A plan had been hatched a couple of months ago to have a mountain biking weekend on the West Coast, weather permitting. The intended venue was to be Reefton also known as "The town of light"! In 1988 Reefton became the first town in New Zealand and the Souther Hemisphere to receive electricity, and its streets were lit by commercial electricity generated by the Reefton Power Station. Rich veins of gold found in a quartz reef near the town led to its name, and also to its former name of Quartzopolis. Gold was first discovered near the town in 1866, although the major discovery was made in 1870. Soon after, the town briefly boasted a population of several thousand. This has now dwindled to less than a thousand.
The weather forecast was indeed favourable so Andy, Nathan and I left Christchurch on Friday afternoon after collecting Sean from the airport. During one comfort stop it was noted that Sean's bike was close to parting company with the rack, some people will do anything for an easy weekend. Three hours later and we were in the "Town of Light". We were booked into the Bellbird Motel, on locating the establishment it was clear that we would be "Living the Dream" for the next 48 hours.
Wilson's Hotel was our chosen venue for an evening meal. A young guys versus older guys rivalry developed around the pool table. The winning pair were the ones who played slightly less appallingly. To cap the evening off I won the raffle. The prize was a cardboard sheet covered in lottery scratch cards. Interesting! Some of the locals didn't look too impressed that some 'out of towner' was making off with the booty. At one point we were slightly concerned that a lady who described herself as a 'fishmonger' was going to try and make off with Andy so we made a dash for our luxury accommodation suite.
So, down to business, we all made it through the night despite the scratch cards being in the motel room. The proposed itinerary for the day was the Big River to Waiuta track, a 55km grade 4 track with an extra 25kms on the road to complete the route to Reefton. The early morning mist kept things cool as we slowly climbed out of Reefton.
The gravel road gave way to a progressively rougher 4WD track which climbed up past miscellaneous old mine workings to about 700 metres.
A very enjoyable descent then takes you down to the Big River workings. The DOC Big River hut commands a fine position above the old buildings, the outlook from the hut is quite superb.
After the hut some sections of boardwalk wind across a high plateau that is reminiscent of Gouland Downs on the Heaphy Track.
After passing the St. George mine the Waiuta track contours round a steep hillside for several kilometers with several side creek crossings to challenge the adventurous rider.
On reaching Waiuta there are plenty of old mine relics to interest any historians among your group.
There had been much talk up to this point about riding back the way we had come rather than doing the 25 kms on the road back to Reefton. The bluff and bluster had been coming from the young ones. Interestingly at this point there was no real discussion and the shorter, quicker way back was opted for. Everyone was out of water at this point and a stop at a house led to Sean sprinting back out of the property with a particularly loud canine in hot pursuit. The beast turned out to a labrador trying it's hardest to lick him to death. A polite request at a house further out towards the main road enabled us to fill our bottles. There are some 'interesting' characters with 'interesting' lifestyles in these parts!
The road sign said 24kms to Reefton so it was suggested that we do 1km turns on the front, only six turns each and we would be home. After a couple of rotations Sean was sliding off the back mumbling something about it being too much like road riding. It has to be said that Sean's Bear Grylls biking attire looked as far out of place on this part as my lycra had in the bush. Not much over an hour later and we were back in Reefton.
Three quarters of the team went for a swim in the river but as I am made of cardboard when it comes to swimming in the wild (or do I mean freezing river) I made do with a shower. On their return the boys were concerned that Andy may have exhibited his bottom too close to a bunch of locals and attempts were made to fortify the motel room.
Not wanting to brave the night life of Reefton again we opted for the fish and chip shop followed by planning for a Sunday ride of Kirwan's track as described in the Dave Mitchell book. We had seen a video on the Quartzopolis website showing a group getting a helicopter to Kirwan's hut followed by a descent back to Reefton. We were slightly concerned by the Grade 5 (Expert) rating.
The next morning Sean spoke to a 'bloke in the cafe'. Later in the day this guy was to become known as 'that tw** in the cafe'!! This local authority assured Sean that Kirwan's track was a straightforward old pack track. We all felt better about the mission, myself included, despite my experience of Andy's ability to grossly underestimate a tramping or biking challenge.
Before departure Andy felt the need to go looking for some bottom relief and came back with a one liter tub of petroleum jelly. Apparently it was cheaper to buy this ridiculous quantity of no brand stuff than normal Vaseline. Andy always likes a bargain. Next thing the guys are all taking turns with the petroleum jelly. It seems that I am the only one with a decent pair of bike shorts.
The road section round to Capleston went well, followed by a couple of kms of 'nice' track through the forest. It wasn't long however before the gradient picked up and I found myself dismounting so frequently that it was easier just to push. Nice bush but after another couple of hours pushing I'd had enough. Fortunately the 1km to the top sign appeared and all was well again. Now for the amazing downhill? WRONG!! If you want an amazing downhill you must turn round and ride back down the way you have ascended. We were following the route to Montgomerie Hut on the Waitahu river. This section consists of about 7kms of tumbling downhill and climbing over fallen trees. This is definitely the furthest I've ever had to push and carry a mountain bike. I really do believe that a mountain biking guide should be a little more explicit about the nature of a section like this. Unless you relish a bush bash with a bike then don't even consider it. At one one point on this section Andy found a 50m section that he could ride an proceeded to announce that the track was 'sublime'. You have admire his ability to find the positives in a situation! Not far beyond this point I was at the rear trying to ride another 'sublime' 25 metres when I hit a hidden tree root and went straight over the handlebars. I was very lucky not to suffer an inconvenient injury, the worst thing was that no one else had witnessed my aerobatics....
Once we arrived at Montgomerie Hut things improved significantly and the 4WD track out to the road was reasonably quick. This was fortunate as by this time we were racing to get Sean back in time for his flight. In the end we had an 8 hour day with about 20% spent riding...
On balance the weekend was a great adventure, Reefton has some really nice riding that could vary enormously depending on the weather conditions. I will be studying all guidebook information very closely in future and reading between the lines for clues about 'total epics'.
Thanks to Andy, Sean and Nathan for the good company.
The weather forecast was indeed favourable so Andy, Nathan and I left Christchurch on Friday afternoon after collecting Sean from the airport. During one comfort stop it was noted that Sean's bike was close to parting company with the rack, some people will do anything for an easy weekend. Three hours later and we were in the "Town of Light". We were booked into the Bellbird Motel, on locating the establishment it was clear that we would be "Living the Dream" for the next 48 hours.
Wilson's Hotel was our chosen venue for an evening meal. A young guys versus older guys rivalry developed around the pool table. The winning pair were the ones who played slightly less appallingly. To cap the evening off I won the raffle. The prize was a cardboard sheet covered in lottery scratch cards. Interesting! Some of the locals didn't look too impressed that some 'out of towner' was making off with the booty. At one point we were slightly concerned that a lady who described herself as a 'fishmonger' was going to try and make off with Andy so we made a dash for our luxury accommodation suite.
So, down to business, we all made it through the night despite the scratch cards being in the motel room. The proposed itinerary for the day was the Big River to Waiuta track, a 55km grade 4 track with an extra 25kms on the road to complete the route to Reefton. The early morning mist kept things cool as we slowly climbed out of Reefton.
The gravel road gave way to a progressively rougher 4WD track which climbed up past miscellaneous old mine workings to about 700 metres.
A very enjoyable descent then takes you down to the Big River workings. The DOC Big River hut commands a fine position above the old buildings, the outlook from the hut is quite superb.
After the hut some sections of boardwalk wind across a high plateau that is reminiscent of Gouland Downs on the Heaphy Track.
After passing the St. George mine the Waiuta track contours round a steep hillside for several kilometers with several side creek crossings to challenge the adventurous rider.
On reaching Waiuta there are plenty of old mine relics to interest any historians among your group.
There had been much talk up to this point about riding back the way we had come rather than doing the 25 kms on the road back to Reefton. The bluff and bluster had been coming from the young ones. Interestingly at this point there was no real discussion and the shorter, quicker way back was opted for. Everyone was out of water at this point and a stop at a house led to Sean sprinting back out of the property with a particularly loud canine in hot pursuit. The beast turned out to a labrador trying it's hardest to lick him to death. A polite request at a house further out towards the main road enabled us to fill our bottles. There are some 'interesting' characters with 'interesting' lifestyles in these parts!
The road sign said 24kms to Reefton so it was suggested that we do 1km turns on the front, only six turns each and we would be home. After a couple of rotations Sean was sliding off the back mumbling something about it being too much like road riding. It has to be said that Sean's Bear Grylls biking attire looked as far out of place on this part as my lycra had in the bush. Not much over an hour later and we were back in Reefton.
Three quarters of the team went for a swim in the river but as I am made of cardboard when it comes to swimming in the wild (or do I mean freezing river) I made do with a shower. On their return the boys were concerned that Andy may have exhibited his bottom too close to a bunch of locals and attempts were made to fortify the motel room.
Not wanting to brave the night life of Reefton again we opted for the fish and chip shop followed by planning for a Sunday ride of Kirwan's track as described in the Dave Mitchell book. We had seen a video on the Quartzopolis website showing a group getting a helicopter to Kirwan's hut followed by a descent back to Reefton. We were slightly concerned by the Grade 5 (Expert) rating.
The next morning Sean spoke to a 'bloke in the cafe'. Later in the day this guy was to become known as 'that tw** in the cafe'!! This local authority assured Sean that Kirwan's track was a straightforward old pack track. We all felt better about the mission, myself included, despite my experience of Andy's ability to grossly underestimate a tramping or biking challenge.
Before departure Andy felt the need to go looking for some bottom relief and came back with a one liter tub of petroleum jelly. Apparently it was cheaper to buy this ridiculous quantity of no brand stuff than normal Vaseline. Andy always likes a bargain. Next thing the guys are all taking turns with the petroleum jelly. It seems that I am the only one with a decent pair of bike shorts.
The road section round to Capleston went well, followed by a couple of kms of 'nice' track through the forest. It wasn't long however before the gradient picked up and I found myself dismounting so frequently that it was easier just to push. Nice bush but after another couple of hours pushing I'd had enough. Fortunately the 1km to the top sign appeared and all was well again. Now for the amazing downhill? WRONG!! If you want an amazing downhill you must turn round and ride back down the way you have ascended. We were following the route to Montgomerie Hut on the Waitahu river. This section consists of about 7kms of tumbling downhill and climbing over fallen trees. This is definitely the furthest I've ever had to push and carry a mountain bike. I really do believe that a mountain biking guide should be a little more explicit about the nature of a section like this. Unless you relish a bush bash with a bike then don't even consider it. At one one point on this section Andy found a 50m section that he could ride an proceeded to announce that the track was 'sublime'. You have admire his ability to find the positives in a situation! Not far beyond this point I was at the rear trying to ride another 'sublime' 25 metres when I hit a hidden tree root and went straight over the handlebars. I was very lucky not to suffer an inconvenient injury, the worst thing was that no one else had witnessed my aerobatics....
Once we arrived at Montgomerie Hut things improved significantly and the 4WD track out to the road was reasonably quick. This was fortunate as by this time we were racing to get Sean back in time for his flight. In the end we had an 8 hour day with about 20% spent riding...
On balance the weekend was a great adventure, Reefton has some really nice riding that could vary enormously depending on the weather conditions. I will be studying all guidebook information very closely in future and reading between the lines for clues about 'total epics'.
Thanks to Andy, Sean and Nathan for the good company.
