From Coast to Coast NZ, Greymouth to Christchurch by mtb Day 3
June 9th 2007 22:02
Day3, The dreaded Otira Gorge
Day 3 Otira to Arthur’s Pass
The rain that had started not long after we had arrived the night before, continued throughout the night and every so often I was woken up by the sound of the rain beating hard against the window, this combined with the curtains moving quite considerably every time the wind blew, made for an interesting nights sleep. At 8am I got up and looked out into the grey morning light, only to be greeted with the same horizontal rain being driven by strong gusty winds that were being funneled up the gorge. Although the one small bright spot, would be that we would have a tail wind.
A wet start
After cooking our breakfast in the kitchens, we left fully weatherproofed and started our way up the gorge. Now this is quite a climb as you go from 300 mtrs to 952mtrs in about 6km and not even 20 mins into the journey, I got flat tyre. So in driving rain, on the side of a narrow road, it was a case of unpack bike of panniers, find the cause and then swap tubes over. Bit typical really that the only puncture occurred on the only wet day.
Only way is onwards, oh err!!
Anyway after this was fixed, it was the slow grind ever upwards, now I can’t stand hill climbing and the Otira gorge was a real killer for me, although Steveo tends to be better at them. Its just a long gradual climb with steep bits thrown in, this was made more tricky due to the narrow roads, large trucks going past and the fact that my bike was way too light at the front, with all the weight on the back.
When the new viaduct was built, which replaced the old Zig Zag bends, they had to build a rock shelter and a waterfall duct. Some amazing facts and figures about this, so well worth searching the net for pics and details.
Didn't realise Steveo was taking this
Rock shelter and waterfall chute
Little yellow speck is me, totally knackered
This is a stock photo sourced from the the net of the viaduct
Crossing the exposed viaduct was very scary with such a strong cross wind and I was pleased when we reached the other side with no problems. There is a great vantage point but due to the weather and being knackered, we didn’t cycle up there. When we reached the high point which is the summit of Arthur’s Pass at 952mtrs, upon looking around back the way we came, the wind and rain was so strong, it felt like shards of glass against your skin and even though the traditional way is to go Christchurch to Greymouth, we were very pleased not to have had to face that.
From this point onwards, it was just some quick descents until we arrived at Arthur’s Pass village. We had pre booked a room at the Mountain House YHA and after such a rough morning, it was a very welcome sight. The staff were friendly and had sorted out a room on the ground floor, which had a side door right next to where our bikes were stored under cover, this was great as it meant we didn’t have tramp through the place carrying wet gear.
We have stayed here before and its great value for $35 each a night, good facilities, nice upstairs lounge and great hot showers. And it had a drying room too, which was a real bonus, due to the fact that everything was soaking wet. Traveling tip for anyone cycle touring, the rain will get in anywhere. I had my phone and wallet etc in my front bar bag wrapped up well in a plastic carry bag etc and the rain still got in and I was very lucky to save my phone.
If you would like more info about Mountain House, just google search Mountain House, Arthur's Pass, NZ
After a lovely hot shower and food, the rain had just about stopped, so I went for a wander around the village looking for subjects for my fine art portfolio.
This is a Kea, which live in the Alps, an interesting bird which has a natural curiosity and a liking for windscreen wipers
Arthur's Pass railway station
Old stage coach that used to make the journey from Chch to Greymouth
Typical mountain bach (holiday home)
Well this is pretty much the end of Day 3, although I will do another post with my black and white shots.
Hal
Day 3 Otira to Arthur’s Pass
The rain that had started not long after we had arrived the night before, continued throughout the night and every so often I was woken up by the sound of the rain beating hard against the window, this combined with the curtains moving quite considerably every time the wind blew, made for an interesting nights sleep. At 8am I got up and looked out into the grey morning light, only to be greeted with the same horizontal rain being driven by strong gusty winds that were being funneled up the gorge. Although the one small bright spot, would be that we would have a tail wind.
A wet start
After cooking our breakfast in the kitchens, we left fully weatherproofed and started our way up the gorge. Now this is quite a climb as you go from 300 mtrs to 952mtrs in about 6km and not even 20 mins into the journey, I got flat tyre. So in driving rain, on the side of a narrow road, it was a case of unpack bike of panniers, find the cause and then swap tubes over. Bit typical really that the only puncture occurred on the only wet day.
Anyway after this was fixed, it was the slow grind ever upwards, now I can’t stand hill climbing and the Otira gorge was a real killer for me, although Steveo tends to be better at them. Its just a long gradual climb with steep bits thrown in, this was made more tricky due to the narrow roads, large trucks going past and the fact that my bike was way too light at the front, with all the weight on the back.
When the new viaduct was built, which replaced the old Zig Zag bends, they had to build a rock shelter and a waterfall duct. Some amazing facts and figures about this, so well worth searching the net for pics and details.
Didn't realise Steveo was taking this
Rock shelter and waterfall chute
Little yellow speck is me, totally knackered
This is a stock photo sourced from the the net of the viaduct
Crossing the exposed viaduct was very scary with such a strong cross wind and I was pleased when we reached the other side with no problems. There is a great vantage point but due to the weather and being knackered, we didn’t cycle up there. When we reached the high point which is the summit of Arthur’s Pass at 952mtrs, upon looking around back the way we came, the wind and rain was so strong, it felt like shards of glass against your skin and even though the traditional way is to go Christchurch to Greymouth, we were very pleased not to have had to face that.
From this point onwards, it was just some quick descents until we arrived at Arthur’s Pass village. We had pre booked a room at the Mountain House YHA and after such a rough morning, it was a very welcome sight. The staff were friendly and had sorted out a room on the ground floor, which had a side door right next to where our bikes were stored under cover, this was great as it meant we didn’t have tramp through the place carrying wet gear.
We have stayed here before and its great value for $35 each a night, good facilities, nice upstairs lounge and great hot showers. And it had a drying room too, which was a real bonus, due to the fact that everything was soaking wet. Traveling tip for anyone cycle touring, the rain will get in anywhere. I had my phone and wallet etc in my front bar bag wrapped up well in a plastic carry bag etc and the rain still got in and I was very lucky to save my phone.
If you would like more info about Mountain House, just google search Mountain House, Arthur's Pass, NZ
After a lovely hot shower and food, the rain had just about stopped, so I went for a wander around the village looking for subjects for my fine art portfolio.
This is a Kea, which live in the Alps, an interesting bird which has a natural curiosity and a liking for windscreen wipers
Arthur's Pass railway station
Old stage coach that used to make the journey from Chch to Greymouth
Typical mountain bach (holiday home)
Well this is pretty much the end of Day 3, although I will do another post with my black and white shots.
Hal
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