Day 25 of TA - Rock garden?
Sunday 2nd November
Distance: 81km
Elevation gain: 1,344 metres
From Pelorus Bridge over the Maungatapu Saddle to Nelson and finally Wakefield
About 10hrs elapsed from 8:00am to 6:00pm.
Which way? That was the question we pondered. There are two ways from Pelorus Bridge to Nelson. The Highway or a gravel 4WD track over the Maungatapu Saddle at 740m elevation. The highway is busy and has a narrow shoulder in places so it would be uncomfortable. The Maungatapu Saddle is a very steep rock garden of a track that is not suitable for touring bikes. We settled on the Maungatapu Saddle. It's part of the TA route and other folks we have spoken with recently have made the trek. It has been described as the hardest climb of the whole TA!
Alarms went off at 5:30am and we finally got rolling at 8am. There was a lot of dew on the tents and we waited as long as we dared to let them dry as much as possible.
The first leg today was Pelorus Bridge over the Maungatapu Saddle to Nelson. This was 'only' 39km and we would be over the Saddle after 20km. So there was a gentle 10km to the start of Maungatapu track, 10km climb, and then 20km roll down the other side to Nelson. We made it to the top of the Maungatapu Saddle at midday. That's 4hrs to cycle 20km. It was very step, very rough and rocky. We walked the last 3km - pushing our bikes up the mountain. The 20km from the top down to Nelson took another 2hrs. It was just as steep and rocky. Riding down it was a huge challenge. In fact you didn't ride down it, you survived it. I believe the Maungatapu Saddle track is not really meant for bicycles. It's for tramping, hiking or motorbikes. Maybe mountain bikes, but I couldn't imagine too many people being capable of riding up the track - it's too step and rocky.
At 2pm we arrived in Nelson, having spent 6hrs riding and walking 40km. I was exhausted and needed a break. I grabbed a large Whopper meal from Burger King.
Re-energised, we completed our second leg for today, the 40km ride along the Great Taste Trail from Nelson into the hinterland. The conditions were the complete opposite. This was a flat, smooth, concrete or tarmac cycle trail and we made good progress. We arrived at our campsite, at the Wai-iti Domain a bit before 6pm. We had stopped for supplies in Wakefield for a basic dinner (hot water in a bag meal). Unfortunately, the Wai-iti Domain was very basic, just a field with one toilet and no fresh water. Rob filled our water bottles from the local stream and we boiled the water to make our dinner. For the record we did stop at the Hotel in Wakefield to ask if they had any rooms for the night, but alas they were fully booked.
We were both in our tents by 8pm - exhausted after a huge day. Hopefully we don't have another day like today. It was gruelling.
Today's theme song is by Slim Dusty - Walk a Country Mile
'Cause if I wanted to get where I was go-oin' / I knew I'd just have to walk that country mile
Today more than any other day on this adventure I've had to walk / push my Karate Monkey bike. At least a country mile I reckon…
At Pelorus Bridge at 8am,ready to start the big climb.
Stop to change out of our riding shoes and into hiking boots. About an hour of walking ahead of us.
Photo control point 16 - Maungatapu Saddle (summit). All smiles but only because we never have to do that again.
From the summit we could see the ocean, the plains behind Nelson and snow on the mountain peaks in the distance.
Cycling the Great Taste Trail beside vineyards. Lovely blue sky day and a tailwind part of the way.
Distance: 81km
Elevation gain: 1,344 metres
From Pelorus Bridge over the Maungatapu Saddle to Nelson and finally Wakefield
About 10hrs elapsed from 8:00am to 6:00pm.
Which way? That was the question we pondered. There are two ways from Pelorus Bridge to Nelson. The Highway or a gravel 4WD track over the Maungatapu Saddle at 740m elevation. The highway is busy and has a narrow shoulder in places so it would be uncomfortable. The Maungatapu Saddle is a very steep rock garden of a track that is not suitable for touring bikes. We settled on the Maungatapu Saddle. It's part of the TA route and other folks we have spoken with recently have made the trek. It has been described as the hardest climb of the whole TA!
Alarms went off at 5:30am and we finally got rolling at 8am. There was a lot of dew on the tents and we waited as long as we dared to let them dry as much as possible.
The first leg today was Pelorus Bridge over the Maungatapu Saddle to Nelson. This was 'only' 39km and we would be over the Saddle after 20km. So there was a gentle 10km to the start of Maungatapu track, 10km climb, and then 20km roll down the other side to Nelson. We made it to the top of the Maungatapu Saddle at midday. That's 4hrs to cycle 20km. It was very step, very rough and rocky. We walked the last 3km - pushing our bikes up the mountain. The 20km from the top down to Nelson took another 2hrs. It was just as steep and rocky. Riding down it was a huge challenge. In fact you didn't ride down it, you survived it. I believe the Maungatapu Saddle track is not really meant for bicycles. It's for tramping, hiking or motorbikes. Maybe mountain bikes, but I couldn't imagine too many people being capable of riding up the track - it's too step and rocky.
At 2pm we arrived in Nelson, having spent 6hrs riding and walking 40km. I was exhausted and needed a break. I grabbed a large Whopper meal from Burger King.
Re-energised, we completed our second leg for today, the 40km ride along the Great Taste Trail from Nelson into the hinterland. The conditions were the complete opposite. This was a flat, smooth, concrete or tarmac cycle trail and we made good progress. We arrived at our campsite, at the Wai-iti Domain a bit before 6pm. We had stopped for supplies in Wakefield for a basic dinner (hot water in a bag meal). Unfortunately, the Wai-iti Domain was very basic, just a field with one toilet and no fresh water. Rob filled our water bottles from the local stream and we boiled the water to make our dinner. For the record we did stop at the Hotel in Wakefield to ask if they had any rooms for the night, but alas they were fully booked.
We were both in our tents by 8pm - exhausted after a huge day. Hopefully we don't have another day like today. It was gruelling.
Today's theme song is by Slim Dusty - Walk a Country Mile
'Cause if I wanted to get where I was go-oin' / I knew I'd just have to walk that country mile
Today more than any other day on this adventure I've had to walk / push my Karate Monkey bike. At least a country mile I reckon…
At Pelorus Bridge at 8am,ready to start the big climb.
Stop to change out of our riding shoes and into hiking boots. About an hour of walking ahead of us.
Photo control point 16 - Maungatapu Saddle (summit). All smiles but only because we never have to do that again.
From the summit we could see the ocean, the plains behind Nelson and snow on the mountain peaks in the distance.
Cycling the Great Taste Trail beside vineyards. Lovely blue sky day and a tailwind part of the way.
Wow. We realised that you were in difficult country this morning with such slow progress.I hope that was the worst you have to traverse for the rest of the trail.Have not done a weather check for your neck of the woods so hope conditions hold. Looking forward to next post
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge day, pushing heavy loads uphill then dodgy ride back down. At least the afternoon trail was good going. Hope tomorrow is an easier day.
ReplyDeleteWhat a day! Well done for surviving that challenge! Sounds a bit "butt clenching" going over the pass. We have ridden the Taste of Tasman trail and most of it was great so at least you had the hard stuff first up! You two are going to be Uber fit by the time you reach Bluff! All the best and I look forward to reading about the rest of the trip!
ReplyDelete“All smiles but only because we never have to do that again”… 🤣W
ReplyDelete