Category Archives: GPS

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Scouting Sunday – West of Wairoa

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Since realising on last week’s overnighter that a worthwhile bikepacking route from the south to north of Hawke’s Bay is more feasible than previously thought (as I’ve finally found ways of mostly avoiding the notorious highway between Napier and Wairoa), the idea has become somewhat consuming. I also realised that over the last four years I have built up a little local bikepacking knowledge that may be useful, and maybe there are others that would like to come along on such trips. Suddenly, this little site has a simple new Hawke’s Bay Bikepacking page and there’s a corresponding group. Not entirely sure how that happened, but it’s good fun and hopefully useful.

There’s still a bit of scouting to be done to ensure that the route I’ve mapped out does indeed go. With a fine mid-winter Sunday forecast, I headed north to Wairoa to see just what the roads and terrain are like west of the town. An early start, the twisty, slow dawn drive reinforced that I must try to route off the highway as much as possible. Parking in Wairoa early, the famed Osler’s Bakery was about the only place open – which was handy as that was exactly where I needed to go to stock up on pies for the day. A brisk morning, it was still and quiet. Unfortunately I had thirty kilometres to back-track on the highway; pleasingly, the first little gravel shortcut went through and there was next to no traffic as I tackled a couple of steep climbs.

It’s odd being on the other side of the large bay from where one lives and seeing things from a different perspective.

Looking, over Mohaka Township, to the south of Hawke Bay and Cape Kidnappers on the left, Napier is in the background on the right.

Not quite at the Mohaka River, I turned off the highway and immediately hit a steep climb – so steep the gravel road had been sealed especially. Slowly I made my way higher, distracted by the view opening up to the left.

Back to the Mohaka and its eponymous viaduct. Riding through this area one begins to see why it took thirty years to complete less than 200 kilometres of railway.

I reached the ridge and the gravel returned – in good condition it was too.

My research indicated that there was an unformed legal road that would take a more interesting route than the sealed alternative lower down the valley. I was surprised to find an illegally locked company gate preventing access, but carried on. Pleasantly the road was top-notch gravel along the ridge – with plenty of little climbs and descents to keep one honest. The pines in there are still quite young, so the views around were good.

Flat-deck Transit, anyone?

An hour off the highway, out of the forest and back on a formed road, I passed through rugged pasture before joining Putere Rd to head northwest – I just had to see if a bridge over the Waiau River was in fact there. If it was, many more route possibilities, including through to Lake Waikaremoana, would open up. Climbing resumed in earnest as the views opened up southwest to Maungaharuru Range. There were enough glimpses through the pines to keep things interesting. Passing Cricklewood Road, which was the real objective of the scouting mission, at around 500 m it was a fast descent (a mix of seal and gravel) towards Lake Rotonuiaha.

The bridge is there – huzzah! Unsure why I doubted it wouldn’t be, a sketchy aerial photo perhaps. I tried to keep my mind on the task at hand and not scheme up wilder and longer routes. They’ll keep, I can’t wait to get back up there and explore more. Lunching at the end of the bridge, a local in a pick-up stopped for a chat (I suspect cyclists are a rarity in those parts) and offered local knowledge of what would be good loops.

Fuelled by another pie, it was time for the grovel all the way back up. It goes some way to show how quiet it was out there, that I was surprised by, not one, but two cars passing me on the climb. I didn’t see any other cars off the highway all day.

Another section sufficiently steep that it had been sealed.

My original plan for the day didn’t include parking in Wairoa and the extra distance that entailed – instead I was to do over two hundred kilometres in the hills, including seeing what is at the end of Putere Road. It turns out, I spent more time taking photos and considering optimal route options than simply riding. So I abandoned that plan, but couldn’t resist seeing if Putere School, marked on maps, was still open. Although the end of the school holidays, it certainly is still a school and only a few kilometres down the road.

Not a bad outlook for one’s primary education.

That distraction over, the rest of the climb awaited; now with the gentle breeze behind me.

Heading back into the pines, I was again thinking of making the route longer if Cricklewood Road was pine-clad with no views. It started out so, but soon opened up with stunning views all around. Although super bright from the mid-afternoon sun, slowing down was necessary to avoid riding off the edge of the ridge distracted as I was by the landscape.

Regular sharp climbs and descents appeared as the ridge was followed. Rounding a corner, horses! Dogs! And easily, a thousand or so sheep heading down the road. Just a typical Sunday afternoon country traffic jam. Avoiding spooking the horse, the riders (shepherds in the strictest sense, I guess) allowed me through to try and make my way ahead of the flock. It took me twenty minutes to slowly make my way through four kilometres of sheep-filled road. A sign of how mild and seasonally-confused this winter has been, the lambs I saw didn’t exactly look new born – and it’s only July.

Soaking in the warm sun, the descents gradually outweighed the climbs and altitude was slowly lost before one final long downhill to the highway.

Mahia Peninsula looking closer than normal – I’ve still not made it there, but hope to finish the route there. Prime Rocket Lab launch viewing spot up here too.

A fantastic day’s riding, I was thrilled by what I saw and found – especially looking forward to introducing the riding to others. Curtailing my optimistic plan for the day was in part done so I could drive a few other roads on the way home and see if they would be worth including. They certainly are, a completely different gravel road: a skinny, twisty, hilly, loose shingle road was another delight before I hit the highway and headed home.

around home, bikepacking, bikes, GPS, NZ

Waikare River S24O

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Carl and I never quite found the time over summer to do an overnighter after work one Friday to the Waikare River campground. Finding some mid-“winter” inspiration from somewhere, I decided I wasn’t going to wait until next summer to see what was there.

It’s a long time since I have ridden my bikepacking bike to work; while it felt slow compared to my commuter, to my surprise – it wasn’t really. Maybe the Niner rolls better than I imagine.

An unusual sight in the bike shed that garnered a few comments.

Starting work early Friday, meant I left early and was well on the way up familiar Waipunga Road gravel (which has really suffered under logging traffic) to meet the store-closing deadline at Tutira. In the late afternoon, the road was devoid of vehicles – I only saw farmer Roy passing on his motorbike. Making it in time to empty the cabinet of remaining hot food, dinner at Tutira was filling – it was even warm enough outside to make a large kiwifruit ice cream viable.

Dark now having descended, I set off on my roundabout route north – avoiding the highway and instead adding an hour’s worth of hills. Always exciting to be riding new roads, even if I couldn’t see much. The clouds were moving rapidly, constantly threatening to bring the forecast rain without ever delivering. A warm winter night, I was very comfortable in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. Even thought I knew it was there, a 400 m high hill seemed out of place – but it was good fun rolling off it back to a short stretch on the highway (an hour after Tutira). At Putorino I was briefly close to the Waikare before leaving the highway and heading to the coast.

A little climbing was still to be done, before a wild gravel descent to the river. The surface deteriorated and certainly kept one on one’s toes flying down in the dark. Before I knew it I was at the deserted campground. I found the river in the dark and not much else: some toilets, a sink and some taps were the extent of the facilities. A beady-eyed possum watched me set up my bivy bag as the rain finally arrived in the shape of slight drizzle. I settled in for a warm night’s rest, the rain abated and I reflected on a great little ride through the dark after work.

Possibilities of exploring a whole lot of roads between there and Wairoa rolled around my head with the new found knowledge at how accessible this area is. I’d previously ignored it due to the nasty highway, but I now knew that this was mostly avoidable. The schemes continue to grow.

Saturday morning and I could finally see, and wander down to, the river.

I retraced my route back to the store for second breakfast, enjoying being able to see the countryside I was riding through. After keep a herd of cattle intrigued while stopping for the following photos, shortly after I was helping an ineffectual cattle dog (poor thing kept getting charged) round up a small mob of cows and calves. All in a morning’s ride?

Huzzah, the pie-warmer was full of Maketu Pies and as it was so warm I definitely deserved four scoops of ice cream… The strong westerly that hampered my early progress was at my back as I was blown up Darkys Spur, sweltering (relatively) in the mid-morning sun as I was back to short sleeves all round. I took the Kaiwaka, Tangoio Settlement Roads option back to work to round out a fun little exploratory overnighter.

Unable to say no to Anton’s invite to go MTBing, the most fun of the trip was had muscling my loaded, fully-rigid bike up the climbs and around the obstacles of the Mill Block mountain-bike park – whooping in delight at the extra momentum and challenge. A great twenty-four hours, now to get back to scheming how to build on this route.

around home, bikes, GPS, NZ

Pourerere and Aramoana Beaches

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Following a short week at work after returning from Niue, the last long weekend for almost five months wasn’t perhaps as appreciated as normal. However, I certainly wasn’t going to waste it! Easing back into Park Run and trail riding gave enough time to scout out a long ride on roads and to places new to me – there are still a few around after my stint living here.

I set off south into a still dawn, eventually catching the sun rising over my left shoulder. Finally something resembling hills appeared as I got further up the Tukituki valley. Roads were deserted and I enjoy the solitude. There was no big horsey meet at Elsthorpe this time as I turned towards the coast. Just before I got back to Kairakau (of the mud-trip), I turned off and finally hit gravel and new roads.

This eighteen kilometre section was glorious. After the initial climb, it was most pleasant valley floor riding through large sheep stations before a decent climb and slight drop to the Pourerere road.

A rollicking descent dropped me down to the beach at the sleepy seaside settlement. There were plenty of great examples of classic Kiwi baches and some fine old tractors seeing out their retirement hauling boats to, in, out and from the surf. I paused for lunch, enjoying the winter sunshine and the sound of the waves crashing.

A gravel bike would have been ideal for this longer ride; that is, until I found at low tide the beach was passable by vehicle to the next village south. I was pleased to have the larger volume tyres as I followed motorbike and ATV track along the soft-in-places sand.

Around the corner I found somewhere else new – Aramoana. I’d not heard of this one, not being steeped in NZ infamy. It was much more manicured and poncy than Pourerere (which with a name that rolls off the tongue so wonderfully, has much going for it). Finding the beach route was a real boon – I’ve often looked south of home on the map and wondered about connecting all the isolated little beach settlements on a ride. Having since been told that with the right tides, one can ride or drive much of the way to Castle Point the schemes are starting to percolate.

Turning for home, there was a bit of bonus gravel back to Pourerere. The only disappointment of the day was realising, while stopping for a bit of cheese, that I’d lost my trusty and well-travelled Buff – it having been on most bike rides with me since the MTB World Champs of 2006. Never mind, I groveled back up the hill and down on some more new road to the Tukituki.

Back towards Pourerere and the Pacific.

Finally I found a reason to stop at the Patangata pub (pie and chips is more than enough reason, really), refuelled and hit Middle Road in the twilight. It was decidedly night by the time I reached Havelock North, the stars providing an ample spectacle as I started to think of dinner. That sorted, it was cycle trail all the way home – thus completing a thoroughly wonderful ride using all available daylight hours. I couldn’t believe how warm it was riding in short sleeves into an early winter night. I was well pleased with new places seen and look forward to finding more.

bikes, family, GPS, travel

A Little Niue Biking

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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!