Wildfoods Hokitika Part 3

A quick texted exchange with the approaching team and I was pedalling in the direction of Brightwater for the planned lunch stop and team gathering.
Quite a different pace this week and with the prevailing fine weather, a wonderful extended visit to one of my favourite parts of New Zealand. My new Lycra was up to the task so I pedalled in a relaxed manner easing into this next phase well.

As I was first into Brightwater, I pedalled past the Cafe where I thought would be the stop over and checked out some of the other stores further along. With time on my side I did some shopping and returned to the Cafe to await the arrival of the team. And along they came as a threesome in helmets, sunglasses and Lycra so were not easy to identify as team WTG at first glance as this was a cafe with very little space for multiple bikes even though it was the cafe stop on the trail......this is how popular these trails are becoming!

A quick introduction had us ready for the lunch stop before the map was soon out for "where to next?" A short visit to a pottery along the way got us ready for the next leg to Wakefield via some quiet sections along back country roads. A very relaxed section and temperatures appealing for riding. Falcon Ridge Estate came into view and was on the list for a visit. This was an encouraging way for me to be introduced to this Trail riding adventure so I was a willing participant.

Riding a bike into a vineyard has not been one of my previous experiences, but....I was willing to give it a go if my team was up for it! After a missed turn at the halfway point on the rise to the tasting area, we did manage to continue into the wine tasting area of the Vineyard with excellent results! After some tastings by us all I seem to remember that we all nominated one of their wines as our favourite. Which one now escapes me but the ride afterwards seemed very relaxed and some quick downhill descents were achieved by some of our riders!😀

Ah, Wakefield came into view after negotiating some "rider stops" and uphill sections, at the right time for me to consider my first day out with team WTG!

Into the Wakefield Hotel it was and bikes parked up safely till the Moro, it was get rooms allocated and dinner time organised, then I left the team to their own devices and went a wandering around the township to discover what kept this town going. Old historical site with a railway passing through is what I discovered from the murals on the side of some nearby buildings.

The railways embankments are now what makes this Trail Adventure possible as the gradients are good for riders and the original embankments sufficient to have prepared widths for riders to comfortably negotiate the grades.

Our task next morning was to get breky out of the way before the bike transport arrived to collect our bikes then ferry us to the start point of the day's downhill adventure ride through the Spooners Tunnel, the longest disused rail tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere. It was a little cool as the ride began so with a gentle downhill
section for the first couple of hours we were rather warmly dressed but pedalled well until the bike trailer reappeared beside the river at Wai-iti Domain to collect us again and run us up to the top of the next gradient, through a gravel backcountry road. As this was the Big Day of 70kms we were only just beginning the second segment at around 10:00am!

Great riding followed on a slight gradient through the interesting countryside of Dovedale till we reached the Motueka River where we crossed to the western side for a relaxed riverside trail with little traffic to interrupt our ride. Lunch time had us relaxing beside a river in the sunshine as we caught up with another group who had been put on the trail a little further along than where we started. Continuing along the trail afterwards had us seeing first hand the trail of debris that had come down the hills and onto the farmlands as cyclone Gita had passed through this area a month or so earlier cutting off the Takaka Hill road as it swept southwards down the West Coast. The power of the storm was obvious with the creeks and rivers spewing the land with the trees, logs and soil as it came rushing down the cleared logging areas above.

The sunshine and relatively windless day made the coffee stop at Riwaka a welcome break to gather our energy for the hill climb to Kaiteriteri and our next overnight stop.

More washouts were observed along the next segment of trail beside the sea shore as we picked our way along for the final assault on the Kaiteriteri hill, with Lesley and Pip choosing the road, and Jill & I choosing the mountain bike trail. This was successfully achieved without any mishaps and Lesley and Pip were there to meet us as we came off the path at the top of the hill to guide us into night stop two at Little Kaiteriteri. It was only after checking in at the accomodation at the bottom of the hill that I was advised that the motel was full and I had been booked in at the Kaiteriteri camp for the night!

Oh well, that's life in the fast lane and even the ride back to the top was a positive note as I prefer the night stops close to eateries. The cabin I was allocated was ideal for the overnight with another cyclist in the cabin next to mine so a quick chat occurred when I arrived. Washing done and a quick shower had me ready for dinner with Lesley, Pip and Jill when they arrived into Kaiteriteri for dinner. Just my style as it was through the fence from the camping area!

Next morning dawned another beautiful day so after a substantial breky it was push off up the hill to connect with the others on their push up the hill for a foursome start. So away we went enroute to Mapua enjoying the early down hill after the push to get started. Morning tea at Toad Hall had us topped up for the next leg which was a hill climb out the back of Motueka and arriving  at the top we had a really good view of the local environment with farming, vineyards, cropping and acreage homes along the Trail. Leading down hill to the final site got us into Cafe ......for a quick snack before pedalling into Mapua for the planned drop off of Jill and her bike. This brought us all to a halt at the Trailways cycle office and quick reconnoiter of the Mapua wharf and shopping area while we awaited Jill's friends to arrive to collect her. A beautifully warm and sunny day to relax in at the wharf while we pondered our evenings dinner venue by checking the menus on display.

"Where is the overnight accomodation, Lesley?" " About five kms back along the road"
This kinda floored me as I was anticipating getting off my bike close by to relax in the sunshine for the rest of the day with perhaps a coldie to enjoy before dinner came along. So it was a return to the Mapua highway turn off that we set out on, after Jill was farewelled, to check out our accomodation for the night. I could see that this would require another evening cycle back into Mapua for our evening and was already having second thoughts about returning. This was confirmed when we turned into the driveway of the accomodation some distance further away that led into farm type acreage blocks with driveways running off each side. Our sign took a long time to appear and when it did, it led up a steep hill, which stopped me in my tracks!

The fun part of my ride was instantly over so I walked my bike to the top, as did Pip behind me. Lesley made it to the top on the pedals! That's impressive Lesley! Well done! Why are you still smiling and joking about the killer push up the hill? I was over riding the bike. "How did we get accomodation out here" are my thoughts, which I kept to myself since I had been doing similar stuff last week to my flying friends on our Wildfoods adventure. Lesley was first to comment so I was instantly back on side with our team leader. "We are not going to go back into Mapua tonight!" Whew that's a relief and I was thinking I had enough porridge for myself but didn't know how they would cope with my food offerings!

Fortunately we all had enough snack food to avoid dinner in Mapua and Lesley found a hot tub and swimming pool were on site so set out to relax in the water nearby, through the trees. I was just glad to get here and get off the bike so didn't show any interest in the pool, but Pip did, and enjoyed the splash into cool water with Lesley. I found the deck chairs and table suited my style of relaxing a lot better and the view was impressive over the trees into the Rabbit Island area that we planned to traverse tomorrow.

So after a brief interlude of relaxation, alone with my thoughts and a few snacks left on the table, my reflection of the day was positive but ? Where to next? Make up my bed on the sofa and get my gear off the bike and repack my rucksacks for the necessary priority level for getting back to Nelson, wash a few clothes and shower ready for dinner 👍 and suddenly there was a room full of people again wondering about dinner!

A quick call to the manager had Lesley wrestling a deal out of the manager! "We didn't realise there was such a climb to your wonderful accomodation out here" she enthused. "We are thinking we will not explore the delights of Mapua tonight but just sit here and enjoy your views, our cheese and biscuits, and Wally's porridge" ... A very sharp manager replied that it was "all down hill from here to Mapua" and if you want to dine in Mapua and ride back to the intersection with the highway..." I could drive down and pick you and your bikes up and bring you back up here"..... Without any consultation with her team Lesley said "done"..... and then relayed the message that we were still dinning out in Mapua tonight! " put your porridge away, Wally"

Ah, the joy that porridge brings to people's lives is unbelievable!

We did enjoy the freewheeling adventure back into "town" and the meal, we had savoured over earlier in the day, being turned into reality, so we tiki toured our way out of Mapua later, via the very close to town camp ground, that we had bypassed earlier, then wandered back to our "pickup point" at the x roads intersection. A bit of a " mission" getting home but we all made it in time to relax into a deep sleep until the sunlit windows got us going next morning.
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So day three began with a "breky on the deky" and hot tub for some then away on the bikes again to Mapua to catch the ferry to Rabbit Island. Time for a cake and coffee for me while the girls checked out the shops, but we all made it to the ferry on time! And caught up with our travelling threesome cycling team from yesterday who had overnighted in the "camp ground" that we had rode through last night!

We all 6 ferried across the short river crossing then pedalled out on the last leg of the adventure back to Nelson, via at Rabbit Island. Easy ride, relaxed quiet, time for a video of our riders. Couldn't  have been better! Traversing the island then crossing back into mainland we eventually pedalled into Richmond, though there was indications that a vineyard off to our right may have diverted our ride into an early morning taste testing treat. Pip and I stood firm in our belief that a coffee at Richmond would get us pedalling well in the chosen direction, better.