The rain had cleared overnight, so we woke up to stunning vistas of the Southern Alps. After a hearty breakfast we hit the gravel road along Lake Pukaki. The road continued for a further 18km until we reached the Tekapo B power station, after which it turned into smooth tarseal. The riders were fairly spread out, but we regrouped at the Lake Pukaki Visitor Centre just past the Pukaki Dam. Our support drivers Dave and Said made sure we were watered and fed before crossing the highway to rejoin the A20 trail on the other side.
The next section was a flat and fast gravel track with an expanse of dry grassland characteristic of the Mackenzie landscape. After crossing this we ended up in Twizel, but bypassed the town to head 3km further down the road to the Salmon Farm, where we fed the salmon and indulged in Salmon pie!
After heading back to Twizel to rejoin the A20 trail, we followed the road until we reached a canal. The bright blue water was perfectly framed by the lupins which were fully out in bloom. The endlessly long canal finally took us to the Ohau Weir, and then joined the most fun singletrack of the tour. We arrived to stay at Lake Ohau Lodge, one of the picturesque places of the tour.
We started off bright an early, as we had to drive from Tekapo to Mt Cook. The first stop was the Church of the Good Shepherd, one of Tekapo’s famous landmarks. After the obligatory group shot, we were off to the start of the Alps 2 Ocean trail at Mt Cook.
It was a very scenic drive with the mountains looming in the foreground. Although it was a unicycle tour, we actually started off with a 2 hour hike up the Hooker Valley, across several swing bridges and alpine tussock. It was a beautiful walk, but by the time we got back to the carpark everyone was ready to head off, we had a helicopter to catch!
The first part of the Alps to Ocean trail is a rocky track which leads to Mt Cook Airport- basically a landing strip and a helipad. When we arrived the group took turns to fly up to the Tasman Glacier, which was well worth the trip. The helicopter landed on the glacier and we got to walk around on the ice, before being flown back over the iceflow to Tasman Point, where the A20 trail continues on the other side of the river.
It was a lovely warm day, and the clouds had burnt off, so we decided to cool off in the glacial water, with several members of the group stripping right down for a skinny dip. It was CO0old, but well worth it.
The next part of the trail proved to be fairly tricky for unicycles. It was a well-groomed trail, but without suspension and limited gears, it was slow going. Dani ended up shredding her tyre, so spent considerable time trying to patch it up. Luckily Said came by with the support vehicle to the rescue!
As we rounded the lake, we could hear thunder, and before long the beautiful clear skies opened up. Along with the relentless headwind, it took its toll on the riders. By the time we arrived at Braemar Station, we were ready for a hot shower and hot food, which is exactly what we got. Anna, Dani and Gen had gone ahead in the support vehicle and made a delicious curry, followed by banana/chocolate self-saucing pudding, which hit the spot. We were all tired but well fed by the time we got in bed.
The South Island, ,New Zealand Unitour kicks off today. This is the second unitour of the South Island, 10yrs since the first! We were taking a slightly different route this time, incorporating the new Alps to Ocean (A20) cycle trail, the Central Otago Rail Trail, Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold Trail.
We had quite a hectic morning as the riders flew into Christchurch from overseas and around the country. Unfortunately, we lost a member of our group, Eric, who couldn’t make it due to Visa issues. Several riders had arrived the day before and picked up one of our two support vans- an 8-seater van driven by Said who travelled with our Italian riders. Dave Goodman, our second support driver arrived from Dunedin, and we spent a considerable amount of time getting our second hire vehicle sorted, a 12-seater van.
Ken, Anna and Chris went off on a big shop at the local supermarket, spending the next hour chasing their list around to find dozens of tins, loaves of bread, pasta, rice, fruit and vegetables etc. It was a mammoth effort to pack them all into boxes and load up the support van.
Then we’re off! It took us a few hours to drive to Tekapo, by which time we were all starving! Anna got things happening in the kitchen, getting the troops together to put together a hearty meal of Nachos and Chili con Carne.
We had a gorgeous view of the Lake, although our late arrival meant we didn’t get much of a chance to look around. Ken and Anna held the tour briefing, and then it was off to bed!
Bruce Hall was tragically killed a week ago whilst out riding his unicycle. He was a good guy and had been on many adventures with us. I will miss my travel buddy. Here is a short dedication:
Ok, for those of you who follow my blog, you’ll know that I my girlfriend, Anna, is a puppeteer.
On our recent Iceland unicycle road trip, I surprise her with a puppet show at my favourite waterfall, Dettifoss. She was all grumpy at the start, because it was wet and cold and it took me ages to get the camera set up.
Luckily for me, Diesel the penguin found something shiny without getting all tangled up!
I had the pleasure of timekeeping yesterday for Mirjam Lips (Switzerland), who was attempting the womens unicycle hour record at Unicon 18, San Sebastian, Spain.
She broke Nadine Wegner’s previous record of 23.65km with a new distance of 27.027km, with a very strong ride on a 400m athletics track.
I flew down to Christchurch on Labour Weekend to meet up with Anna, who had been busy performing puppet shows in Christchurch. She had been telling me about the Alps 2 Ocean trail for the best part of the year, so we finally decided to do it together during her South Island Tour.
The new 300km trail is part of the NZ cycleway, and takes you from Mt Cook Village to east coast of the South Island. We were also going to visit Anna’s nana, who lives in Twizel, in the middle of the A2O trail. Our plan was to complete the first half from Mt Cook Village to Omarama.
It was the first time I’d been to Christchurch since the earthquakes, so after Anna picked me up from the airport we went to the city centre to have a look around. We walked through the square, gazing at the ruins and new construction. The last time I was at Cathedral Square was on our 2007 South Island Unicycle Tour, so it was quite sad to see so many buildings demolished or damaged by the quake.
We had lunch at the new mall next the square, which was built out of shipping containers. After a quick stop to pick up riding supplies at the Cookie Time factory, we set off on the picturesque drive to Twizel.
We arrived at Nanas house but she was out playing golf, so we were greeted by her Great Uncle Alec who had driven down in his camper van from Tauranga. Anna showed me her childhood hangouts in Twizel, then we picked up fish and chips to fuel up for tomorrows ride.
Day 1
“We’re doing what?!!!” Anna had slightly mistaken the geography of the area. Instead of a comfortable 60km ride she’d planned for our first day, it would be a 74km ride to Lake Tekapo, followed by a 94km ride to Lake Ohau the next day. We were starting on the regular A2O ride, but cutting across to the alternate start at Lake Tekapo.
“…but I thought Tekapo was along the way!”
Luckily having Twizel on the trip route meant we could start in Mt Cook Village and finish at Nana’s place later that day. It would still be a challenging ride, as we would be completing two sections in one day.
Uncle Alec drove us in his campervan to the start of the A2O trail at Mt Cook Village. From there the track starts off fast and flowy, a scenic 8km trail to Mt Cook Airport. This was more helicopter landing pad than airport, as the chopper is the only way across the river unless you fancy an icy dip. The all too brief 2 minute ride gave amazing views of the mountains and river below. It dropped us off at Tasman Point, before ferrying other passengers to the glacier.
From there we cycled toward Lake Pukaki, following the Tasman River, and had lunch of peanut butter sandwiches along the riverbank. Once we hit Lake Pukaki the track turned into a gravel road, with the Southern Alps seeming to rise above it. The lake is an amazing shade of blue, photos don’t do it justice!
Half way down the lake we stopped at Braemar Station to fill up our drinkbottles, much to the bemusement of the farmer and his son. It was getting really hot so we considered cooling off in the lake. Although it was a warm day the lake was anything but! After dipping our toes into the glacier fed waters we decided a swim was not on the cards.
By the time we arrived on the final stretch to Twizel, the sun was setting. Anna was getting tired so we finished our ride at the dam. Anna’s Nana picked us up and drove us back to Twizel to stay the night.
Day 2
The next day we got up bright and early and started back at the Pukaki dam. The first part of the track meandered through dry grasslands typical of the MacKenzie Basin landscape, the ‘Pukaki flats’. It took us back to Twizel but we bypassed the town by taking the alternate ‘flood’ route. Anna wanted to show me Lake Ruataniwha, where she had spent many childhood holidays. It is an artificial lake created by another massive dam; part of the Waitaki Hydroelectric project of the late 1970’s.
There was a Salmon farm by the dam. We stopped to have Salmon Pie, Salmon Chowder, and then fed the fish which would one day become someone else’s lunch.
The gravel road after that was incredibly rough and it was a struggle for Anna, who kept bouncing off the rocks. It was getting very late by the time we reached the Lake Ohau Weir. The wind was starting to howl, but the fast flowy track and amazing scenery of Lake Ohau made it worthwhile. At the end of the track we were picked up by Tony, a retired farmer from Buscot Station who now runs their backpacker accommodation. He entertained us with tales of farming in this region and the challenges they faced. We watched him feed baby lamb and then cooked up pasta for tea.
Day 3
It was a drizzly morning but Tony dropped us off at Lake Ohau lodge, where we warmed up by the fire, hoping for the weather to clear. A couple of mountainbikers had decided to cancel their ride because of snow at the top of the ridge, but we had to get going regardless. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as we thought. Our ride started with a gentle 10km climb, but the drizzle had simply turned into mist. The landscape was quite different to the day before, with a light dusting of snow on the mountains. The track summit was just at the snowline. Anna copped a couple of snowballs as she arrived at the top.
The 18km descent took us to Quailburn Road. The gravel road then takes you through farmland for another 35km…before a turn off to the ‘Clay Cliffs’. We decided not to take the detour as it was getting late….maybe next time! The ride finished with a short singletrack to Omarama. Nana picked us up again and drove us back to Twizel, having completed the first four sections of the Alps to Ocean trail.
Congratulations to Sam Wakeling (UK), we have a new 100 mile world record!
Sam unicycled 100 miles in 6hrs 18min 13s at the Croft Circuit race track, in Darlington, UK. The previous record of 6hrs 44min 22s was set in 1987 by Takayuki Koike (Japan).
Sam rode a geared Schlumpf 36″ Unicycle with 145mm cranks.
Roger Davies was making a simultaneous 100 mile record attempt at the same circuit, on an ungeared 36″ unicycle. Unfortunately, after being ahead of the previous record mark, Roger had to abandon his attempt. Hopefully we’ll see another ungeared record attempt from Roger in future!
Please support their charity, Water Aid. They have raised over £500 so far.
The 100 mile record has stood for over a quarter century, and is one of the toughest records in unicycling. It has had several attempts on it since Takayuki Koike (Japan) set the record in 1987, and still stands at 6hrs44min22s.
On the 9 July, Sam Wakeling and Roger Davies will be attempting the world record. Sam will be riding a geared 36″, while Roger will be attempting the record on an ungeared 36″.
Todays ride would take us up to 4000m, which is higher than most people in the group had been to before. We started by weaking through the backstreets of the old village in Manang, with many alleyways, before heading up the hill towards Yak Kharka. There were several ‘Stupa’ stops, where we had a chance to take in the views.
We stopped a beautiful teahouse that looked out at the mountains, before proceeding along the trail. It was all singletrack riding from Manang, which was not overly technical but a lot of fun riding. We crossed one of the longest swing bridges on the tour so far, which was slightly disconcerting on a unicycle.
When we arrived in Yak Kharka we took huddled into the teahouse with hot soup, lemon tea and other beverages. It started snowing when we arrived, but an intrepid group decided to go for a walk up the hill with our guide Dawa.
Later in the evening, one our group members, Bruce, developed quite severe acute mountain sickness, so we had to send him down with 6 porters taking turns carrying him to Manang in the middle of the night (whilst it was snowing!).
