GTT – Mapua to Kaiteriteri – 2 February 2021

 


I love trails when you are surprised every now and again by where the trail goes or the difficulty.  This day was one of those days. 

 

It was another almost perfect day weather wise, cool to start off but with clear sunny skies.  The morning was so nice we decided to have a coffee before we departed Mapua at a place overlooking the inlet.  It was a busy little café and a couple who could not find a place to sit joined us.  They were a couple of GPs around our age who I suspect were in semi-retirement in Cromwell having moved there from Auckland.  They were a delightful and enthusiastic couple who typically rode e-bikes having graduated from other bikes. 

Our coffee place

 The ride took us along the coast to Ruby Bay  where we turned inland.  Our first climb was rather steep and for a moment I wished I had an e-bike.  About 4/5th  of the way up I ran out of puff and had to stop for a minute gasping for breath.  I resumed and managed the rest of the climb. In the meantime, Bev cruised past me barely breaking out in a sweat making the hill seem like a little hillock.   There are just some gradients which are a little too much for me.  It was then downhill to Tasman where we followed a nice trail, stopping at a little park to taste some apples on a tree.  Some were ripe so we enjoyed eating one each. 

 

Ruby Bay

The trail turned inland on a quiet country road and began climbing.  The gradient was easy for the first half of the ride.  The countryside had been stripped bare for development (“city refugees” I suspect) and already a number of seriously architecturally challenged houses had been built. 


 We reached what I thought was the top of the climb and then turned onto a gravel track (the best way to describe it) and for the next three or four kilometres we had some rather challenging riding.  I was concentrating on staying upright as was Bev and also trying to negotiate the really deep gravel because if you were climbing it, you could lose traction.  I managed to do the whole bit without stopping whereas Bev chose to ride the mountain bike option and landed in a ditch which resulted in hurt pride but fortunately no injuries.  Finally it was downhill, past the Riverside Community and then onto Motueka.  The downhill and then  flat ride being a welcome relief.  Incidently, they class that part of the ride as Grade 3 or intermediate level. 
Part of what we came up

The end of the climbing is almost in sight!

I missed a turn off in Motueka and we travelled one street further on, but that was ok as I needed to buy some riding gloves having left one behind when we took a breather at the top of the hill. 

 

We backtracked to a café called Toad Hall for a nice lunch and then followed the coast to Riwaka.   The estuary on which Motueka fronts was full and looked wonderful with the open sea separated by a sand bar.  It looked like a line of white paint separating the darker blue of the ocean and the almost turquoise colour of the estuary.



 

The final part of the ride involved going through a mountain bike park.  This too was graded as Level 3 and the information we had said there technical bits involving switch backs.  Bev was facing them with some trepidation whilst I felt more confident having successfully negotiated them on the Wilderness Trail.   The route we took was described as the Easy route.  It was ok, narrow, but not too steep with the switchbacks making the gradient relatively easy to climb.  For me it was not as bad as the earlier climb in the gravel.

 

The last challenge of the day

Finally we were in Kaiteriteri, but we then had to do a bit more climbing to get to our accommodation in Little Kaiteriteri.  It was short but brutal. 

 

The golden sands of Kaiteriteri

After showering we wandered around to Kaiteriteri for a pub meal.  It was rather fun walking along the beach and clambering over rocks to get there.  The golden sands really made the place picture perfect.  On the way back we climbed up to a lookout and had wonderful views over the two beaches.  It was a great way to end a wonderful day that had been full of surprises. 

 

Distance cycled: 50kms  - Riding time:  3h 25

 




Little Kaiteriteri


 

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