The Timber Trail had been a huge amount of fun, the next stage was to the Bridge to Nowhere via the Mangaparua Track, this was not fun. Maybe on a different bike (I’m on a Gravel Bike), with wider tyres or after no rain, it would be better. Today was one of my worst days on a bike, about 1200 meters of steep climbing, at least half super slippery peanut butter clay mud. Constantly having to get off to push, feet disappearing into the soft mud, almost impossible to even get grip for my shoes let alone my Pathfinder Pros with their slick middle runner for pavement.
The top did have some stunning views over the valley, making the slow crawl-up feel worthwhile. This section of the ride probably had the most exposed cliffside trails; both the roads and these paths had lots of signs of recent rockfalls, so it was careful going.
The ride down the other side was much better until I was off the steep stuff, and the mud returned. Somewhere along, in one of the many slips, I bent the derailleur hanger, I managed to straighten it enough – I hope. Pretty close to the bridge is a perfectly placed guest house and cafe, the Blue Duck Cafe, except it was closed today so it was onto the boat. The Bridge to Nowhere itself is quite substantial, particularly since it literally goes nowhere!
The various bike repairs meant I was late for the jetboat, that was OK I would just camp and get the first one in the morning. Luckily though, another one was there for some hikers, he had seen my dot coming down the path and knew I was late. The hikers were being dropped halfway so I got a private trip! Really cool.
For people on the normal boat, they let you order a dinner which they cook in the Pipiriki campground at Taumarunui, very luxurious after a hard day. I arrived just in time to see the kitchen closed. After raiding the little campsite shop it was a dehydrated meal for me, not the same as the pizza I had been imagining, but at least there was a hot shower and a warm common room full of people interesting to talk to. One was local and owned a bike shop in town; luckily, my poor bike needed one.
The Bridge to Nowhere
The Map
What happened to the rest of your trip report?
Hi, I was thinking of doing the TA next year, so doing a bit of research and saw your name in the finish list. Your 20 day time seems pretty quick to me but maybe its faster going than the the Tassie Gift (probably since there’s more sealed roads and less climbing). Were you happy with your bike for this route? How did you manage the logistics at each end? Is there a shuttle from Auckland to Cape Reinga and another one from Bluff to Queenstown? Did you put your bike in a box to get it to the start? What did you do at the end? Sorry for all the questions.
Hi Vaughan, I got distracted planning the next trip to WA – I need to go back and finish this off !
The ride is awesome, the course is a little hilly but the variety in scenery and climate is incredible. NZ is a long country and the routoe really shows the differences. The riding isn’t to difficult but also isn’t easy; the book estimates of 50% road, 25% singletrack/bikepath and 25% MTB – it is pretty much right.
The number of people doing the ride means you are always riding with someone at some stage of the day, but the wave starts means there also isn’t too many. Absolutely grab Kennet’s Brothers book, it covers most things well – particularly practical stuff – phone numbers, distances etc. Probably the biggest thing wrong in the book is the result of Covid; some of the small towns no longer had any shops so you couldn’t resupply, make sure you can carry a few days food. Give yourself tiime to break up the GPX track and getting it on your GPS(s), it takes some doing. On that, I wish I had added all the towns as waypoints, so I could easily see a countdown of distance to the next town or the one after for lunch or stopping for the night.
Packing for the climate is tricky; the North Island was white, salty shirts from the heat while the South had snow. Of course, it’s NZ, there was rain, but not too many days of it. As usual, Merino is your friend.
The terrain is hilly. I had an 11-42 with a 40t chain ring – I’m pretty good on hills but it was tough! Many people were running similar, or bigger, clusters with 30ish chainrings. The lower you can get the better, there was plenty of 15-20% mountains to push up. Speaking of bikes, I took my Specialised Diverge, it was good on the road and OK on the single track, I was definitely underbiked for the MTB sections though. The max tire width I can take is 42mm which was tricky in the muddier sections, I spent a lot of time laying in the mud, not riding over it! Take your MTB bike and you’ll be fine.
My guess of 20 days was too short, 25 days is about riight. I had 30 days total, and I didn’t make it to the end, only to Queenstown. This was because of logistics reasons, not legs or bike. I lost a couple of days in beginning getting North, I ended up using a shuttle from Auckland, it made it easy. The South was tricky, I couldn’t get hold of the bus to make sure I could get back to Queenstown in time for my flight – despite 5 days of messages and emails. In the end they contacted me, but it was too late then. Even with a fully flexible fair there’s not many flights out and all seats were booked for the next 2 weeks. ( I have unfinished business and need to return…)
If you did decide to use that bus they will give you a bike box and pick up at about 6AM from the Bluff on the way through to Queenstown, a very fast bike pack is needed. Best plan for getting out is to fly out of Invercargill., it’s only a 20km ride from the Bluff and has bike shops that can give you a box.
I’ll send you a DM, there are definitely things I learnt that would be handy. I have notes ready to go into further posts for others to read as well; I just need to stop being slack and get writing 😀
Colin, hope you’re doing well.
Keep writing I’m enjoying your perspective on TA.
I have some pictures of you which I am not sure you have. Let me know your email address.