The final push through the lower North Island

Whanganui to Petone

We have now completed the North Island leg of the Tour Aotearoa. We started from Cape Reinga on 28 February and arrived in Petone yesterday (19 March).

We biked about 1590 kilometres over 17 days, with almost 17,000 metres of climbing. My fastest recorded speed (on the downhill of course) was 57.7km per hour.

Our route departed slightly from the official Tour Aotearoa route a few times in order to reach accommodation suitable for a big group. (We added in detours to Thames, Cambridge and Kimbolton, and headed to the Whanganui River area through National Park and Raetihi instead of Whakahoro and the Mountains to Sea Trail.) But mostly we kept to the Tour Aotearoa route and we cycled the whole way.

I’ll reflect on how it all went in a separate post. In the meantime, here's an overview of our last five days cycling through the lower North Island.

Whanganui to Hunterville

Leaving Whanganui we had our steepest climb yet up Durie Hill - which we did by elevator! The Durie Hill elevator was built in 1919 as a means of access between the city and a new subdivision, and has been operating as a form of public transport ever since. It is apparently one of only two such elevators in the world (the other being in Portugal).

There are fantastic views from the top over the city, out to sea and across to Mt Ruapehu, and we could even see Mt Taranaki in the distance.

The day's ride to Hunterville was short (only 62km) and took us through a quiet road surrounded by rolling hills, sheep farms, and sweeping corn fields. It was a lovely ride on a stunning autumn day.

Hunterville to Pahiatua

From Hunterville we headed east towards the Ruahine Ranges and then veered south-west down to Kimbolton for the night. It is a convoluted route on the map but (apart from a few white-knuckle kilometres on State Highway One at the start of the day) it took us through quiet rural roads. It was a day with lots of climbing, which meant great views, and also some good downhills.

The next morning we carried on south through rural Manawatū to Ashhurst. This part of the ride had great views of the Ruahine Ranges and surrounding hills and farmland as we crossed from one ridge to another. The roads (tar sealed and gravel) were quiet and it was an easy ride.

The afternoon was completely different as we headed along a busy road towards Palmerston North and then over the Pahiatua Track. 'Track' makes it sound like a quiet back road or mountain bike trail, but it is actually a very steep, winding and narrow road, with plenty of trucks and other traffic. I enjoyed the climb though, and we passed right by some of the big wind turbines that are part of the Turitea Wind Farm on the Tararua Ranges.

Pahiatua to Greytown

It was absolutely bucketing down in Pahiatua overnight, and we thought we might have been in for a very wet ride. However, luck was on our side (again) and we only had a bit of light rain and passing drizzle before the skies cleared.

Our route took us south through the Wairarapa region along quiet back roads, avoiding State Highway Two and the larger towns, all the way to Greytown.

The first half of the ride was a gentle incline (although combined with a head wind, we certainly noticed it) through various valley roads. It was typical New Zealand sheep and beef farm country.

The vista opened up in the second half of the ride, with sweeping views across to the countryside to the surrounding hills and the Tararua Ranges. It was our longest ride for a few weeks, at 116km.

Greytown to Petone

The big finale took us over the Remutaka Range via the Remutaka Cycle Trail. It was a beautiful morning and we had a lovely ride along quiet back roads before joining the trail at Cross Creek (on the north-western side of Lake Ferry).

The trail follows the path of the old railway line with a moderate climb up over several kilometres and then a long slow descent on an even gentler gradient on the other side. There were plenty of other cyclists, including families with small children, coming up the other side (which gives you a sense of how easy it is).

On the quieter Wairarapa side (our climb up) there are several tunnels and a great swing bridge.

Once down the other side, we connected with the Hutt River Trail, which took us all the way through to Petone. A very cruisey Sunday ride and a great way to end the trip.