30 Jan - 6 Feb: Tongariro - Wellington

Good morning all, actually that's a lie. It's not a good morning. It's foul and pestilent, but that’s for footballing reasons (good luck Johnny Howson, good-bye Leeds’ season). For biking reasons though it’s the greatest as I type this in Dunedin on the South Island after thousands of kilometres of stunning on and off road riding. To bridge the gap between here and Tongaririo I need to back pedal a bit to cover the gap walking at Tongariro to rolling off the Interislander ferry into Picton.

Packing up at the campsite near Lake Taupo, I left heading south with plans to meet up with John, a Canadian biker friend met on the walk somewhere around Wellington so we would cross to the South Island together. Feeling I was a bit behind time I took a long days flying ride down the centre of the North Island to stay with a friend near Wellington. In the end a week passed without too much biking and some leisurely day trips out and about. Highlights were the Te Papa national museum and a jaunt across to the Putanirua Pinnacles, an area on the south east coast where soft sandy ground has been eroded by water over the years to leave a series of tall narrow canyons and pillars.

Wellington from the top of an old cable car station

Botanical gardens - the rose garden

The 'Happy Wanderer' rose in Wellington Botanical gardens

A nice sentiment on a park bench

You can't live in Wellington by chance!

A bridge made from driftwood and old metal

Cost near porirua

The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles (Dimwalt Road in Lord of the Rings!)

Lighthouse near the Pinnacles

Lighthouse near the Pinnacles

Babe the bulldozer near the lighthouse

The NZ rugby 7s team parading through Wellington

With a couple of days spent in and around Wellington, including seeing the launch party for the Rugby 7s it was time to get a ferry ticket booked and get over to the South Island, supposedly where all the good stuff is.

An amusing moutain near the ferry terminal

Strapping the bikes down for a 3 hr crossing

Leaving Wellington

A small boat passes bye

Sailing past some rocky outcrops

Arriving Picton

So let me first say, for those who know New Zealand it’s a statement of fact, for those that know me it’s the ultimate endorsement. New Zealand; better than Yorkshire. From the moment the ferry approaches the South Island you can tell there’s something special ahead. Cliffs dramatically fall into the sea and hundreds of small islands pass by on the three hour journey. In the queue to board, I got talking to a German biker, Matthias, who was to ride with myself and John over the next 10 days or so. Those days took in some of the finest on and off road motorbiking there is to be had anywhere. Ant the thing is, we barely even scratched the surface! Every road you ride down means missing two or three others all of which have various side trails and 4x4 tracks running off them to remote farms or accessing quiet ski areas.


Next time will cover Nelson to the Abel Tasman National Park and Fox glacier.