A TOUR IN NEW ZEALAND
Craig MacAlpine
The author at the Franz Josefs Glacier
INTRODUCTION NZ is a superb country and I recommend all cyclists to make the effort to visit it if they ever get a chance. To really enjoy the country, a minimum of a month is required. I spent 67 days in NZ and I just wish I could have had longer. I found NZ offering great value for money and very well set up to cater for tourists. NZ does have its tourist honey pots but even where it is busy, the crowds are minimal compared to Europe. I would recommend to all cyclists get there before the secret is let out the bag!
EQUIPMENT USED While in NZ, I used a custom made touring bike. I had the bike shipped to Singapore where I collected it after spending a month trekking in Nepal. From Singapore I flew with the bike to Auckland, NZ. I made every effort to travel light and apart from my bike I was only carrying 6kg of luggage, which essentially comsisted of spare clothing, bike spares, camera, mobile phone and Psion 5.
In NZ the only problems I had with my bike were 2 punctures in one day and the need to replace a tyre after I accidentally stripped the rubber off the tyre with Sarafega oil remover! I had some other minor problems such as a link in the chain snapping and a sprocket of my rear mechanism falling out but these issues were minor and easily fixed. I was going to enthuse about my Reynolds 731 frame as I had it custom made 3 years ago but the frame snapped just above the bottom bracket while I completed an Audax just after arriving back in the UK from NZ. I dread to think what would have happened if this occurred in NZ!
Before I went to NZ I had heard bad things about the gravel roads. To counteract them I planned to use 700x38c tyres on my bike and I had a pair of wheels specially made using tandem spokes for extra strength. My first encounter with gravel was between Coromandel and Whitianga on a hilly winding road out of Coromandel. The experience of going downhill on a road through thick gravel and continually feeling the rear wheel going out of line is one that will haunt me for years to come. After my brief experience of gravel I planned most of my cycling on sealed roads only. Thankfully most of NZ's best roads for cycling are sealed or in the process of being sealed. Once I decided to give the gravel roads a miss I was able to happily use a 700x23c tyre on the front and 700x25c tyre on the rear. If anybody going to NZ is planning to do large amounts of gravel roads, I would highly recommend a mountain bike. If a cyclist is unsure if they will need one, its best to first check an NZ road map for the routes they wish to do as the maps detail sealed and unsealed roads. For route planning I initially used Bruce Ringers "NZ By Bike" while in the UK. When I reached NZ I discovered "Peddlers Paradise" which is a set of 2 small books covering the North & South Island.
I did not use a tent or sleeping bag. Nearly all the cyclists I meet carried a sleeping bag, stove and tent. I personally believe that you do not require this equipment for an extended trip in NZ unless you are cycling off the beaten track (such as the Molesworth road) or want to spend several nights in remote areas. I found accommodation plentiful and reasonably cheap. Backpacker and hostel accommodation is abundant and before leaving the UK, I obtained a list of over 100 Backpackers hostels from www.hostels.com. It is the norm in Backpackers to bring your own sleeping bag but I was always able to hire clean linen at each one. Backpacker accommodation generally varied in price from $15 to $20 (£5 - £6.60). I also occasionally used Motels or cabins at campsites where backpacker accommodation was unavailable. Motels are great value if a group of 2 or more is travelling together, as the cost of a motel room was generally $55 to $80. Often in the $70-$80 rooms, there were enough beds to sleep 4.
If this has still not convinced those who enjoy lugging around vast amounts of luggage, the average cost of a campsite was $9 per person thus for only £2 more per night, backpackers make great sense.
The author at the Fox Glacier
ROUTES
While in the South Island of NZ, I spent 6 nights under canvas in a hired sleeping bag and tent while sea kayaking in Doubtful Sound and Abel Tasman. The joy and freedom of camping was offset by the sandflies. These little insects are comparable in the desire for human flesh to Scottish midges. In fact, I would say that the sandfly is worse as their bites often caused me minor infections. If anybody reading this is still keen to go to NZ and camp while there, remember to buy good insect repellent and take a good book for when your trapped in your tent. When I was in Fiordland the sandflies were so intense that it sounded like rain splashing on the tent!
I was blessed with superb weather while I was there. It seems that I was lucky because while I was in the North Island, it was wet/mild/cold in parts of the South Island, and while I was in the South Island, parts of the North Island suffered tremendous flooding.
The following is a brief list of notable passes in NZ that I am aware of and that are rideable. Please note that this list is far from definitive and only accounts for the passes that I was aware of while in NZ. There are other passes listed in "Peddlars Paradise":
1. Island Saddle - 1347 metres - mountain bike strongly recommended! - South Island - on Rainbow road. This saddle is on a route between Hanmer Springs and St Arnaud. I did not manage to cycle it but met a German cyclist who managed it and who thoroughly enjoyed it.
2. Wards Pass - 1145 metres - mountain bike strongly recommended! - South Island - on Molesworth road. I did not manage to cycle this route, as I believed that my bike was not up to the job! I have meet several cyclists who have completed the pass and recommend that a mountain bike preferably with front suspension be used on the deep gravel. There are only 2 access points to this pass, Hanmer Springs in the west and Seddon in the east. The area between these 2 places is called Molesworth. While I was in NZ, the route was advertised as only being open to cyclists and vehicles between 28th December 1998 and 14th February 1999. When I was subsequently in St Arnaud, I learnt that the road was due to close early on the 31st January 1999 due to the high fire risk (1998/1999 was a very dry summer in the South Island).
3. Homer Tunnel - 945 metres - tarmac throughout - South Island - between Te Anau and Milford Sound - superb scenery en route and highly recommend to be cycled except in rain (it rains *a lot* around here!). When visiting Milford Sound I decided to get the bus. Unfortunately this was a bad decision as the road from Te Anau to Milford contains fantastic scenery and the road is fully sealed all the way. As Milford is a dead end, the cyclist either has the option of cycling back to Te Anau (120 km plus) or catching a bus (which there are plenty of).
All the cycling books I have read describe the tunnel as being unsealed but this is no longer the case. The tunnel is unlit and will remind OCD'ers of tunnels in the Southern French Alps. From the north side of the tunnel, the road drops from 945 metres to sea level in 20 km. When I go back to NZ this is one route I must do.
The scenery at the foot of the tunnel on the western side.
Unfortunately the rain spoilt the view!
4. Arthurs Pass - 922metres - tarmac throughout - South Island - this was the best pass that I cycled in NZ. I recommend cycling from west to east. The climb proper starts from Otira as the road climbs up the gorge. The cycling is hard but magnificent as you wind your way through lush west coast rain forest (remember that the forest is lush from all the rain!).
Near the pass, the road has some superb zig zags which reminded me of Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle) in Applecross, Scotland, before dropping down and then gently rising to the pass proper. Overall it is a superb climb as the mountains tower over you and feel very small compared to them (similar to being in Glencoe, except the mountains are a lot bigger). Sadly the zigzags will be removed at some point in late 1999. A viaduct is being built in the gorge to replace the zigzags. This is because the road is in danger of being washed away by scree falls. In the past to avoid the landslides the road has been built higher and higher, hence the zig zags.
In the gorge with the new viaduct visible in the background. The
actual pass is out of view about 0.5km behind the photographer.
To the east of Arthurs Pass is the charming village coincidentally Arthurs Pass. From here the road leads gently downhill as the hills open out
The variety of vegetation is amazing along the divide (this is the watershed that divides the west and east of the Southern Alps on the South Island of NZ. To the west is the lush vegetation while a few miles to the east is a barren dry landscapes.
5. Porters Pass - 945 metres - tarmac throughout - South Island. This pass is en route from Arthurs Pass to Christchurch. From the east, the pass is very easy with only a 100 metre climb required on the last section. The landscape to the west of the pass is very barren. High mountains abound in the distance and the land is dry and parched from the lack of rain but stunningly beautiful. To the east of the pass, the road drops to the Canterbury plains. This is a flat area around Christchurch that spreads for 100+ miles and will strike fear in to an OCD cyclist! If cycling to Porters Pass from Christchurch, Porters Pass will be a relief to any cyclist. On word of warning about the Canterbury plains is the wind. When the wind blows, which it often does often, cycling can be tough in a head wind.
6. Haast Pass - 563 metres - tarmac throughout - this pass is the lowest linking the west coast of the south island to the rest of the island. As a low pass it may not be worthy of OCD attention. I found the pass easy to cycle as I went northwest over it (Wanaka to Haast) but the spectacular mountain scenery should keep all OCD'ers happy!
View from Haast back to the pass.
7. Takaka Saddle - 795 metres - tarmac throughout - South Island. This saddle is on the road from Nelson to Collingwood. I cycled it east to west one day and returned over it the next. The scenery on this part of the world was good but unable to compete with the west coast. The road rises from sea level to cross the saddle in a journey of 10-12km thus providing a challenging ride. On the lower slopes on the western side are various orchards and vineyards with hops, kiwi fruit and apples growing.
8. Wilmotts Pass - approx. 600 metres - light gravel - South Island. Any cyclist searching the road maps and cycling guidebooks of NZ will be hard pressed to find this Pass. The Pass is situated in Fiordland at the western end of Lake Manapouri. In the late 1960's and early 1970's a hydroelectric scheme was built on the western fringe of Lake Manapouri. In essence water flows from Lake Manapouri, which is at 200 metres, into the hydro scheme, then flows via a man made tail race into Doubtful Sound which at sea level. The total distance between the lake and sea is about 14km. To enable the hydro scheme to be constructed, a road was built between the 2 sites over Wilmotts Pass. At 200 tonnes each, the hydro generators were too big and heavy to be shipped via Lake Manapouri. Therefore the road was built to allow the generators to be shipped into Doubtful Sound then slowly driven across the pass to the site of the hydro scheme.
The result is a road, which per metre, is the most expensive in NZ and can only be reached by boat across Lake Manapouri, by sea via Doubtful Sound or via a 2/3-day walk. The intrepid cyclist could take their bike across Lake Manapouri on one of the tourist boats that thrice daily visit the hydro scheme and bag a pass that few must have cycled before. The road winds through lush rain forest before the pass is reached and a superb view of Doubtful Sound unfolds
Doubtful Sound.
After seeing the density of the rain forest I can appreciate why it took 2 years to build such a short road. The road then winds it way down to Doubtful Sound where upon the cyclist either has the choice of returning or, if they have planned wisely, joining a guided kayak trip in Doubtful Sound.
Unfortunately I wasn't aware prior to visiting Doubtful Sound that the pass could be cycled but at least it leaves an excuse for me to return to NZ for some more cycling ;-)
Craig MacAlpine.
The OCD magazine Cycloclimbing has had three articles on cycling tours in New Zealand:
These are available to OCD Members at the cost of copying. The OCD Files include additional material, again available to Members.
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Copyright Craig MacAlpine and OCD Cycloclimbing - April 1999 with minor additions at the end on 24 June 2000