Report from Steve and friends adventure on the Heaphy Track. Six intrepid starfish bikers (Steve Dyet, Chris Grave, Tony Clear, Shane Wright, Ross Gamble and Paul Angus) took on the Heaphy challenge over two days on the 8th/9th September. The weather gods shone on us yet again, it was calm and sunny on both days. We drove up from Dunedin on Sunday (11 hrs) and stayed the night at Karamea. After carbo loading on whitebait patties and a few beers we divvied the gear and organised our packs for an early start . The first group of three flew from Karamea to Browns hut at the northern end of the track while the rest drove 20minutes to the Kohaihai shelter at the southern end of the track and met the chopper there. Wayne flew us over the track, about a 20 minute ride, and gave us a great perspective on the scenery and terrain we would encounter over the next two days. We started biking at 9.30am and arrived at the James MacKay hut at the half way mark (~40kms) at around 5.30pm. The first part of the track was a long (17.5kms and 2 & 1/2 hrs) moderate uphill climb through beech forest to the Perry saddle at 915m. From there the valley widened out into the Gouland downs open Tussock country to the edge of the rainforest near the James Mackay hut. A long day over some rough track at times but most of the hard work done and a big downhill and flat coastal run to look forward to the next day. Day two was another glorious day and we set off around 8am on the 700m downhill through the forest to the Lewis hut. The gradient was moderate and we knocked off the 12.5kms in around an hour or so. As we approached the Heaphy River the track flattened out and nikau palms began appearing. The coastline from the Heaphy Hut to the Kohaihai shelter is a fantastic mixture of nikau palms groves and open riding along cliffs and beaches. We reached the end of the track at around 2pm. What a fantastic ride - great terrain and varied scenery. The ride time was only 7hrs 15mins (just over 10kms/hr) but we took our time and spread it out over the two days. At times the track was rocky and a bit rough and we all had a few spills but was 100% ride able and there were no real steep sections. After a quick swim (for one anyway) we were off to Karamea for more whitebait patties and then on to Maruia Springs for the night and a well-deserved soak and a few beers in the hot pools.” My tips – spread the load around not all on your back, Full suspension bike the go as track bumpy , take some warm clothes as can get cold at huts and does rain a lot. Definitley worth doing and an incredibly beautiful part of the world !
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 03:50:08 +0000
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