North Island – Finding My Legs
Earlier this year, I took part in the 10th anniversary version of the TA – Tour Aotearoa (The Māori name for New Zealand.) It’s a 3,000 km bikepacking route created by the two Kennett brothers that runs the length of New Zealand from Cape Reinga in the north to Bluff in the south with four Everests worth of climbing!
I’d lived in NZ until a few years ago and never managed to find the time, so this was unfinished business! I’d done a smaller support 4-day bikepacking trip Alps to Ocean and had my attempt at the more extreme Sound to Sound cut short by freak weather.
It’s not an event in the traditional sense but a published route open to anyone. It’s run as a brevet, like an Audax, where riders follow a set course via checkpoints entirely under their own steam. You carry everything you need and solve problems as they arise.
Given the remoteness of large parts of the route, often without mobile coverage, a satellite tracker is essential kit, both for tracking progress and as an emergency beacon if needed.
Four of us intended to start, but that’s the problem planning trips in advance with old people, they break! So only Phil, a friend from Auckland and a seriously strong rider, and I started. Two newbie bikepackers and mildly humbling as he ended up towing me most of the time!
The first day covered just over 100 km along Ninety Mile Beach. “Riding” is perhaps optimistic; much of it was a mix of pedal grinding and occasionally pushing through soft sand. It was a spectacular start, but also an early lesson: this trip was going to be as much about patience as fitness.
The North Island leg covers 1,538km and 18,433m climbing with terrain constantly shifting between beach, gravel, forest tracks, and quiet roads.
Given that we’re old, we’d elected to stay in motels & campsite huts rather than carry a tent. These are basic, generally clean and had the all important communal washing machines. There are a few places where options are tight, so we pre-booked most of the accommodation, tying ourselves to an itinerary, something in hindsight I wouldn’t do again.
Slowly the reality of bikepacking set in- logistics! With much of the route passing through remote areas each day needed planning, not just where to ride, but where to refill water and find enough to eat or ‘fuel’ as it became known! Some days were long enough that we’d arrive after shops had closed, only to leave again before they opened the next morning. Microwave porridge pouches became something of a breakfast staple, reliable, portable, and about as gourmet as things got at times.
Day 2 through the Kauri Coast was a biggie, over 140 km and nearly 2,800m climbing, an early insight into what I’d let myself in for! And day 3 included one of the more surreal moments of the trip: crossing the Kaipara Harbour on a small ferry, along with around 60 other riders, all doing the same thing. Helping load that many loaded bikes on and off was a reminder that while it often feels remote, you’re part of a much bigger, slightly mad adventure.
With everything carried on the bike, space was limited and with only two sets of cycling kit the first job on arrival each day was usually washing clothes and hoping they’d dry overnight. Evenings developed a routine: sort food, check the weather for the next day, and give the bike whatever attention it needed to survive another stage.
Not everything went smoothly. Around day five heading to Cambridge, the wheels well and truly came off, figuratively, thankfully. Whether it accumulated fatigue, not eating enough in those early days, or picking up a bug. I woke up sheets all soaked and shivering with nothing left in the tank. A sharp reminder that this kind of ride punishes small mistakes quickly.
So, I took a rest day with a slightly unconventional recovery strategy, catching Phil up at the Timber Trail Lodge with a lift in the back of a food delivery van. Not exactly in keeping with the “under your own steam” ethos, but at that point it felt like a highly sensible logistical adjustment and after that reset, things improved.
What makes the North Island special is its variety. One day you’re riding remote gravel roads through dense forest, the next you’re passing through small towns where the welcome is warm, but the food is generally limited to the national dish – pies!
From day ten onwards, we were joined by Janet, my own TA angel, who’d completed the route 5 years earlier & seemed to know everybody in NZ! Despite having skipped the start having damaged her reconstructed knee while skiing in Japan the week before, she decided this was a perfectly reasonable way to recover! She rode with me all the way to Bluff, bringing both strength and a level of determination that made the rest of us question our excuses! By the time we reached Wellington, there was a real sense of progress, not just in distance, but in adaptation. The body toughens up, the routine becomes normal and what felt daunting at the start begins to feel manageable.
Phil, demonstrating far better judgement than me, returned to work at this point. I, on the other hand, boarded the ferry to the South Island, feeling fitter, slightly more organised… and aware that there was still a long way to go.
South Island – Digging Deep
After reaching Wellington, Tour Aotearoa continues across the Cook Strait to Picton in South Island. Being upside down, the further south we headed, the colder it gets as we roll into autumn. The green fern rich west coast follows the Southern Alps which run most of the length of the island and is renowned for winds and plenty of rain!
Each island leg is slightly longer and lumpier than the typical Land’s End to John O’Groats trip, so this was the equivalent of turning round and heading back again! Another 1,538 km and 18,443m climbing. For this leg we were joined by Ozzie Jason from Melbourne, another bloody strong rider, an excellent bike mechanic and as it turns out my nutrition guru. His other real asset is his thimble-bladder which guaranteed regular short rests!
The South Island, definitely more of the wow, delivers some of the most memorable riding of the entire route. Long remote stretches, vast beautiful landscapes, and a real sense of isolation. There were tough moments headwinds, long climbs, and the occasional question of why this seemed like a good idea. But those were balanced by the highlights.
The standout day had to be day 18 on the West Coast Wilderness Trail. 130km of smooth, flowing varied gravel trails through native forest, rivers, and old mining routes and one of those rare days where everything just clicks, and you remember exactly why you signed up for something like this.
Day 21 we left the West Coast via the Haast Pass through the Southern Alps and Mount Aspiring National Park to Otago and headed towards Wanaka & Queenstown. Probably my favourite part of NZ with stunning mountains, blue lakes and outdoor heaven!
The final day was unexpectedly emotional. After everything, the distance, the effort, the ups and downs, something caught up with me. For a while I found myself riding along quietly with tears rolling down my face. I kept thinking about my father, who passed away last year, and how proud he would have been to see me complete something like this.
It’s a strange feeling finishing something so big, that took so much planning and effort, knowing it’s over and realising what it meant at the same time.
Eventually, the route reaches Bluff 24 days after setting off from the Cape. There’s no fanfare, just a signpost and the quiet realisation that you’ve ridden the length of a country and deserve a beer! It wasn’t fast, and it certainly wasn’t easy, but it was hugely rewarding. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Possibly… but I’d certainly fit a bigger cassette!
Techy Stuff (in case you’re interested!)
I was riding my Canyon Grizl, which I still absolutely love, and started with good rolling Virrotia Terreno Dry Gravel Endurance tyres, though I panicked & swapped these halfway through for something with more tread for the South Island given the increased chance of wetter riding.
I’d say the majority of people we met doing the event were on MTBs, rather than gravel, with tri-bars for another hand position. Where I really envied their choice was their gearing. I had a one-by 38 on the front with a 10×44 cassette. Given the loaded bike, the hills and not to mention my considerable weight, I’ll be changing this to one of SRAM’s 10×52 saucers before my next trip!
Both my frame & tail bags are from Revelate and the bar bag Apidura. Not cheap but excellent quality and without issue, if you don’t mind riding a sail into cross winds!
Even with 3 large bags, keeping packing to a minimum was a challenge. Once the extreme wet & cold weather gear, 2 cycle kits, the bike maintenance & tech was packed, there was very little room for much else. One t-shirt, pair of trousers, swimming shorts & a fleece with a pair flipflops strapped to the top! There lots of really cool lightweight kit out there. I particularly like Sea to Summit.
I chose SPD cleats as they’re more recessed and my cycling shoes were my evening wear too but the mini SPD pedals became uncomfortable on the ball of my foot, so I’ve replaced them with a set with larger surface area to spread the load.
At home I ride with carb power in my water but had to resort to adding spoons of sugar, which is disgusting! I burnt around 80-90g of carbs an hour (22 teaspoons) so really the whole day was a fuelling exercise; cakes, sweets, coke, nuts, dates etc. Hard to force it down but a must.
Oh and the coffee, powered by NZ flat whites!
Links
Official site: https://www.touraotearoa.nz/p/home.html
Route: https://www.touraotearoa.nz/p/map_22.html
North Island taster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yfS2S5IQ9U
South Island taster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laXmQJnoD8I
Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/touraotearoa/
Tracker site: https://ta26.maprogress.com