May is my birthday month and I’ve gotten in the habit of doing an age-related outdoorsy physical challenge each lap around the sun. In recent years I’ve ran 22 Wainwrights, climbed 23 boulders, hiked 24km and progressively ran the date of May each day up to the 25th resulting in a whopping 325km month. (It was satisfying to run 25.25km as I turned 25 on the 25/05/2025!) Sticking with the theme, I put my thinking cap on for level 26.

For a number of years now I’ve heard of New Zealand’s famous Te Araroa Trail (TA), meaning long pathway. It is the longest hiking trail in the country as it runs from the very top of the North Island all the way to the bottom of the South Island, roughly 3000km in length. I actually met someone in Queenstown who’d just completed it in roughly 5 months back in 2023, and told me all about it. What a huge achievement.

This got me thinking…I liked the idea of travelling the length of the country, but 5 months of pure walking, not for me! I’d miss out on far too much climbing, biking, running and my whole summer would be devoted to that. More recently, I did a couple of overnight multi-day bike rides, carrying my tent on my handlebars and some clothes in a bag. This type of riding is called bike packing and it’s something that has managed to evade me for my 25 years of living! Typically, bikepacking is done on a gravel bike which is basically a road bike, with chunkier tyres. This combination optimises speed of travel on tarmac, whilst opening up rougher terrain as an option, without being on skinny tyres which would lead to increased chance of a puncture. I’d only ever ridden mountain bikes or road bikes so was eager for a new type of activity to add to my armoury of adventures, no brainer really!

Then it came to me…what if I attempted to cycle the length of New Zealand, on a gravel bike, in 26 days! Turns out this is a popular thing and my lightbulb idea quickly got turned out as I learnt the official cycling version is called the Tour Aotearoa! See what they did there. Very clever name as it can still be called the TA and like the Tour de France is also a race funnily enough! It’s approx. 3000km in length and combines road and off-road cycling as well as a few boat crossings and even some parts along a beach! Fortunately for me, there was lots of information online about the route so I set about planning it and scanned facebook marketplace for 2nd hand gravel bikes, bags, panniers and racks and anything else I could think of that I may need. It’s always fun playing shopping for new toys!

I’ll be writing about my how this idea became a reality, listing what kit I used (or didn’t even need to carry!), the challenges I faced as a novice bike packer, the logistics of getting to Cape Reinga with a bike from the South Island, idea on prices of equipment and the travel, my accomodation (or lack of), the stats and facts of the entire ride and the highs and the lows of each island. I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures and that it may encourage you to get out and do your own challenge/ideas you’ve may have been deliberating about!

The hunt for kit.

Early March, before I’d even sourced a bike or any kit, I’d already booked my flight from Christchurch to Kerikeri, the most northern domestic airport, transferring in Auckland on the way. Guess it was really happening then, no turning back now! When I get an idea in my head, I easily become committed to completing it and making it happen, buying the ticket is the easy part, time to worry about the finer logistics and kit later! I slowly accrued all my gear second hand over the following months. I did some research and concluded I wanted a 29” bike with disc brakes, a good selection of gears, aero bars and lots of attachment points on the frame for all the various bags. I also would ride clipped in so ideally one with SPD pedals for the shoes I didn’t even own! A bike came up for $1100 and it was everything a needed, and for a good price with brand new tyres on it. I’d actually bought it before seeing it in person, got it delivered to a friend’s house in Christchurch whilst I was still down in Queenstown. Right, I’ve got a bike, now to find some bags to put on it and source my equipment! All second hand, I found a pannier rack $35, FiveTen shoes $25, $25 for 2 x 5 litre dry bags, $60 frame bag, bar cradle $100, padded cycling bib shorts and 2 jerseys for $10, $80 pair of rear pannier bags, bike lights $140 (worth every bit of money to be seen!) (About $1600 so far for a bike, bags and all the mounts to attach to it to fill with kit!) The rest of the equipment I already own as bike packing essentially becomes cycling whilst carrying camping, sleeping, cooking kit and the like.

My exact cycling kit list was:

● One Gravel Bike (Specialised Sequoia) 2×11 gears, 29”, size L, disc brakes

● 2 x Rockbros 25 litre rear panniers and Topeak rack

● 2 x Mountain Warehouse 5 litre dry bags (green!)

● 2 half bottle cages + velcro straps for front forks

● Aeroe saddle cradle for my old Alpkit dry bag

● Rockbros Frame Bag + Small toptube bag and Topeak Seat bag for tools

● 2 bottle cages and 3 x 1 litre waterbottles (empty smoothie ones!)

● 2 sets of front+ rear LED bike lights (Trek and Rockbros)

● 2 multitools, tyre levers, spare tubes, puncture repair kits, chain links + lube

● Cable ties, cable ties and more cable ties, string, cord, shoelaces and strap.

● Helmet, glasses, SPD pedals and shoes, gloves, cool socks.

● Gel seat cover and 2 pairs of bib shorts worn at same time for cushioning!

 

With the bike sourced, the clothing found and the key components to fix and repair and minor issues finished it was time to load it up with the rest of my belongings to keep me self sufficient for 26 days, going into late autumn/early winter.

I’ve always found great satisfaction in organising things, probably from tidying out a kit shed every month and labelling every shelf so that stuff returns to where it should be. If living in a van has taught me anything, living in a small space everything has a place. So the same would be for me on a bike trip. I like having an array of kit all neatly organised and laid out prior to packing so that I can mentally check off all the essentials, and make sure I have everything I need and also just see everything clearly. 5 days before my flight, the sun was shining,w fit it all into 5 bags!

The remainder of my kit was:

● Crocs! Strapped on pannier -immediate access when swapping out the 5.10’s.

● Orson 2 man tent + groundsheet

● Torpedo7 Sleeping bag + Seatosummit liner

● Seatosummit inflatable roll mat + pillow

● 2 cooking pots and lids, MSR Pocket rocket, gas, flint and steel, spork, penknife

● Headtorch + spare batteries, first aid kit, waterproof phone case+ barmount

● Woolly hat, gloves, buffs, headbands and bucket hats! (Essential!)

● Merino thermal bottoms, top and fluffy bed socks for cosy tent wear!

● Bright green waterproof and reflective windproof (1 to wear whilst other was drying)

● 1 t shirt, 1 long sleeve, 1 body warmer, 1 pair trousers

● 2 litre camelbak for extra water storage during remote locations

● Bike lock and steel cable

● 1 towel, toothbrush, hair brush, small balm of shampoo and conditioner

● My diary, pens and Sherlock Holmes Vol 2

● 2 decent powerbanks, a solar panel, and charging cables

● Always 1 x 250g bar of Whittakers chocolate, which would last me 2 days(max)

● Wallet and phone, to which I’d downloaded all my route segments onto the OS Maps app ready to track my ride.

That left a pretty surprising amount of space, which I soon filled up with a constant supply of food throughout the journey! I pretty much winged my packing of the panniers but it made sense to me to have the stuff I would need throughout the day easily accessible in my rear bags or frame bag, and the camping kit, which would only come out at the end of the day/packed first in the front bags and at the bottom.

 

Loading the bike:

My bag set up was this: Front right pannier- roll mat, pillow, sleeping bag liner, spork and headtorch.

Front left pannier, cooking pots, stove, gas, flint and steel, spare waterproof coat

Bar bag: first aid kit, spare clothes which i would’t be wearing everyday (I mostly went from cycling outfit to cosy thermal outfit, on the rare occasion I was staying at hostel or enjoying a meal out then I’d put my trousers and bodywarmer on.

Frame bag: toothbrush, powerbank and cable, 1 litre waterbottle, days worth of snack bars, electrolytes and wallet.

Back left pannier, tent on the bottom, poles, bike lock and cable, then food supplies on top (tent was often damp with condensation in the morning so I gave up trying to repack it neatly and resorted to a ‘stuff it in and forget about it’ method’. The food would remain dry sitting against it.

Back right pannier, sleeping bag on bottom, some hidden whittakers chocolate, dry compression bag with cosy clothes/bed socks easily accessible for chilling in the tent, book and diary also. Extra food was crammed on occasions when I might be without a shop for a few days or was just being greedy! Certainly didn’t want me getting hungry and wasting away on this mammoth adventure!

 

 

Now then, often people get all techy about being ultra light on adventures and sacrificing bits of kit to save weight, as this was my first bike packing mission I wasn’t concerned about weight but more comfort! I’d packed plenty of stuff I thought I might need, turns out I was more than prepared with everything I listed above. Especially for the time of year. In the UK, having a birthday at the end of May meant summer was fast approaching, lovely warm, long days. I can’t remember having a wet or miserable one! Down in NZ, May is late autumn. I wasn’t entirely sure what this meant in terms of precipitation levels for the time of year, but as I was cycling the entire length of the country I knew I’d best be prepared for multiple days of heavy downpours, with sufficient dry spare clothes. Especially because I’d be cycling through Auckland, Wellington and spending a long portion of the ride on the South Island’s soggy West Coast! My family always told me “It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have”. Too right.

Well, unbelievably, and much to my joy, on the entire ride I had only 1 hour of drizzle in the whole North Island and one wet morning coming over the Divide of Haast Pass in the South Island. The rest of the time was largely blue skies, not even windy! I couldn’t believe my luck when I set off cycling in Cape Reinga in 22 degree sunshine riding topless. In fact, the jersey must have come off for 20/26 days at some point and only remained on when I was headed past Kingston to chilly Southland, though still blue skies and a crisp 12 degrees, had a right good cyclist tan by the end of the ride!

Now let’s get cut to the chase, the journey itself! I had to get from Christchurch to the top of the North Island… with a loaded bike! My travel day on the 29th April was a hectic one, but I’d done my logistic research and booked a variety of transport for myself and my precious cargo to travel over 1000 kilometres north. Total weight of bike and bags was 37kg, much more than I was allowed with my 23kg checked bag! A small fee for excess baggage, combined with filling my pockets with the books, powerbanks and other heavy items as I checked in saw me through. I slept in Christchurch airport for the night as my check in opened at 3am for my 5:30am flight to Auckland for leg one. Soon after 7am I was already checking in for my second flight of the journey. Auckland to Kerikeri. This was a cool flight on a really small plane, only 4 seats wide and it had propellers instead of the usual style engines on most bigger planes. I had the window seat and enjoyed looking down on the west coast above Auckland, a bird eye view of exactly where I’d be riding, I checked on my maps. Rolling green hills and multiple estuaries below me. After landing in Kerikeri I rebuilt my bike in the carpark, reattaching the wheels, handlebars, pedals, seat post and loaded it up with my bags. A short cycle to reach the bus top where I had leg 3 of my journey booked. The Intercity coach from Kerikeri to Kaiataia. I had over an hour to chill once I’d arrived here so I grabbed a pie, the first of many, and had some lunch. The bus came, and as it’s a quiet part of the country I was able to chuck my bike on with all the bags no bother, saving me dismantling it all again. 2 hours driving and we reached the end of the line for the bus service. Kaitaia. I was still 115km south of Cape Reinga, and the road obviously leads to nowhere, so public transport here isn’t a thing..especially with a bike! During my research I found a local person who offered shuttle services from Kaitaia to the Cape and I’d organised for him to pick me up from the bus stop and drive me the remainder of the way, 2 hours north to Cape Reinga. The driver was called Keith, and we chatted nonstop the entire way, giving me lots of good recommendations for my ride, and telling me about the local area. We arrived at the infamous lighthouse carpark at 4:30pm, what a busy day of travel! I was very pleased I had managed to go all the way from Christchurch to Cape Reinga, in one day, as this meant I could begin my cycle journey exactly 26 days before my birthday!

Unloading my bike, I said goodbye and rolled down the twisting path to the lighthouse. What a magical place. I could see the clashing waves of 2 oceans, 50km away a cluster of islands named “The 3 Kings” glimmered like a mirage and a beautiful sunset was certainly pending. Perhaps best of all though, not another soul was in sight, place to myself, I thought how rare for somewhere this popular. This was it though, my starting point, the most northern point in NZ. I sat on the grass taking it all in, basking in the warm evening sun. The iconic yellow signpost in front of the lighthouse shows the distances to places such as Los Angeles, Sydney, London, South Pole, Equator, Tokyo and most importantly…BLUFF! A whopping 1452km away apparently (as the crow flies.) The route I was going to cycle would be double that! 3000km of Tour Aotearoa trail lay ahead of me. I bivvied on a luscious patch of grass behind a wall with a lovely view of the sunset and got my head down for an early night, finding the flashing gleam of the lighthouse relaxing and soon dozed off.

My rough plan for each day of my journey was to wake up at sunrise and ride pretty much until sunset. I was unsure of what my pace would be but I was limited to 11 hours of daylight a day anyway, decreasing in time the further south and later on into the month I got. Full of beans and psyche I set off on the morning of the 30th April for my first day riding the length of New Zealand with no plan of where I’d be trying to get to, purely just see how far I could go and get used to riding my heavily loaded bike. Day 1 ended up being the 115km on tarmaced road back to Kaitaia, and a further 40km to reach a small village where I camped on the edge of a wood. I actually passed 2 other bikepackers who were on their way to complete their TA, South to North. They’d enjoyed the journey and wished me well. I decided to avoid the “90 mile beach” section of the ride because I really didn’t fancy riding on wet compacted sand, especially as the coast is known for its brutal headwinds and I didn’t want to get all my equipment salty so the road was a much more efficient option, apart from the scary logging trucks whizzing past I was plain sailing. As I returned to Kaitaia I paused for a pie at the Ka Uri cafe and wow what a site. Inside is a huge section of preserved Kauri tree extracted from a swamp, carved up the centre is a magnificent wooden spiral staircase, within the walls of the tree. Turns out the whole building was built around the tree as it is floor to ceiling in mass. Impressive. Rode on to finish my day in Broadwood. 155km

 

Day 2.Broadwood-Dargaville I had my first little ferry crossing today and the boat ran every hour on the hour, it was 30km away so I gave myself just over 2 hours to catch the 9am one. Little did I know my GPS route was taking me along a gravel road, climbing up to 600m before descending steeply down to sea level. This took me much longer than anticipated and the gravel was really loose so I couldn’t descend as fast as I normally would. My croc which was attached to my pannier also rattled loose and got wrapped round my wheel snapping, the heel bit, no time to repair, just stuff it back in the bag and continue my random time trial, it would be close! I safely made it back to tarmac and sprinted 5km along the road and arrived at the ferryport just as it was pulling up to dock. Perfect timing, it would have been frustrating to have missed it by a few minutes and have to wait another hour. On the other side I picked up the Kauri Coast cycleway which led me through the beautiful native Waipoua forest that I could see from the plane. I also stopped to see Tāne Mahuta, known as the “Lord of the Forest”. The impressive 2,000-year-old giant is New Zealand’s largest living kauri tree, so I couldn’t resist stopping here for a while. Downhill along a cruisey road to Dargaville for the evening camping by the river, careful not to have my tent too close to the rising tidal estuary! Also had an issue with my cleats as a bolt had fallen out so I wasn’t able to clip in on one side, fortunately an easy fix once I sourced a replacement. Day 2 140km.

Day 3+4.Dargaville, Tauhoa, Auckland. I began the detour around the Kaipara Harbour towards Wellsford, the official route takes a 3 hour ferry from Poutu Point to Helensville but as it was late in the season, it wasn’t running so I had to go the scenic way. A long day in the saddle. Around midday one of the bolts on my pannier rack that attaches to the frame had somehow sheared off so I had to use my initiative and cable tie the rack to the frame and hope for the best until I could reach a bike shop in Auckland. It lasted the remainder of day 3 but the next day the other side snapped! Luckily I arrived in Auckland pretty early in the afternoon and as I’d rang ahead to a bike shop, they were able to fix it that same day and get my back on the road. I checked into the same hostel which I stayed in the first time I was in Auckland 18 months ago, enjoyed a nice shower, repacked my bike and then took a ride up the Skytower at night, some 206 metres above the streets below. It was really cool to see everything lit up at night. Went to bed early because I’d planned to have a massive day tomorrow to make up for all the faff over the last few days with small mechanicals. Day 3 + 4 212km.

 

Day 5. Auckland- Morrinsville I rolled down through the CBD to the harbour where I caught the 7:20am ferry to Pine Harbour. This saved me cycling through Auckland at a busy rush hour time and gave me a good view from the water, fun start to the day. Now for a nice flattish coastal road all the way to Paeroa, home of the L&P. Enjoyed a couple of pies, the quiet back lanes and scenic farmland for miles, Morrinsville was the end point for the night. A giant cow statue being the highlight here, udderly fantastic viewing and should be in a mooseum really! I’d just exited the supermarket when a lady asked where I’d planned to camp for the night. After not really having a plan she kindly invited me back to pitch my tent in her garden and I met her family who were all really cool mountain bikers themselves! It was really nice to eat with them and they even had a hot tub so I soaked in there with her son Kieran. Legendary way to end the day. 190km

 

Day 6 Morrinsville – Centre of North Island After a quick breakfast with my lovely hosts, I set off for my 2nd longest day of travel, 12 hours ahead of me! Started off on some back roads which led me to the NZ Cambridge, looked just as posh as the UK one! Ate my most expensive pie of the whole ride here! $13 which i only found out at the till, welp! Nice scenic cycle trail called the Te Awa River Ride path led me to Arapuni. Some gravel roads and a left turn brought me out at the top of a massive long downhill to Waipapa Dam. The descent must have been nearly 3km long, I was absolutely flying. Got to the bottom to be faced with an entire road closed barrier, I did wonder why I hadn’t seen many other cars around! Unfortunately for me the detour was back up the hill and a whole lot further around. As there was no one round I scuttled my bike around the barrier and carefully continued riding on the road parallel to the Waikato River Trail, towards Mangakino. Turns out the cycle trail was closed and one side of the road due to recent landslips from a heavy rainfall and flooding back in February. I approached the workers and although they were surprised to see me, they were more than happy for me to walk past them and their machines and continue on my way. My chance paid off, clearly 2 human powered wheels gets you further than 4 at times! Still on track I restocked my panniers up with food for the next 2 days of travel as I was approaching 85km of single track forest right through the centre of NZ. I could see the forest rising higher and higher in the distance and some large climbs awaited me. I passed a field of excited mooing cows and just had to stop and say hello, I think some must have been broken as they sounded more like elephants than cows! By this point I’d been on my bike for 11 hours and with daylight fading, my headtorch came out as I began climbing up the Arataki track, pretty full on single track before dropping out on some wider access roads on the flanks of Titiraupenga.

I was shattered by this point and decided I’d make camp at the Centre of the North Island, which seemed a pretty cool place for the night. This is when my classic stroke of mishaps striked! The entire ride, I’d been cycling with my shoes clipped to my pedals for increased efficiency, having already crossed over 140km and 2000m of vert , I was feeling tired. So when my back wheel spun on the gravel, at night, I didn’t react quick enough to unclip my foot and stand on the ground, so I toppled hard to the left, landing on the floor still in a cycling position. This had already happened multiple times this evening, annoying but not the end of the world. I unclipped, picked myself and my bike up only to realise that I’d broken my pannier bag on the section where the buckles from the bag hook onto the metal frame of the rack. Fortunately my cable ties I’d used the other day for repairing the damaged frame were reusable ones and I still had them. I basically cable tied the bag attachment point to the frame and thought it’ll have to do. I arrived at a camp, pitched my tent, went to put my crocs on but one was missing. Now these crocs have been all over with me and I’ve looked after them for 3 years so I was praying that they were at the fall site, preferably 1km back down the track, and not 100+km away. I got back on my bike and rode by torchlight to find them, then there it was! Big relief, I slept like a log that night deep in the forest. 152km

 

Day 7- Centre of North Island- Taumaranui via The Timber Trail. I’d been looking forward to this section for a long time! Had a little lie in, properly mended my bag as best I could and rode along the access roads down to the start of the trail. 85km of single track through beautiful native bush welcomed me. A steady climb up to the highest point of the ride on the North Island, 940m before an exciting winding descent down the other side. Riding over the 141m long Maramataha suspension bridge, 60m above the gorge below. This was insane to ride over, it’s actually the longest and highest suspension bridge on any cycleway in the country! Stunning. I passed the fancy luxury lodges and campsites at 40km and thought I must have looked like a crazed cyclist with far too much kit for the Timber Trail, as folk on E bikes with a rucksack on shot past me, only for me to tank it back past them during their breaks and perhaps overly cautious descents!

 

I enjoyed the feeling of riding through a remote piece of history reclaimed by nature as I approached the Ongarue Spiral and tunnel, an impressive feat of engineering from 1914 that elevated the old railway 43m easing the steep gradient for the engines hauled all the timber. A good highlight of the trail for sure. As I approached the final descent of the single track I found myself chasing deer, pigs and goats, they never seem to run to the side, always just the way you’re riding and so a tantalising kilometre cat and mouse ensued. I reached a road again and rode another 25km to Taumauranui, restocked at New World then sat in the Maccas charging my powerbanks and phone, journalling and enjoying my 9pm McFlurry!

 

Day 8. Taumaranui-Mangapurua Objective: Must reach the Mangapurua Landing by end of day to take a private jetboat picking me up from the riverbank to shuttle me 30km downriver to Pipiriki the following day.. Pick up time, unknown. Phone signal, nonexistent. Last communication with the boat company, 2 days ago. But we agreed a boat pickup at some point on 8/5/26.

This was my longest and most frustratingly painful day, mentally and physically! With over 120km of offroad riding ahead of me and almost 2000m of elevation, I was motivated for a nice early start to maximise the day. Riding from just after sunrise at 7:30am, I swiftly covered 65km of gravel roads to reach Blue Duck Station from Taumauranui in 4.5 hours. Bowl of chippies and a breather in the homely cafe before riding on some thin single track through the remote Whanganui National Park linking the Kaiwhakauka Track and Mountains to Sea.

 

This is where stuff went wrong, one thing after another. Firstly, THICK unrideable goopy mud for sections of a road wasn’t pleasant but my shoes would clean up, and I pushed on, literally. Then my already damaged pannier rack from 2 days ago caught on a tree, popping a rivet leaving it hanging on by only half. Repaired this by using a spare shoelace synched tightly to the metal pannier frame. Not even 10 minutes later, issue number 2. My pannier bolt shears off the right side of the frame, and I’m in the same situation I had on day 3. Fortunately, I’d kept my reusable cable ties and knew the best way to strap it back at least. Though in the back of my mind I’m just praying the other side doesn’t go. To alleviate some of the weight I repack my panniers, putting all my heavy food items in the front bags and leaving lighter stuff such as my tent and sleeping bag and a few clothes in the rear. Continue my uphill struggle with a heavy bike and ride the ridgeline. It had taken me 3 hours to complete the last 16km. Walking pace! Oh well, at least I’ve got a long descent ahead of me as I take a right turn towards the Bridge to Nowhere.

 

A boneshaking descent lasting 6km, as well as playing cat and mouse with a herd of 4 silly goats, it was only going to end one way for me really! Sure enough, after being as smooth and careful as I could on a fixie gravel bike, the left bolt of my pannier rack to frame shears off. This was not the position I wanted to be in as now I’m left with the entire weight of my broken pannier rack, pannier bags and contents with no structural support. I sigh as the daylight fades and pull out my remaining 6 cable ties. Talk about being on thin ice. This situation really forced me to be resourceful, in between swatting away sandflies and swearing to myself, I focus on fastening/cabletieing the rack to my frame as tight as I can, use another spare shoelace to take some of the tension from the rear part of the rack and attach it to my seat post and try to lighten the load even more. I’m still 6km from my pick up point, darkness falls upon me. Torches on, mobile again, I continue riding carefully through the forest. Surely I’d make it, last bit now.. oh wait.. time for the next thing to fall apart! I couldn’t believe it when the metal side of the pannier rack that had the cable ties secured to it actually snapped clean in 2!

 

 

One thing after another really kept going wrong and I was pretty much left with an unsupported cage by this point. I decided I’d walk and carry my panniers, I’d given up on riding by this point. To top things off I had to cross 6 silly little wire bridges that weren’t wide enough for a bike to be ridden along, so you had to wheelie it through. Well on the bottom of my bike I’ve permanently attached my pannier bags to the rack and this was now non removable and part of the bike. So every bridge I had to carry the almost 30kg bike up and over the narrow entry, often up steps, struggle along a swinging bridge, lift it up and over the otherside, lay it down, walk back and grab my bags. You can imagine my enthusiasm by this point. The whole way on my journey I’ve been hearing all sorts of creatures in the night, occasional torch light illuminating a pair of beady eyes peeping out, I see deer, goats, a rat, possums and believe it or not I’m gifted with a 5 second glimpse of a kiwi stumbling on to my path, glancing in my direction and sprinting off into the darkness. Suddenly I forget about how awful the last 7 hours have been and am grateful to be doing what I am, in this special country. Cheers universe for throwing that one my way!

 

I pass the final swing bridge before I’ll reach the Bridge to Nowhere, which I’m no longer fussed about seeing as I’ve been struggling through the dark for the whole evening, it’s gone 9pm now, I spot a few glowworms (which aren’t actually worms but sound cooler) nestled in a dell, wheel my bank down a slippy muddy ramp and hear running water. After 14 hours, I’ve reached my destination for the night. I erect my tent, crawl into my sleeping bag and await daylight to see my surroundings!

 

Day 9. Mangapurua – Whanganui. I wake up naturally at 8am, decide to chuck myself in the river for a wake upwash and set about making a hearty porridge with the last bits of my jam and peanut butter. My kit is strewn everywhere, drying out, covered in mud. Around me I see the deep vegetated sides of the gorge in which the Whanganui river, the 3rd longest in NZ, cuts through peacefully. 5 metres above me, I see the flood line indicated by dried twigs and grass wrapped around roots and ferns. Glad I wasn’t caught in a flash flood overnight! I finish off my last mouthful, pack my stove away, chuck some fresh clothes on and had literally just deflated my roll mat when the roar of a jetboat engine echoes up the river. Looks like my ride is here, at 9am on the dot. If I’d known this I’d have been packed away ready, not looking like I was keeping some sunloungers reserved for my mates! I remove my tent poles, chuck everything in the tent, bags and panniers as well and load it on the boat, followed by grabbing my bike and my crocs! Not leaving them behind. My driver is called Ken, and he’s been running the river for the last 30 years. We cruise south and he points out cool bits and tells me about the area, how only 3 weeks ago the river was in that 5m flood, what his peak season is like and reminds me how lucky I am that I phoned ahead as they were about to shut shop for the season meaning I’d have been faced with the 100km extra alternative route. Remembering what I’d been through yesterday, I don’t think I’d have minded that one actually but you can’t beat a good jet boat ride through the bush! Epic experience, especially solo and one of my top 5 highlights of my North Island journey.

 

We unload on the shore at Pipiriki, he wishes me good luck with my journey and with my pannier palaver and points to a road shouting, “bike shops 80km that way!” Welp! I’m on limp mode by now, I repack my bags, strap everything up and cautiously ride to Whanganui, my tarmacked road following the meandering river route. One big climb up over the hill later I’m cruising into Whanganui, a small river town and searching for a good local bike shop. Cue ‘The Bike Shed’ to the rescue! I wheel in my mess of a bike and ask if there is any way it can be repaired before they close for the weekend. The thought of sitting still for 3 days until Monday morning and losing out on precious cycling time wasn’t worth imagining! Fortunately, he had the time and commitment to sort me out with a new pannier, removing the sheared bolts from my frame, whilst I got to work repairing my pannier with some spare washers, nuts and bolts. We are so back, baby! I booked a hostel for the night and the thought of riding somewhere and pitching my tent after the stress of the last few days is beyond me! A well deserved rest in a comfy bed awaited.

 

Saturday 9/5/26 or Day 10! Whanganui to Apiti. After falling asleep to rain and gales pelting my hostel window, I wake up to find the sun peeping through the clouds, I reload my bike, leave the hostel at 10am and have a smooth day as I ride 130km with 2000m elevation in 7 hours. I timed my ride to finish at a small hamlet named Apiti, appealing to me as I see there is a pub which reviews mention ‘generous portions’. Perfect for a growing lad such as myself! I walk in, order a mac n’ cheese bowl, loaded brisket fries and gravy and a big side plate of veg! The bar lady lifted her eyebrow and said, “That’s quite a lot of food, we do big portions”, “It’s the reason i’m here” I reply! As I mop up the gravy with the final chip and stack my plates, I get told “Even the kitchen is impressed”! I make use of the warmth until close, roll 1km down the road and pitch my tent in a disused barn, extra sheltered from the wind!

Day 11 Apiti – Masterton 172km 1 hour of drizzle as I set off along a gravel road, which I concluded, after going at snail pace, I was better off riding further, but on a solid surface. I detoured back to a main road and passed Ashurst. More like ‘Ass hurts’! Legs feeling strong, I reach the Manuwatu Gorge. I’d been here before in 2024 with Amber for a little walk. The road is long closed due to rockfalls, land slips and for just generally being unsafe for vehicles, though people prevail and a sneaky little path still weaves around the barriers and follows the quiet, flat scenic road through the gorge. My alternative is a 6km detour, with over 300m of climbing, pedalling along the side of the busy SH3. I know which way I’d prefer, and so did the other cyclists I see taking the shortcut! This saves me time, energy and puts me in a strong position of covering some big ground and potentially being on to a ferry crossing tomorrow!

 

Enter *a headwind* genuinely nearly blowing me off. Hunched over my handle bars like a granny heading back from her grocery shop I edge closer to Masterton. I pass a giant Kiwi statue perched opposite a FourSquare and a pie shop in Eketuna, which I feel sums up NZ pretty well in a single picture. The sunset was pretty and I reach Masterton, restock at the New World and ride in to the middle of the park, tuck under the cloaking branches of the giant sequoia tree and have a cosy night, sheltered from the elements once again and book my InterIslander ticket for 8:30pm this following evening. It rained pretty heavily overnight but by morning, my tent looked as if it had been roasting on the beach for all I knew. Not a drop lay on it! Those of you who have camped for multiple consecutive days know the pain of packing a soggy tent away. Having the luxury of drying it out beforehand or it still being dry in the first place is a moment worth savouring. 172km smashed out.

 

Day 12 Masterton to Wellington. 6:20am pack down before first light and anyone is around, I hit the road and was soon in Martinborough. I fancy a pie, as I usually do at 10am most mornings so I checked out the local Kitcheners cafe. I park my bike up outside and a gentleman asks the standard, where am I off to/come from. I took my glasses off and recognised him from back in February where we rode the final section of the Old Ghost Road, in the South Island together and I asked him to take a picture of me. He remembers me so we enjoy a quick bite to eat together, follow each other on strava and bid our farewell. Small country eh!? The final obstacle between myself and Wellington is the looming Remutaka mountain range in the distance. Fortunately for me, there is a pleasant cycle trail that follows an old railway line used for the timber trade a hundred years ago. I do love a bit of history and definitely did not pretend I was Thomas the Tank engine as I sped through some of the tunnels and through the pine forests over the saddle. That would be silly and foolish and ofcourse, I am neither. 45km of cycle trail beside the river led me to the CBD.

 

I was 3 days early for a brand new cycleway opening from Lower Hutt to Welly and my detour path is in between SH1 and the main train line. Scary, noisy and a bit like a minefield with shards of glass, splintered wood and many other tyre destroying items! I roll past the ferryport, along the quayside to the iconic Wellington sign for a picture to celebrate completing the length of the North Island by bike. Funnily enough, who do I ask to take my photo, another bikepacker who also, about 5 minutes before me, had just completed his Tour Aotearoa of the North Island! Legend, his name was Kai and we hung out for a few hours, grabbing some food, catching the Wellington Cable car up the hill and sharing stories. He was jetting home to Aus but will be returning to ride the South Island another time.

 

I’ve still got plenty of time to kill before my ferry so I cycle to the swimming pool and pay for a $5 shower there before pootling to the ferryport, arriving a solid 2 hours before departure time. I eat my tea, chill out, read my book and before I know it, 8:10pm and I hear the call for foot passengers to board the boat. I do the classic, check pockets for valuables i.e. phone and wallet only to find my wallet isn’t in my jacket. Strange. Must be in my frame bag where I always put it. Nope, hmm, I’m increasingly worried now. I proceed to pour the contents of all my panniers out onto the floor like a normal person would, searching for it, to no avail. By this time the friendly staff can see I’m having problems and search the waiting room quickly whilst I conclude it’s been lost somewhere on the 5km between here and the swimming pool. I can’t get on a boat to the South Island with no wallet, no money or no ID. I cancel my ticket and she kindly says if I find it I can catch the next one the following morning at 7am. As it’s obviously fallen out of my pocket on the cycleways, given the time of night, the dark and how quiet my ride had been, I’m hoping no one has even noticed a black wallet in the gutter. Fingers crossed, I say bye to the ferry staff and hastily recycle my route scanning the ground for a wallet. I’d not even gone 400m along the pedestrian ferry entry, on a footbridge over the railway before I turned the corner and spotted it lying there on the floor. What a relief! I checked the time and saw 8:23pm. It dawned on me that I could still catch this ferry! I turned around and cycled as fast as I could back to the terminal, burst through the doors and they allowed me to board, just in time before the ramp got lifted! Stressful 20 mins and a memorable way to complete the North Island bike ride! North Island stats. Distance, 1639.6km and18,983m of climbing in 12 days.

 

Tour Aotearoa: South Island. Time for some familiar terrain and roads now! I walked off the ferry into Picton at 1am and cycled down a dead end road, found a park and with my dim torchlight, quickly put my tent up in the bushes on the far side. I was well hidden and pleased to get some rest. Next morning I woke up to discover I’d camped on the far edge of a graveyard, just a hundred metres away were the headstones, thought it was dead quiet! Oops, my bad.

Day 13 greeted me with sunny skies and no wind. The goal was to ride the fastest way to Nelson and chill out there, all road riding today. Weaved my way round the bay on the Queen Charlotte Drive, amazing panoramic views out over the water, it was exciting taking the sharp corners at speed. Paused at Havelock for a pie, then rode over Pelorus Bridge and continued to make really good time all the way to Richmond. The Hobbit audiobook kept me going here. Visited Pics peanut butter world, another giant statue ticked off! After doing my food shop, washing and even going to the cinema, camped on a wasteground surrounded by pukekos. 120km in 6 hours 50.

 

Day 14 Nelson to Murchison. Ambitious distance for the day so thought I’d set an early alarm. This turned out to be the sound of the first plane coming in to land at the airport, combined with noisy pukekos. Weaving through the busy SH6 I got on the quieter back roads and eventually some gravel roads. Fast approaching the Nelson Lakes, I saw a glimmer of blue in front of me and was amazed to spot 3 kotare chilling on a powerline (NZ kingfishers). Quick view of Lake Rotorua which I’d swam in a few times and then it was a really steep climb up to the Braemar saddle on a gravel road. I didn’t have the last 50m in me so pushed over the crest to enjoy a long ride down the other side to Murchison. However, heavy rain in the previous days meant all 4 of the ford crossings were in full flow, wet feet for me, the last one was even half wheel height and full of chunky boulders to swerve too! It was getting dark by this point and all I could think about was food from the local FourSquare 30km ahead of me. Slept in the barn and dried out my soggy socks!

 

Day 15 and 16. Murchison, Reefton, Greymouth. Not too much to say here, head down and did the work! Murchison to Reefton was pretty easy, apart from a long climb up the Rahu Saddle before a speedy 30km to the pub where I enjoyed a lamb shank! After camping by the river I enjoyed eggs benny and salmon at the famous tea rooms and then a ginger cake, lamington and a cookie before I rolled back on to my bike for the flat ride to Greymouth. Certainly burning off the calories that’s for sure. Stayed in a lovely hostel for the night to recharge before taking on the West Coast Wilderness Trail over the coming days.

Day 17 Greymouth to Hokitika. Pleasant views along the coast to Kumara then inland for the climbing. This was the part I was looking forward to, entering the jungle with towering fern and rimu surrounding me. The trail was popular as it was the weekend so I did look out of place with all my panniers on! Reached Cowboy Paradise after following a line of waterways up to 317m then cruised back down some singletrack towards the ocean again. I’d imagined I would be on the Hokitika beachfront well in time for the sunset but I got a weird half flat tyre, paused to reinflate it, seemed satisfied it was holding air and carried on. I ended up sprinting to catch the sunset at 30kms an hour, shattered but it was so nice to watch the sun set right on the water, the beauty of the West Coast. I continued riding to Lake Mahinapura and decided to camp at ‘picnic point’ just 400m off the main trail. Well, talk about off-roading and hike-a-bike. Couldn’t cycle a single bit and ended up dropping down about 50m to get to the clearing. Pitch black with roots jutting out everywhere whilst maneuvering a 35kg loaded bike was not my ideal scenario to be in at 7:30pm but I’d gone too far to turn back now! What a good spot it was though.

 

Day 18 Hokitika to Harihari Morning dip in the lake, steady pack down and enjoyed my porridge, reloaded the panniers and set off along the rest of the trail towards Ross. I really enjoyed riding an old railway line through the wetlands, paused to take it all in, spotting herons and blue ducks among the flax. Carrot cake pit stop in Ross then another 40km of flat farmland before I turned in for the night at sunset near Mt Hercules. This is where as I trailed off the rode to gravel my back wheel rolled on the gravel (more like marbles) and flung me off, scraping my hand really bad, lots of blood but I bandaged myself up and enjoy my classic tea of poached eggs, tuna, chilli beans rice and wraps. Yum! Slept very well down a forest road only to be woken up by a cheeky kea rattling my bean can around the following morning! At least it decided not to eat my tent zip!

 

Day 19 Harihari to Bruce Bay. Cold start to the day so I didn’t set off until 9:45am. That was a concern for my journey, the further south I went the colder and shorter the days were getting. Fortunately I copped some cheap leather gardening gloves from Mitre10 which kept the nip off my fingers until the warmer temps arrived at about 11am! 60km flat to Franz Josef with fantastic views riding towards all the glaciers. I’d only driven north along SH6 the previous year so riding south at a much slower pace gave me a much better view and more time to take it all in. Towering mountains lined with temperate rainforests and glaciers leading to rivers in one direction is certainly a sight! Refuelling at Franz Josef, I braced for the tough climbs to follow, switching back on hair pin bends as they climbed through the bushline. Once again, my goal was to reach Bruce Bay for sun setting on the ocean and I was only just in time to watch the sun disappear from sight, fiery orange on the horizon. I camped on the beach that night and had no shortage of dry drift wood for my cosy fire/sandfly protection. Eating my rice and beans in front of the flames, gazing up at the Milky Way and watching for shooting stars. What a time to be alive! I’ll remember this moment.

 

Day 20. Bruce Bay to Haast Village. It was around this point that I knew I had the challenge in the bag. I had 7 more riding days to reach Bluff, which was only 480km away. After boosting the 1640km North Island in 12 days and not hanging around in the South, just in case I got a serious mechanical problem and needed a day or 2 repair work done, I felt confident I could take my time. Especially as I would remain on sealed roads for the rest of my journey. I was also planning to stop and see friends in Wanaka and Queenstown. This meant I could do shorter distances at a more leisurely pace. Lots of nice lakes and picnic spots passed, I crossed the mighty Haast River. An ice cold wash in the river before retreating to the Hard Antler pub for a huge feed. Probably the coolest pub I’ve been to as dangling from the ceiling were at least 50 massive antlers from local hunters, very impressive to imagine how tall the rest of the animal would have stood. I fuelled up big time here enjoying a venison burger, venison bolognese and a chocolate brownie before camping on the shores of the Haast River.

 

Day 21 Haast to Cameron Flat. A very chilled start to the ride, gaining height gradually from sea level all the way up to the summit at 562m, I thought it was 652m so was pleased to save extra height! I had a close encounter with a campervan wing mirror after the vehicle overtook me very dangerously and pulled over to recover by eating a lovely pbj wrap whilst admiring Fan Tail falls. I arrived at the Cameron Flat clearing super early and saw the rain was coming in that night so thought I’d take advantage of the previous dry weather and ride down to the Blue Pools before they became the dirty grey pools. Insane swim spot and ofcourse, I had to jump of the bridge, timed at the same time a family was getting a picture. Cue photobombing tarzan! They must have had a laugh looking back through those shots. Slept beautifully in my soggy tent after falling into a food coma!

 

Day 22 Haast Pass – Wanaka. Waking up with torrential rain, as forecast, was no surprise but it still made me want to stay in bed for that little bit longer. Mustered the motivation to pack down and actually ended up dragging my tent and contents to the shelter of the toilet block to pack down. Real ones will know the feeling! Still, I had plenty of warm dry clothes and also, tonight I was staying at Iona’s house which meant no tent, and a washing line to dry kit out! Bundled the soggy kit into my panniers, zipped my raincoat up high and had a lovely time sending it through the intermittent downpours through the beech tree tunnels to Makarora.

 

Pit stop for carrot cake number one, also remember having just the correct amount for a piece in coins so clearly it was meant to be! My first view of Lake Wanaka came and I was suddenly out of the rainshadow from the Divide. The sky cleared, woohoo. After reaching the crest of the Neck (the thin strip of land separating 2 lakes it was a beautiful scenic cruise along the shores of Lake Hawea to the township. Carrot cake no.2 ensued upon arrival. Next was a new path, following the river path to Albert Town, which was all a gradual downhill and really fun to ride. Crossing the Albert Town bridge I contemplated jumping in but Iona’s house and a nice warm bath awaited! I dried the tent and did my laundry, cooked a huge bolognese and I had my 3rd slice of carrot cake, just to make it a hattrick. I rolled to bed and we played Wordle for a solid 3 hours. Delightful times!

 

Day 23- Wanaka to Queenstown. Though only a short day, it still packed a punch. The Crown Range separates these two townships and, at 1076 metres above sea level, is actually the country’s highest tarmacked road. Before the millenium, it was still gravel. Speedy downhill along the switchbacks and I was at Arrow Junction, joined the Kawarau river trail and rode all the way to Frankton to see Max, Ricky and Ryan. I was glad to sleep inside this evening as it reached 0 degrees overnight! A lot colder down south!

Day 24 Queenstown to Lumsden. A scenic but slightly scary ride on SH6 along the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu led me to Kingston. No steam train today unfortunately and as I left the towering mountains from the Remarkables and Nevis Ranges behind me the land transformed into rolling green hills, full of flocks of sheep and cattle grazing. 100 kilometres later I reached Lumsden FourSquare where I treated myself to a whole roast chicken, a baguette and some pesto dip. Perfect feed in my tent nestled deep in a warm secluded pine forest. I thought that would keep the worst of the cold out for the night and slept beautifully.

 

Day 25 Lumsden to Invercargill. The end is almost in sight! Again, being ahead of schedule I took my time cycling and treated myself to my 4th and final hostel stay of the trip. Southern Comfort Hostel, can’t fault the place. I was the only guest and it was in a lovely old cottage, very homely and warm! Thanks to Dee for being so friendly and welcoming.

 

Day 26 – 25/5/26 This was it! Last push to Bluff. I set off at about 10am with the whole day to ride about 60km. I had to be at Invercargill Airport, bike boxed all packed down ready for my flight to Christchurch at 18:15pm and Bluff was only 32km away. I’ve been to Bluff 3 times before but I’d done my research and found there was a butty van not far from the end. I cycled along, pooing myself when the logging wagons whizzed right past without moving over and was relieved to get on the cycle path! FourSquare pit stop for a slab of carrot cake and appropriately named celebratory beer – Scenic Route from Altitude Brewing.

 

The visitor centre had medals for those who have completed the Tour Aotearoa available so I got this as a wee memento too. Turning the corner and rolling down to the iconic sign was a great feeling and I felt really proud to have completed my birthday mission and relieved I didn’t have to ride all the way back to Cape Reinga! A couple of tourists got pictures with me and I sat and enjoyed my little cake and beer, before riding back to order a delicious battered fish burger and fries from the food truck! Top tier scrans all round and very much needed after the last 26 days of graft! I rolled back on to my bike and did feel pretty sick on my ride to the airport after eating so much food and a beer!

 

Arrived over 3 hours before my flight, Mum would have been proud. Invercargill flights are domestic only, so I literally walked inside the building and was at the gate, no bag checks or passport needed. Very chill! Luckily the 3 hours was needed for faff time trying to fit everything back into my tiny bike box I’d been handed. They even had a tool station outside for punters like me, a brilliant idea. You’d never get that in the UK. The box was loaded, weighing in at a mere 38kg. I was convinced it was under 25kg when I lifted it up as well, so after paying for extra oversize weight/luggage I was good to go and enjoy the rest of my carrot cake before boarding. 90 mins later, I was rebuilding my bike back up in Christchurch so I could cycle to the Rank Flat where I’d left my van in the safe keeping of my friends. What a birthday to remember!

 

Well, there we have it. A full account of my Tour Aotearoa experience and my first (definitely not my last) bikepacking adventure. There were some tough times mostly caused with bike pannier issues but on the whole I feel it went rather smoothly, for me! Physically I didn’t find it too tiring for my legs, my fitness increased day by day and the bike itself was flawless. Hitting it hard early on was a good strategy as I meant I could cruise later on into my trip. The weather was brilliant and I’m grateful to have viewed New Zealand from the perspective of 2 wheels and be self sufficient for nearly 4 weeks.

 

You’ve made it this far so here’s the distances and times per day as well as a ‘list of ‘est’s’

Longest day camp to camp- Day 8 13 hr 13 mins- absolute epic with the panniers

Furthest day: Day 5- 190km. Head down on the farmlands to make up some time

Shortest day: Day 26- 63.36km Ran out of road in Bluff so had to turn around!

Fastest average speed: 25.1km/5 on Day 26 for 87km

Longest climb: Crown Range from Wanaka

Highest speed: 72km (Big hill bomb towards Nelson down Whangamoa Pass)

Biggest day of climbing Day 6 – 2,313m

Highest Point north island + south island

Most pieces of cake consumed 3 pieces of carrot cake Day 23

Boats used: x 1 jet boat + x 1 ferry

Pies eaten: 6 pepper steak, 2 lamb kumara, 1 bbq brisket, 2 pork and apple

Nights wildcamped vs indoors 20 nights in the tent, 4 in hostels and 2 on the sofa!

Things lost: 1 sock, a bike light, left glove and a wallet (temporarily)

Times fallen over clipped in: 13, always at the end of the day when I was knackered!

Coolest moment: So much to choose but flying down the Timber Trail chasing some pigs was pretty up there and I remember grinning like a maniac with adrenaline!

Hardest moment: Watching my pannier rack completely detach from my bike in the middle of nowhere (Literally the name on the sign!) and having to keep improvising the repairs!