Tour Aotearoa 2016 day by day

Tour Aotearoa 2016, Day by Day account,

I didn't keep a record of start and finish times, but was generally away in morning by 6.30ish  and finished around 11.5hrs later. Earliest start was 5am and latest was about 9am (a cruisy day in Wellington getting bike checked over and 1pm ferry to Picton). Latest finish was 9.30pm (twice)

Day 1 - (2.00pm start) Cape Reinga to Ahipara - 6hr05mins ride time, 106km, 364m climbing -  Tented at the camping ground. Tough headwind for first 4.5 - 5hrs

Day 2 - Ahipara to Kauri Coast Camp ground - 8hr56, 143.1km, 2293m - tented again, hot day. Lots of climbing, but spectacular through the Kauri forests

Day 3 - Kauri Coast to Parakai (Helensville) - 5hr48, 102.2km, 1145m - arrived at Poutu Point about 1pm and boat came about 6pm. The hall at Poutu Point was open and had a washing machine, bunks and a kitchen. Another hot day so had a swim and shower, washed all my clothes, got everything dry and generally spent the afternoon eating and drinking. Slept on the deck of the Parakai Boat club (Boat skipper had arranged sleeping in the Club for $5

Day 4 - Parakai to Miranda Springs - 9hr15, 160.2km, 1701m - 5am start to get into Auckland before the traffic. Spent some time at Mt Eden Cycles getting faulty dyno front wheel sorted out (had discovered dodgy bearings on way up, so got spare wheel sent to Ak), Took the inland route through Hanua's (saw 41.3 degrees on garmin!!) Shared a cabin at Miranda Springs camp ground (great takeaway shop)

Day 5 - Miranda Springs to Arapuni - 8hr13, 171.6km, 470m - an almost flat day, mostly along the Hauraki Rail trail. Distance includes a (bad navigation) detour out towards Waihi - great scenery, but not on the course! Slept under a roofed area at the Arapuni bowling club.

Day 6 - Arapuni to Pureora - 7hr24, 102km, 2182m - A hard day!! Very hot and very humid. Lunched at Mangakino. Shopping centre is a couple of km off route, and there is a cafe just after, on the route. Shared a cabin at Pureora Forest Camp (these need to be pre-booked - I hadn't, but managed to sneak in with someone who had - plenty of camping, but it is a few km off route.

Day 7 - The timber Trail - Pureora to Tauramanui - 7hr18, 104.1km, 1266m. First wet day. Rained till bout 2pm, but was sooo much cooler! Probably my favourite day of TA

Day 8 - Tauramanui to Pipiriki - 7hr38, 104.6km, 1724m - Nice riding, but had climbed 500m before morning smoko! Cursed and swore my way up the wet, slippery Mangapurua singletrack (I ended up walking about 10km) but fell in love with the track again on the magnificent downhill to Mangapurua Landing. Caught 5pm jetboat to Pipiriki, with about a half hour wait. Shared a cabin at Pipiriki

Day 9 - Pipiriki  to Vinegar Hill - 8hr04, 147km, 1657m - most of the day was on tarseal. Got rear tyre replaced in Wanganui, after cutting it on day 6. Tented at the DOC camp at Vinegar Hill

Day 10 - Vinegar Hill to Pahiatua - 9hr30, 164.1km, 2205m - another lumpy start - 920m climbed by 9.20am! Mostly quiet back country roads. Stayed at Pahiatua camping reserve. Beautiful evening so didn't pitch tent, just spread mat and bag out under a big eaves

Day 11 - Pahiatua to Lower Hutt - 11hrs06, 210km, 1339m - mostly tarseal. Only real hill was Rimutaka Trail. Stayed in Simon Kennetts garage, which backed onto the course in Lower Hutt.

Day 12 - Lower Hutt to Pelorus Bridge - 4hr08, 77.6km, 554m - Got chain and cluster replaced, then caught 1pm ferry. Tented at Pelorus Bridge campsite

Day 13 - Pelorus to Wakefield - 5hr52, 72.8km, 1270m - the toughest climb of the whole trip, over Maunagtapu Saddle, but that was the only hill of the day. Felt good coming into Nelson, but then hit their 2nd hottest day of the year, plus a howling headwind, and hit the proverbial wall. Met another rider in Wakefield and crawled into a B&B just out of Wakefield.

Day 14 - Wakefield to Murchison - 8hr15, 142.3km, 1497m - a lightish headwind most of day, but found some wild blackberries which helped! Had thought of having tea in Murchison and then sleeping somewhere up the Maruia saddle, but seeing some other TA riders enjoying food and beer at the pub put paid to that idea. Booked into a Backpackers.

Day 15 - Murchison to Blackball - 9hr51, 177.2km, 1616m - It rained until mid afternoon - the heaviest rain for the whole Tour. Rivers were all up at Inangahua, so by-passed Big River, down the road. Booked into the Blackball Hilton (the only accomodation I pre-booked - I knew it was off-course and didn't want to arrive there and find they were full).

Day 16 - Blackball to Ross - 8hr47, 156.7km, 950m - Was so tired in the morning that I almost stayed in bed. Made the decision to set no targets, cruise along, and see where I got to. The West Coast Wilderness trail made for a superb "recovery" day, helped out by there being no significant climbs. Stayed in a cabin at Ross Hotel

Day 17 - Ross to Whataroa - 3hr56, 75.6km, 532m - A wet, cold day. Bailed out at Whataroa at lunchtime after failing to warm up after a burger, chips and 2 coffees. Spent the afternoon (by now warm and sunny!) getting everything washed and dried and then spent afternoon on the bunk eating and drinking. Booked a cabin at the Motels

Day 18 - Whataroa to Haast - 9hr26, 184.1km, 1595m - Felt great, good weather, even a light tail wind, great scenery, and well rested. Booked a cabin at one of the motels

Day 19 - Haast to Arrowtown - 11hr08, 200.5km, 2384m - my "Queen" stage - longest riding time, most metres climbed and 2nd biggest distance. Spectacular scenery, and a tailwind from top of Haast Pass. Tented just before dropping into Arrowtown.

Day 20 - Arrowtown to Mossburn - 8hr40, 154.9km, 1089m - Caught the 10am Earnslaw and enjoyed great conditions down the Von Valley. Stayed at the Mossburn pub with 10 other riders - was great company after seeing hardly anyone in the South Island.

Day 21 - Mossburn to Bluff - 5hr43, 140.8km, 341m - Superb last day. Rode with a group of 3 others, 2 of whom I'd ridden with for some days at the start. Awesome tailwind into Bluff, and finished about 1.40pm, so just inside 20 days after we started (plus about 0.5 day for Big River)