Had eggs on toast in Picton and waited for it to get light.
6:00am: Rode to Blenheim the long way around following the coast. Very hilly twisty gravel.
The first photo is at Waikawa Bay at about 6:10am.
There are quite a few little bays along this road. The twisty gravel road helps to make the little bays feel quite remote which is nice.
The second photo was a poor attempt at trying to be a bit arty. The sun was rising and the colours were very appealling. This red roadside shed seemed to light up particulaly well so I thought I would take a photo to see how it would come out. Justice is not done.
The third photo is looking down onto Rarangi near Blenhiem as I wound my way back down to sea level near the end of the gravel road. (Port Underwood Road)
Rode from Blenheim to St. Arnaud. I pulled into Renwick an bought a pie. When I wqas on the Dusty Butt ride, I remember Mr Jatz being quite keen on Renwick pies for some reason. I had a pie. It was pretty good.
The road was pretty straight and flat for a fair way. The road follows the Wairau River with the Richmond Range to the north and the Inner Kaikoura Range to the south. Near the Wash Bridge the road eventually became a twisty hilly thing as I neared St. Anaud.
Just after St Anaud I turned left up the Mt Robert Road. This is a 5km gravel road that has various hiking tracks venture off from it. The hikes generally explore the Nelson lakes (Rotoiti and Rotoroa)
I then rode on a few kms past St. Anaud and turned left onto Howard Valley Rd and then right onto the 4WD Porika Track to Lake Rotoroa.
I then rode on a few kms past St. Anaud and turned left onto Howard Valley Rd and then right onto the 4WD Porika Track to Lake Rotoroa.
I last rode this track when I was on the Dusty Butt ride with a suspected broken rib. It is a fairly easy track but I found that I was taking it a bit easier than usual due to being loaded up with baggage and not wanting to make any mistakes that could result in further damage to my ribs.
Towards the end of the track there are some nice views of Lake Rotoroa. This is were I had to stop on the Dusty Butt. So from here I tried to fit in the bit of the Dusty Butt that I missed. Well at least Murchison to Palmers Road. At Lake Rotoroa I got talking to a guy who ran tours through Molesworth country. He informed me that the Awatere Valley road through the Molesworth was shut due to fire risk but was due to open in a day or two. The Rainbow road remained open but there is a $15 toll. The mozzies at Lake Rotoroa started to home in on me and I was soon back on the bike.
It was gravel roads to Murchison via Tutaki and Mangles Valley. I stopped for lunch in Murchison. There were plenty of other bikers coming through on the main road.
Just west out of Murchison I turned left and went down Matakitaki West Bank Rd to a dead end. The map showed a bridge crossing over the Matakitaki River at this point. The reality of the situation, clearly, was that there is NO bridge. However, there were two gates. One gate sign said something about a mine and heavy machinery operating. The other gate sign said something about a swingbridge being not OSH approved or similar. I went through the Mine Gate and across a paddock containing about 20 unfriendly looking steers. Then along a stony track to the mine proper. I rode up to a large piece of operating machinery and asked the guy where, if anywhere, I could cross the river. He said there was a small swingbridge through the other gate, but was unsure if a motorcycle could get across.
The Matakitaki Road continued on into the Maruia Saddle. It is an excellent bit of easy off road trail, quite loamy in places. I was having a bit of fun pushing the limits of grip in the pumice impregnated clay. I had a few front end drifts but nothing too scary.
Then down to Springs Junction and a diverge down Palmers Rd and back.
The river crossings on Palmers Rd were unusual in that you would ride up a rise to find a river crossing. Usually river crossings are ridden DOWN onto. This caught me by surprise the first time and my emergency braking skills were put to the test. Of the approx 6 crossings, only 2 had any water.
On to Reefton and then Inchbonnie/Jackson via Nelsons Creek Rd .
Over Arthurs Pass to Springfield. Stayed at Springfield Pub ($20)
XT seemed to be going real well over Arthurs pass. Fantastic road. Really enjoyable.
Arrive Springfield 8:30pm, 51120 km = 670 km
This was a big day! Rode from dawn to dusk stopping only for fuel and food. I would have kept riding except that it had got dark.
Towards the end of the track there are some nice views of Lake Rotoroa. This is were I had to stop on the Dusty Butt. So from here I tried to fit in the bit of the Dusty Butt that I missed. Well at least Murchison to Palmers Road. At Lake Rotoroa I got talking to a guy who ran tours through Molesworth country. He informed me that the Awatere Valley road through the Molesworth was shut due to fire risk but was due to open in a day or two. The Rainbow road remained open but there is a $15 toll. The mozzies at Lake Rotoroa started to home in on me and I was soon back on the bike.
It was gravel roads to Murchison via Tutaki and Mangles Valley. I stopped for lunch in Murchison. There were plenty of other bikers coming through on the main road.
Just west out of Murchison I turned left and went down Matakitaki West Bank Rd to a dead end. The map showed a bridge crossing over the Matakitaki River at this point. The reality of the situation, clearly, was that there is NO bridge. However, there were two gates. One gate sign said something about a mine and heavy machinery operating. The other gate sign said something about a swingbridge being not OSH approved or similar. I went through the Mine Gate and across a paddock containing about 20 unfriendly looking steers. Then along a stony track to the mine proper. I rode up to a large piece of operating machinery and asked the guy where, if anywhere, I could cross the river. He said there was a small swingbridge through the other gate, but was unsure if a motorcycle could get across.
So I went back to the dead end and through the other gate. I came to a small sign indicating a swingbridge and rode down a dead end track. I got off the bike and walked along some steps cut in some rock along a steep bank and came to the swingbridge. It was just a single person swingbridge that looked out over the river below giving quite a magnificent view. There was no way that I could get my bike to the start of the bridge and even then it would be really dodgy trying to get the bike across, if not impossible.
I went back out and continued on past the swingbridge sign and just ended up riding through paddocks and along a farm race. There looked to be no other river crossing. I pulled into the local farmhouse and got talking to the farmers wife. She said that they had built the bridge themselves so that their children could get to school when the river flooded the main road. She mentioned that they also got quite a few mountain bike riders using the bridge. I showed her the map I had indicating a road bridge. She could plainly understand why I thought I would be able to cross the river at this place.
This is not the first time that I have found the "KiwiMaps" maps to be incorrect. I had to backtrack back to Murchison and travel down the Matakitaki Road on the eastern side of the river. I was annoyed at having lost an hour.
The Matakitaki Road continued on into the Maruia Saddle. It is an excellent bit of easy off road trail, quite loamy in places. I was having a bit of fun pushing the limits of grip in the pumice impregnated clay. I had a few front end drifts but nothing too scary.
Then down to Springs Junction and a diverge down Palmers Rd and back.
The river crossings on Palmers Rd were unusual in that you would ride up a rise to find a river crossing. Usually river crossings are ridden DOWN onto. This caught me by surprise the first time and my emergency braking skills were put to the test. Of the approx 6 crossings, only 2 had any water.
On to Reefton and then Inchbonnie/Jackson via Nelsons Creek Rd .
Over Arthurs Pass to Springfield. Stayed at Springfield Pub ($20)
XT seemed to be going real well over Arthurs pass. Fantastic road. Really enjoyable.
Arrive Springfield 8:30pm, 51120 km = 670 km
This was a big day! Rode from dawn to dusk stopping only for fuel and food. I would have kept riding except that it had got dark.
Here is a googleMap of the journey. Note it takes about 20 seconds for the route to show on the map:
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