to wait long for the sun to reappear.

So we spent the week snorkelling, swimming, fishing, walking to various caves and chasms, eating a lot of coconut and fish (sometimes together, often not). By far, the highlight was the snorkelling in the clear blue water. The reef extends out from the shore, so there is no need to swim or boat out to it – it’s right there. The colourful fish and coral life was staggering and I was enthralled.

Even though the island is tiny (it took only three hours to ride the perimeter roads), a van was necessary to get the eight of us around between all the beaches and other sights we wanted to spend time at. If you think the NZ vehicle fleet is old (many used Japanese imports), Niue is another level – used-NZ-used-Japanese imports, if you will. It seems spare parts are hard to come by, so discarded wrecks are strewn all around; it’s odd.

Alas, I have no snorkelling photos (you’ll have to take my word about the vibrant colours) due to the wetness of the water – so here are some more land-based pictures.

First explore – down the cave near Adele & James’s accommodation. There are a lot of limestone caves around the shore.

A smattering of ferns down said-cave.

Happy not to climb down there into the surging ocean. Nice and clear, but.

A twenty or so minute walk through the jungle led us down to Talava Arches.

Looking out through and to Tavala Arches.

Exploring the flats between the arches at low tide.

Typical jungle walking.

Walking out through Palaha Cave to the sea.

Looking out across to the edge of the reef.

A shower has passed. Those tsumani evacuation signs look familiar. Also shown: the general state of the few roads – that is, poor.

Near the end of the week, the sky cooperatively cleared for some decent sunsets.

The photo above was taken from the balcony of the Hio cafe, where on Thursdays they hold a fantastic banquet of local cuisine. We enjoyed it very much and I may have eaten too much – definitely filling my lifelong quota of taro.

Tamakoutoga Beach – one of the few sandy ones.

More beautiful pools at Avaiki Cave, and rather unconvincing proof that I did actually go in the water.

John appreciating that Avaiki looks even better when the sunlight is shining directly into the entrance of the cave.

Avaiki Cave had something approaching a mezzanine level, good fun clambering up there and checking out the formations from a different perspective.

Fifteen years ago, Niue was hit by Cyclone Heta and the damage was catastrophic. Alofi, the main centre, bore the brunt of it and was devastated. With so many homes ruined and such damage, we heard that two-thirds of the island’s population upped sticks and emigrated to NZ. Many of these emigres still own their land on the island, but the shells of their houses are still in ruins and slowly being reclaimed by the jungle. It was a curious sight, these abandoned and derelict houses, and a little disheartening – and I could hardly be said to have any ties to Niue.

Our last full day on the island had the best weather that I got to see there; we made the most of it by swimming at three different beaches in amongst the eating, drinking and chatting to people. With such a small population and only two flights a week from Auckland bringing people in, we kept seeing the same people all around the place. Rather quaint and charming.

Back to Matapa Chasm; this one has some fresh water flowing in so is cooler – but this time we had the sun directly overhead warming us, perfect.

James up yet another coconut tree.

Coconut catching was well practiced by this stage.

Final swim was at Limu Pools, especially good.

All too soon it was “plane day”, and our time relaxing in the warm was over. A fantastic week, so very different to my usual trips away – thanks to all the McKirdys for having me along.

bikepacking, bikes, event, family, GPS, NZ

Great Southern Brevet – (half) Day Seven – Kurow to Lake Tekapo

1 Comment

With a mere hundred kilometres to knock off, I did it tough and slow on my final morning on the course. Turns out the playground I slept in, well attempted to sleep in, for four hours was near an intersection used by many trucks the night through. In Kurow, who’d have thunk it? That and the strange bivy-bag claustrophobia was enough to have me up and rolling before half-five.

Up the Hakataramea Valley was a long gentle climb; I pootled on knowing I’d get it done, but with no real energy left after the previous days of effort. Getting lost and wasting energy in those trees may have slowed me more than I thought. At that hour, the roads were at least quiet.

Dawn wasn’t too bad either.

I paused for water and a snack at Cattle Creek, the hall looking rather disused and the school long since closed and abandoned. But here the gravel started and that was cause for celebration, muted though it was.

It really was a lovely morning, and the wind-gods must have felt sorry for me – there was little to contend with. The road curves left and climbs to the pass on the left of Mt Dalgety.

Nearing the pass, naturally the gradient kicked – but it had been very mellow up until that point.

It really was a nice day, Mt Cook and the Southern Alps hove into view.

Finally, I reached the pass. Rather unhurried and tired, somehow sixty kilometres and 800 metres of climbing had taken five and a half hours! Never mind, it would be all downhill from here – surely.

Yes, a long downhill!

Reaching Haldon Rd, there was only thirty kilometres to go and Lake Tekapo lay off in the distance. I could see it down there! But gradients can be deceptive and both Haldon Rd and the highway busy with traffic (each sharing the remaining distance near-equally) had a nagging gentle climb in it. I pushed on knowing that I was lucky to be escaping the headwind that gave this section notoriety amongst the other riders.

With the confidence of it being a question of when, not if, I’d finish this ride kept me going at a steady, albeit slow, pace. Sure enough, I rolled back to the Church of the Good Shepherd six days and change after having left. Unusually, and delightfully, for these events, there was a small welcoming party. I’ve seen it written that I looked pretty fresh, but I know and the photo below suggests that is far from the truth. That was certainly a tough week on the bike, but through some amazing parts of the country and thoroughly worth the effort. About half I’d seen before, but I was more than happy to see those parts again to faciliate exploring new places.

Big thanks and much kudos to Dave for organising it all and planning such a great route. I can see why people keep returning to this gem of a ride (despite or because of the conditions?); knowing that the route varies each time I can see I’ll be well tempted to come back for the next iteration(s). Great to meet so many and ride with a few for extended periods, special mention for Steve and Jake as we battled through that wind together. Thanks also to my parents for picking me up, putting up with me for a weekend of much rest and eating, and then dropping me back in Christchurch; also to John for the Christchurch base and airport transfers.

Last word must be about the wind. For three years, my yardstick of wind strength when it gets a little tough has been “well, it’s not as bad as coming into Bluff on the Tour Aotearoa when I was reduced to pushing my bike alongside a flat highway into 100+ km/hr gusts for eight kilometres in eighty minutes”. No more. Now I know: if I haven’t been blown off my bike for four days in a row, it’s not really that windy; or if I am not holding onto my bike as it does its best impression of a kite being blown away with each gust – it’s also not really that windy.