New Zealand Journal
Footnotes
new zealand
We spent three weeks cycling around the northern half of New Zealand's South Island, riding on as many dirt roads and trails as we could find. Our route was based on the famed Kiwi Brevet and ...
Introduction: Adventure in New Zealand
Thirty hours of travel later, we arrived in Wellington on a sunny, warm summer afternoon. We unpacked and assembled our bikes in the airport parking lot, loaded our bags onto them, and set off ...
29 Jan + 1 Feb: Wellington, Picton
The morning was spent winding along the twisting coastal roads, a periodic break in the trees revealing a stunning view of the sounds. After a long while on pavement, and our first ...
2 Feb: Pelorus Bridge, Maungatapu Track, Nelson
After resting up and spending the morning exploring Nelson, we enjoyed a shorter day on the bike. The Great Taste Trail left the small city on bike paths, avoiding traffic, and soon we ...
3 Feb: Great Taste Trail, Wakefield
We planned to make it to Tapawera, but the dirt roads, though hilly, were smooth and fast-moving. We descended into agricultural lands where the main crop appeared to be a favorite of ours: ...
4 Feb: Tapawera, Lake Rotaroa
We fled the swarming sand flies, said good-bye to the gorgeous Lake Rotaroa, and set off on the smooth dirt of the Braeburn track. Four stream crossings and plenty of climbing later, we arrived ...
5 Feb: Braeburn Track, Springs Junction
A hot sun burned away the morning fog, leaving a blistering summer day. A fellow camper had warned us that this was going to be a rare day for the South Island, reaching up to 90°F. We ...
6 + 7 Feb: Springs Junction, Reefton, Greymouth
We picked up the West Coast Wilderness Trail from the campground in Greymouth, and followed the route through 60 miles of dirt roads, beautiful single track, perfect double track, and even a ...
8 Feb: West Coast Wilderness Trail to Hokitika
We started from Hokitika with the idea of camping along Lake Brunner, but we made great time and decided to keep going to Arthur's Pass. From Hokitika, we rode on back roads and dirt ...
9 Feb: Arthur’s Pass
Plenty of miles rolling through the mountains today. From Arthur's Pass Village, we remained in the highlands and surrounded by stunning peaks. The landscape shifted from western forests, ...
10 Feb: Porter’s Pass, Springfield
We couldn't verify that the route we had planned would actually get us anywhere, so we stopped by the Famous Sheffield Pie Shop to reinforce our supplies with a variety of vege and fruit pies ...
11 Feb: Springfield to Wharfedale Hut
We lost count of how many times we removed our shoes to ford streams along the Townshend Track, and lost our trail for a time as it disappeared in a flood plain. After passing through a ...
12 + 13 Feb: Wharfedale Hut, Townshend Track, Waikari, and Hanmer Springs
To climb up from Hanmer Springs to the historic Awatere River Road, also known as Acheron Road or Molesworth Road, we had two choices: power line trail or dirt road. We chose the power line trail, ...
14 Feb: Hanmer Springs to Cob Cottage
Despite a net elevation loss from Cob Cottage, the rest of the Awatere River Road was slow going. The morning rolled through green stands of trees surrounded by jagged mountains. The descents ...
15 + 16 Feb: Awatere River Road to Blenheim
Only 40 miles today, mostly along the winding Port Underwood Road, but this might have been the most climbing in any 40-mile stretch so far. Three major climbs, two of which were on that ...
17 Feb: Blenheim to Picton
With a few extra days to spend after finishing the route we set out to complete, we took a boat from Picton through the Marlborough Sounds to Camp Bay. Although rain was predicted, we hoped to hike ...
18 + 19 Feb: Camp Bay, Queen Charlotte Track, Marlborough Sounds, and back to Picton
