507km Geraldine to Seddon
“Oh, I couldn’t do that,” is a common refrain from people when they consider bicycle touring. We always reply that this trip is 90% mental and just 10% physical. A small hill can seem like a mountain if you’re in a bad mood but with the right attitude, and a good supply of trail mix, you can scale peak after peak.
With this in mind, we made sure to put our ‘happy hats’ on as we breezed through the spa town of Hanmer Springs (stopping only to share a 1 litre tub of Hokey Pokey ice cream, the Kiwi favourite) and turned right for the Molesworth Road. In the 1800s, this was true pioneer territory as the explorers of the day searched the land, looking for rich grazing pastures and a shorter route between Christchurch and Nelson. Today it’s the country’s largest working farm and only open to the public for a few months each year.
As we turned right onto the dirt road, we wondered how much had really changed since those early days. We could imagine the men trekking their way up the same path as we pushed our bikes, carrying several days worth of food over the loose gravel, rutted surface and steep grades. Every car covered us in a fine layer of dust as it flew by on the way to Jacks Pass.
Just how much food were we carrying? That’s 1kg of porridge oats, 1kg of trail mix (our own blend of raw nuts, seeds, raisins and dried apricots), 500g of couscous, 500g of pasta, 300g of pepperoni, 1kg of cheese, 3 boxes of crackers, 2 tins of tuna, 4 onions, 4 tomatoes, 4 carrots, 2 avocados, 1 head of broccoli, 1 iceberg lettuce, 2 kumara, 1 lemon and 8 apples, plus our standard pantry items like spices, garlic, butter, tomato paste, honey, tea, coffee, powdered milk and an extra litre of gas in case we ran out over the 4 days before we’d see any shops again. With all this on board, please note that we did not carry any wine up the mountain – an act of great restraint on our part with all the wonderful New Zealand vintages to choose from!
It took over an hour to cover the 5km to the pass but our reward came on the other side, where we flew downhill on a much better road. We followed the river through the dry mountains to Acheron Cottage, an original lodging house but now a basic campsite for travellers. If we’d arrived in the 1860s, the smell of freshly baked bread would have welcomed us and 25 cents would have bought a bed for the night, dinner and a stable for our horses. The ovens had unfortunately long since stopped baking bread so we tucked into a more modern comfort, Thai curry over noodles.
Just as it was nearly dark, we noticed a few white tails off in the distance. Rabbits. We think they’re cute but farmers would probably side more with Porky Pig and his rifle. Those ‘wascaly wabbits’ were one of the reasons that many farmers went bankrupt trying to making a living off this land over the decades. The rabbits multiplied so quickly and ate so much of the best grass that there simply wasn’t enough left for the farm animals. The Department of Conservation now seem to have rabbit control figured out since today’s farm is profitable and thriving.
After our efforts of the day before, it was past 10am before we got going towards the next camping area at Cob Cottage. There’s just 59km between the two houses and we thought it would be a relatively easy day but we should have thought a little more.
Cob Cottage gets its name from the building material used to make it. Early homesteaders mixed together clay, water, gravel and tussock to make the cob – a sort of rustic concrete – because there were almost no trees to supply wood on the Molesworth Station. No trees means no shade and we felt every ray coming down from the relentlessly hot sun as we worked our way over the gravelly, bumpy road. What we really needed were the wide-brimmed hats worn by the cowboys we saw rounding up cattle and taking them to lower winter pastures.
By the time we reached Wards Pass, the last big hump on the way to Cob Cottage, we were shattered and then dismayed to get over the top with no sight of Cob Cottage. It was still a few kilometres further on and near dusk by the time we rolled through the gates that the rangers use to close the road between 7pm and 7am.
“I’d have come looking for you if you hadn’t showed up,” said Mike the ranger as he collected our camp fees. Out here in the middle of nowhere, it’s a reassuring thought to know someone is keeping an eye out for you. Happily we were suffering from nothing other than exhaustion and a vigorous appetite so while Andrew put up the tent, Friedel whipped up supper and soon we were tucked into our sleeping bags, snoozing in the calm and perfectly quiet Molesworth night.
The next day we hoped to reach the main highway – a full 90km away but surely the asphalt road would return soon enough? We were now off the Molesworth Station and back on public land but the bumpy dirt road and the hills continued and by late in the afternoon we were a meagre 50km along. A kind couple gave us two juicy peaches. We couldn’t have been happier, even if they’d handed us two gold nuggets!
We started to wonder where we’d spend the night after the backpackers we thought existed out here turned out to be closed and the steep embankments leading down to a deep gorge offered little potential for camping. But we’ve never failed to find a place for the night yet and just as we rounded a corner we spotted a little track leading down to a flat field next to a stream, with birds chirping away. We couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect.
It took another full day before we finally emerged from our Molesworth Road experience and made a dash straight for the nearest campground with a hot shower. There’s nothing like 3 days out in the wilds to make you appreciate the beauty of a simple pleasure.
1st April 2009 at 5:05 am #
Great read. You certainly pick interesting places to travel. We haven’t been there ourselves!
We’ve just returned from Christchurch after a few days catching up with our daughter. Took the easy way – flew Air NZ
Hope that we can see you sometime.
regards
Ian
2nd April 2009 at 4:00 am #
Looking forward to catching up with you when you reach our area (North Island). Evie says you all had a great time. Didn’t envy you on this leg of the journey, my bones were sore in sympathy LOL 🙂
Cheers for now
Jenny (Jen T from recipezaar)
3rd April 2009 at 6:29 pm #
Reading about your initial climb brought back some memories … we just finished Highway 4 from the East to West coast of Malaysia (well mostly finished, we are 30 km away from the ferry to Georgetown). What a beautiful but killer challenging ride – at one point it was 38 km of uphill with grades over 10% at times … brutal!
We can also relate to your place to camp concern … last night as a storm was approaching we happened upon a logging camp and ended up setting up in their cafeteria for the night … given that it rained for 8 solid hours, we were happy for the extra shelter.
Cheers.
22nd September 2013 at 1:06 am #
Great read! We hare heading over to NZ in the new year on a tandem with our twins in tow in a chariot trailer. We are hoping you could give us some advice, do you think this track is manageable with a tandem, and a double width trailer? We have no illusions that it will be easy, but are there any real reasons it wouldn’t be possible, track to narrow etc?
Cheers,
Jay & Katie
19th April 2022 at 3:39 am #
http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms
2nd December 2022 at 6:21 am #
fake Rolex became a market share of one of the famous brand watches.
5th December 2022 at 3:02 am #
It�s super content, I congratulate you
5th December 2022 at 8:12 pm #
With thanks! I like it.i hate writing essays research proposal for dissertation custom writings review
9th December 2022 at 1:05 pm #
osmaniye hava durumu; osmaniye için hava durumu en güncel saatlik, günlük ve aylık tahminler.
20th December 2022 at 1:45 am #
Thank you, I have recently been searching for info about this topic for ages and yours is the best I’ve came upon so far.However, what about the conclusion? Are you positive in regards tothe supply?
2nd January 2023 at 9:29 pm #
white creek apartments rentberry scam ico 30m$ raised joe’s apartment
30th March 2023 at 6:38 pm #
Major thankies for the blog.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
8th April 2023 at 1:39 pm #
I’ve just graduated how to take imodium It is also reassuring that while caesarean section rates increased over the decade, they remain close to the OECD average for developed countries,” he said.
20th April 2023 at 4:08 am #
Only deposits created applying Cards or Paypal will qualify for this promotion.
23rd April 2023 at 8:30 pm #
Looking forward to reading more. Great article.
23rd April 2023 at 11:25 pm #
times will often affect your placement in google and could damage your quality score if
24th April 2023 at 1:06 pm #
Thanks a lot for the post. Much obliged.
25th April 2023 at 9:27 am #
I really liked your article.
27th April 2023 at 12:40 pm #
Youtube will be perfectly OK my honourable. Make it longer and people will watch on YouTube. Many of us who have been learning from you we continue from there. Tessie Blayne Dennie
27th April 2023 at 9:30 pm #
free personalshow far is far too in a dating relationship
28th April 2023 at 7:23 pm #
generic chloroquine chloroquine phosphate online
3rd May 2023 at 9:39 pm #
Utterly written subject matter, thanks for selective information.
4th May 2023 at 8:44 pm #
As seen in The Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Express, Cosmopolitan, Yahoo, Health and Wellbeing and many more
6th May 2023 at 12:31 pm #
Hey, thanks for the blog post. Cool.
7th May 2023 at 12:28 pm #
Thank you ever so for you blog post. Really Cool.
16th May 2023 at 6:01 pm #
I really enjoy the article. Really Cool.
17th May 2023 at 3:13 am #
I was shocked to see 1-2 people I never expected ??Loading…
25th May 2023 at 1:37 pm #
generic ivermectin for humans ivermectin brand
29th May 2023 at 10:51 pm #
ivermectin interactions ivermectin 1 cream generic ivermectin lice
31st May 2023 at 10:41 pm #
tinder date , how to use tinderwhat is tinder
7th June 2023 at 11:21 am #
Watching how gsa search ranker SER has improved over the years actually tends to make me trust in this software’s developers.
10th June 2023 at 12:59 am #
troubles and we recommend leaving gaming sessions with your
10th June 2023 at 12:45 pm #
This actually answered my own problem, thank an individual!
19th June 2023 at 1:56 pm #
So stunning! I love the dried florals and those cute white branches tucked in the napkin rings. Always such a treat to see your creations. xo Anna-Diane Vergil Cohbath
20th June 2023 at 12:19 pm #
our times stolen by those tik tok free followers hack
24th June 2023 at 12:03 am #
I am constantly invstigating online for tips that can facilitate me. Thank you!
24th June 2023 at 8:37 pm #
Im thankful for the post. Cool.
29th June 2023 at 8:05 pm #
Major thankies for the article. Much obliged.
1st July 2023 at 2:13 pm #
Thanks a lot for the blog. Much obliged.
5th July 2023 at 7:02 pm #
Seriously a good deal of fantastic facts!argumentative essay writer writing papers professional cover letter writing service
8th July 2023 at 2:45 am #
ed pills otc best way to treat ed – ed treatment reviewnatural ed remedies
8th July 2023 at 7:24 am #
Manganese resembles iron in its chemical and also physical residential properties, however it is harder and extra fragile. Manganese is potentially one of the most adaptable aspect that can be included in copper alloys.
9th July 2023 at 7:31 am #
Is anyone here in a position to recommend Bodies and Playsuits? Cheers xx
9th July 2023 at 8:00 am #
I appreciate you sharing this article. Much obliged.
10th July 2023 at 1:33 pm #
Heya this is a good submit. I’ll electronic mail this kind of in order to my own close friends. My partner and i stumbled on this while looking upon google I will be certain to come back. thanks for revealing.
10th July 2023 at 7:08 pm #
Cómo incrustar el tipo de letra en macintosh
10th July 2023 at 10:01 pm #
Really appreciate you sharing this article. Keep writing.
13th July 2023 at 11:09 pm #
I really liked your article. Really Cool.
16th July 2023 at 7:04 pm #
Again, this will normally be within two hours or by the finish of thesubsequent day.
19th July 2023 at 6:08 pm #
argument essay argumentative essay essay writing software
1st August 2023 at 3:16 pm #
Thank you ever so for you blog.Much thanks again. Really Great.
4th August 2023 at 12:03 am #
Expect the Cowboys to continue feeding Elliott as they cruise to the win.
14th August 2023 at 12:26 pm #
Stay in central London affordable bed & breakfast accommodation.my blog living alone
22nd August 2023 at 8:15 am #
Really enjoyed this article, how can I make is so that I get an email sent to me whenever you make a fresh update?
24th August 2023 at 11:19 pm #
Individuals of all the avenues of life absolutely love Rolex.
25th August 2023 at 3:15 pm #
I love reading an article that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment.
30th August 2023 at 8:36 pm #
Thank a person so much for enabling me personally know what My partner and i didn’t know. I anticipate working with you.
31st August 2023 at 11:37 am #
It’s impressive that you are getting ideasfrom this article as well as from our dialogue madehere.
9th September 2023 at 9:12 pm #
I think this is a real great blog. Great.
13th September 2023 at 2:25 pm #
Cephalexin Behavioral Side Effects Children
15th September 2023 at 12:54 pm #
Really enjoyed this blog.Much thanks again. Really Great.
23rd September 2023 at 9:39 pm #
Hey, thanks for the blog. Fantastic.
28th September 2023 at 5:54 pm #
Thanks a lot for the blog post. Want more.
3rd October 2023 at 5:57 am #
Thanks a lot for the blog post. Will read on…
11th October 2023 at 4:30 am #
I love looking through a post that will make men and women think. Also, thank you for permitting me to comment.
12th October 2023 at 12:06 pm #
online ed medications best ed pills that work – ed medicines
25th October 2023 at 7:37 pm #
hydroxychloroquine covid 19 chloroquine phosphate brand name
6th November 2023 at 3:49 pm #
Thank you ever so for you blog. Really Cool.
8th November 2023 at 4:26 pm #
Im obliged for the blog. Much obliged.
19th November 2023 at 1:10 pm #
I think this is a real great blog. Cool.