The Tour Te Waipounamu is a bikepacking race the length of the South Island of New Zealand/ Aotearoa. It starts at Cape Farewell at the top of the South Island and finishes at Slope point at the bottom of the South Island. The route zigzags its way through the South Island taking you to places you would never dream of going with a fully laden bike. The 1300km route takes you through lush forests with walking tracks traced with tree roots, vast valleys criss-crossed by mountain rivers, sheep trails that take you up into the high country and endless roads that fade into a horizon of rugged mountain ranges that have unlikely passages through them. These mountain ranges are seemingly endless and have you begging to be released and freed back out into some form of civilization.
The Tour Te Waipounamu(TTW) is touted as “an
opportunity for adventure; a chance to challenge yourself with a
seemingly impossible task and to discover who you are and what you are capable
of.” The 2022 TTW certainly delivered all of the above and more; that for us is
living – testing our minds, bodies and souls to their limits – that is being
Fit to Live. This event for us was undoubtly one of the best things we have
ever done – it is right up there with adventure racing and bike packing through
South America. If you have the time, the skills and the determination then this
should totally go on your bucket list. Discclaimer – Do not underestimate the
brutality of this event. Do your homework. do the mahi and the rewards will
blow your mind.
Here is how the event panned out for us:
Day 1: Cape Farewell to Murchison
We arrived at the start line on Cape Farewell feeling pretty excited about finally getting on the road.
We were sick of the gear debates- should we take sleeping bags or not? Should we take a cooker? Should we take a tent? Now it was just us and our bikes and the ride of a lifetime ahead of us. You could sense that every other rider was feeling the same and were itching to get going.
Our goal was to take care of ourselves, mind our own business and have fun whilst pushing ourselves in an adventure racing type 3 fun kind of way. This meant being efficient, staying focused on relentless forward movement and sleeping around 3-4 hours a night.
After a very informal “go” from Brian Alder (the founder, organizer, rider extraordinaire) we were on the road. You are permitted to draft for the first 30 odd kms to Collingwood so we tried to stick in the first bunch from the get-go. Unfortunately, the pace was a bit fast so we dropped off along the flats, and settled into our mantra of minding our own business.
Our only real
goal for the day was to get to Tapawera for dinner. We hadn’t really analysed
the route, so didn’t really know how long things would take. The first climb of
the event was up the Rameka track. We were a little apprehensive about this
with loaded bikes as we had been down it a few times and knew how steep it was,
but the route the TTW took was a lot easier than we anticipated. It provided a
good opportunity to adjust our gear on rough terrain and make sure everything
was securely tied on. Before we knew it we were flying down the Takaka hill,
what a buzz !
After the hill things really heated up and we knew we were about to climb. We were riding alongside a river and discussed the fact that if we were not racing, we would have swum multiple times – nec minnit we had stopped, and were enjoying the clear cool waters of the river. This was to set the scene for the rest of the event and we swam whenever we had the chance.
We rolled into
Tapawera around 5pm and stocked up on goodies and a couple of pies for the
climbs that were to come on the infamous Porika track. For some reason we were
expecting heaps more hike a bike on this section and were pretty stoked to find
ourselves rolling into Murchison around midnight. We snuck into the Murchison campground
for a hot meal and a 2 hour kip.
Day 2
Murchison to somewhere by Lake Sumner
We were back on the road at 2am with the plan of getting some kms under the belt before the heat of the day. We met Mark Watson on the road out of town and spent a bit of time chatting and riding with him. This was the first time we’d really chatted to one of the riders and it was really nice.
We rolled into Springs Junction for a refuel and a breather. By now it
was hot hot hot and we were really feeling the heat. Thankful we were in the trees as we headed up Lewis
Pass. We rolled into Boyle River where there was a trailer that had a package
we had sent before the event. We struggled in the heat beating down on the trailer and the hundreds of
sandflies trying to devour us. We packed our bags with new dehy meals, more muesli, our jet boil, and a multitude of other treats.
We were pleased to be back out on the road and moving but our bikes certainly felt weighed down by the new additions.
The next leg was a bit of a challenge for us due to the technical nature of the trail and the skinny as wire bridges.
We were amazed as two riders Emma Bateup and Matt came flying past us bouncing down the technical trail
on their full suspension bikes as we walked and dragged our bikes. Boy did they
make it look easy. We started feeling a little deflated but persevered and made it to the
start of the no camping zone just on dark. It had been a long, hot, frustrating
day and were more than happy to pitch the tent, blow up our air mattresses and
boil some water for a hot miso soup and some hot dehy food. Mark and Matt also joined us and snuggled into their bivvy bags. We wondered if they were envious of our tent and comfy mattresses and pillows.
Just before our alarm at around 2am we heard someone roll out of camp so decided to hit the trail too.
The track pretty much went straight up so we were pleased we had opted to stop and recharge for the night. It was nice to be moving again and we enjoyed the first climb. Before long we were hurtling down hill and it was here that we faced our first experience of being cold. We held off for as long as we could as we knew as soon as the sun came up we’d be hot again, but were eventually forced to stop and put on our jackets and gloves as our fingers were hurting. That cold feeling didn’t last long as were soon deep into our first real hike a bike section.
We were more than happy to give our bums a rest from the bikes and put on our walking shorts and threw our bikes on our backs to climb up the Dampier Range. This section was stunning but tough, long and hot. We certainly spent some time repeating the mantra – inch by inch it’s a synch. We would walk a section and then rest, all the while trying to escape the sun.We treated ourselves to hot coffee near the top and were amazed at the small, almost invisible track which you found if you followed the GPS exactly. The descent off the saddle was technical and a little confusing and we were glad not to be here at night.
Mt White station seemed to go on forever, the hills never ended and it took a number of stops for meals, swims and snacks to get us through. We were definitely feeling the effects of a couple of hard days riding.
We pushed on into a headwind and were extremely relieved to finally get out to the main road to Arthurs Pass. Our joy was short-lived as when we got to the turn off to Cass Saddle, our GPS stopped working and went blank. After a few moments of panic, we realized we were using the wrong GPX file and promptly changed to the 2022 final route which had us continuing on!!! Waaah nothing like a bit of panic to jolt you back into reality!! We were mentally and physically exhausted at this stage but pushed on to Mistletoe creek campground. We arrived just on dark and thought we might just lie on the bench seats in the shelter for a few hours’ sleep, however the mosquitoes had other ideas, so we pitched the tent in the shelter and settled in.
Day 4 –
Mistletoe Flats – track above Felt Hut
Once again the alarm awoke us and we were reluctantly on the road around 2am. The sleep must have done us good as we loved the next section through Craigeburn (even though it was foggy, cold and dark and we have no idea where we went) the trails were smooth and flowing and it felt as though the views would have been spectacular.
We loved the Dracophyllum trail which despite it being dark, the bright moon allowed us to see the outlines of the surrounding mountain ranges. What a treat it was. Today was a day of downs and whoop whoops as we hurtled past Lake Coleridge and down to the Rakiaia Gorge. Before we knew it, we were in Methven having a big breakfast and a coffee and trying to get to terms with seeing other people. After a visit to the bike shop for more lube, and the supermarket for more supplies we headed out of town. Once again it was hot as and we stopped whenever we could to wet our shirts and rest in the shade. The highlight was meeting a couple of guys at the Peel Forest café (which was shut) who were so excited to see what the Fitt Olives looked like 😊 (Our team was called Fit to Live!) Another highlight was finding plums on the road side and an awesome swimming spot just before we turned off to Mesopotamia.
At the turn off to Mesopotamia we were met by Brians’ wife Claire and some enthusiastic supporters which gave us a boost. That boost was short-lived however as we lost our efficiency by unloading our bikes, putting our walking shorts on and carrying them when could have ridden!! Doh. Anyway, we eventually got to the top of the first climb.
We
had a smooth grassy trail to zoom our bikes down. It was bliss after the effort
of climbing and the feeling we had of slogging away so slowly. This was one of those moments where the climb
was all worth it! However, the descent finished, black clouds had started
rolling in, it was nearly dark. We were
starting to be inefficient. We talked about heading to the hut just below us
but were not keen on losing any altitude, so opted to camp on the track above
the hut. It was cold, wet, and windy but we cooked up a warm meal and were
happy to be dry and warm in our tent.
We awoke to showers but were keen to get going and back on track at around 3am. We made it to Royal Hut after a big climb over Bullock Bow Saddle It was still dark so we opted to have a 1 hour lie down in the hut while waiting for the sun to come up before attempting Stag saddle. It was going be tough enough in the daytime without darkness making it harder. The hut was full of trampers and we had just seen a cyclist leave the hut so we were mindful that the trampers may be a bit annoyed given it was probably 5am or so. We climbed up on a spare bunk and had a quick shuteye before getting cold and quietly leaving the hut again.
The trek from the hut to the saddle was longer than expected but by now we had totally mastered the art of carrying our bikes. Once again the inch by inch mantra came out to play, as did many other mind positivity techniques that we have practiced in the past. It was tough but it was stunning. Reaching Stag saddle felt like a real achievement we celebrated a little too quickly, as there was still more sidling and climbing to do before we got to descend. Boy the descent was totally awesome and the views of Lake Tekapo were amazing. We stopped at Rex Simpson hut to have a bite to eat and a chat to a lovely guy who warned us about the steep bike carry up Round Hill. We were very impressed with his knowledge of the course; he knew what was coming up and how long it was estimated to take. It made us reflect on how much more homework we could have done to prepare us for this event, but we also quite liked just riding in the moment and not over planning. The next 13 km or so into Tekapo were on a single track which promised to be fun, but I was less than impressed. I was so glad to get to Tekapo where we went directly to the café for lunch, we then went to campground to pick up parcel we had sent and restocked and resupplied. I was pretty knackered here and struggling to do much. Luckily Emma was okay and shopped whilst I lay down in the grass. We pushed on out of town along the canals, it was flat and easy kms but I couldn’t keep focused. We tried power napping and eating but I was toasted so we called it a day on the shores of Lake Tekapo. It was a stunning spot but the wind picked up in the night and shattered any chance we had of a good sleep.
Day 6 Lake Tekapo foreshore to Oterehua
This section was hot and tough and we were pretty over it by the time we hit Otematata. We stopped at the food cart here and basically ate our way through the entire menu – 1 toasted sandwich each, 1 pie each, 1 cheese roll each, 1 muffin each, and a coffee each. We also loaded out pockets with free fruit that was on offer. We left the food cart very happy girls:-)
The next leg up into Hawkdins took us by surprise, we were totally not expecting this long tough leg, we had lots of swims and we were very careful not to cook ourselves in the heat of the day. We kept our heart rates down on the steep climbs and rested often. Today was a digging deep day.
The huts we passed were very inviting but we pushed on hoping to reach Oteruhua that night. The sunset was spectacular, but the downhill section off the tops was technical and shitty in the dark. Once again after a few nana moments we were envious of those with good riding skills. We came across Trail angel Brendon Pheasant at the bottom of the rocky descent, grabbed some brownie on offer and then pushed on Oteruhua. We called ahead in the hope of ordering food or securing a bed, but everything was closed. We slept under cover next to the town hall and ate our back country meals. We were very very happy to be out of the hills.
Key points from our
trip:
- Best event ever
- Like a godzone without wasting energy getting lost
- Pushed hard but also took time for lots of swims and few moments of taking in the beauty
- Loved the freedom to be outside and to go where we went
- Brain Alder is a genius, thanks for taking us to incredible places
- Improve our technical riding skills for next time
- Plan more
We love almost every moment and will be back better prepared in 2024.
Thank god we could do it as a pair not sure how it would be solo and not really keen to find out! We take our hats off to all who started, all who finished and all those brave solos who spent all that time and all those hours with their own thoughts wow.
