15/4/26 – Motueka to Christchurch
The morning went very quickly and before too long it was time to say see you later to Granny, Grandad, Nicola and Walter. Even though we have had a great amount of time together it always hard when the time comes to go our seperate ways. It is tough to see the kids say bye, they certainly have loved the family time. I drove to the airport and put off the inevitable for as long as I could, sometimes I wish adults can be like toddlers. Walter was more interested in running around and looking at the bookshelf of books rather than giving me a cuddle. I finally gave final hugs and waved goodbye as I drove out of the airport.
Nicola had given me a great idea of getting hand warmers for everyone incase the last week is quite cold, on the way home I called into the chemist warehouse and found a few packets of hand and toe warmers.
Once back at Debbie’s we did a final clean and check before making the long journey South. Most of the way to Murchison we were on roads we had ridden and the boys were fantastic at remembering sections, it was great fun. While we had lunch in Murchison I found out Maree and Neville had gone for a drive and were currently in Reefton. Just after Lewis Pass we stopped at a rest area to look at the very cold looking snow capped mountains and eat some left over easter eggs, Maree and Neville then drove in behind us! It was great to see them again especially considering we had no idea we both would be near each other. While we had a quick catch up we worked out if we stuck to our rough itinerary of arriving at Bluff on the 22nd Maree and Neveille would be at Curio Bay and could meet us in Invercargill and to add icing to the cake they had Neville’s ute so could fit our bikes in the back and take them back to Matamata…..absolutely incredible how things work out, if it works out.
It was a good drive to Christchurch, audio books and music kept us all entertained along the way and we arrived just before the sun was setting. On the way we found out Rosie was not very well so we would miss out on seeing her in the evening but Giles was still keen for a catch up. When we arrived in Sumner Giles informed us he had booked us a hotel, very naughty of him as we had assumed we were staying at their house….The boys ran off some energy at the beach and found a pretty cool cave which you could walk through. Once energy jiggles were out we made our way to Lyttleton for a delicious Indian meal.
16/4/26 – Christchurch to Wanaka – Rhys
It was a late start today as we enjoyed another catch up with Giles this morning over a coffee at a flash coffee shop in Sumner. Rosie was still a bit too unwell to head out of the house so we resolved to try and see them again on our way back up the country. Our get away was further delayed by me misplacing my sunglasses. We had driven a ways out of town only to drive all the way back after believing I had left my sunglasses at the hotel. AS it turns out, much to Raelene’s grief, I had been sitting on them in the car the entire time, rendering the return trip totally unnecessary!
Finally we got on our way properly, and detoured into Springfield to retrieve yet another forgotten item, Patrick’s Blue duck teddy – Whio. The lady of our Airbnb had left it in her mailbox for us to collect which was lovely. As we left Springfield and approached the mountain ranges we were treated to spectacular views of snow capped peaks that made us feel both amazed and nervous about how cold it had become down south after only 3 weeks.
We stopped off in Geraldine for a quick lunch, fuelling up for $3.22/L which is the cheapest we can find at the moment. Most other big brand petrol stations are 20 to 30 cents per Litre more expensive for 91 unleaded. After passing the picturesque lakes or Tekapo and Pukaki, complete with snow capped mountains as the backdrop, we finally arrived into Wanaka and rolled into Owen and Lynns place. It was great to see them again and the Boys wasted no time in heading into the house and playing with the Lego and Thomas train set. We had a great evening catching up with them, playing Bear late into the night and excitedly talking about finishing the Tour Aotearoa!
17/4/26 – Wanaka to Arrowtown
We woke up to a beautiful morning but my goodness the snow on the mountains are stunning but also making us a little nervous as it could be quite cold for the final push to Bluff. Owen and Oliver filled the morning with crosswords while Barbara, Arthur, Patrick, Rhys and I played a few games of bear. Eventually our check out time arrived and we had to say goodbye, before leaving Wanaka we called into the hardware store to pick up more hand warmer’s to ensure we had enough.
As Rhys did one last grocery shop I took the kids to the dinosaur park which is way more fun than the supermarket. As we drove over the Crown Range it began to rain, we all were very happy to have done it 3 weeks ago in the sun. The change in 3 weeks has taken us by surprise, the Remarkables were covered in snow which looked quite stunning. Once again memories of our day riding the Crown Range dominated conversation and it was great to hear the sense of achievement in the boys voices as they spoke about how much they enjoyed the ride.
When we arrived in Arrowtown we decided to find a cafe and get some diary days written as we have all got behind. It was great how much the bribe of a hot drink worked, all 3 did a great job writing a few days.
Diary mission competed we made our way to Ros and Ian’s and had a great evening getting to know Ian and Ros some more. It was great to see our bikes again and the excitement of our last leg certainly grew. Ros spent some time with Oliver teaching him how to knit which he loved, Arthur enjoyed playing with Tony (the very cute dog), Patrick and I made apple crumble and Rhys tinkered with the bikes. Ros had some of her Dunedin friends visiting and had planned a ladies night out so as they went out we enjoyed a home cooked casserole then set up camp in the lounge room in front of the fire, it certainly is getting cold outside….
18/4/26 – Arrowtown to Walter Peak Station 18.96km (2535.95km). 302m elevation
We all had a decent sleep, rugged up beside the fireplace in the lounge room. Once up and about we found it was pretty cold outside with the odd shower passing through, which persisted as we loaded up the bikes with a nervous energy. Before leaving Ros and Ians the final logistical parts of our trip came together with Ros and Ian able and willing to drop our car off at Dunedin due to them needing to attend an appointment! Maree and Neville are then able to pick it up from Dunedin and bring it to Invercargill to meet us following the completion of our ride (all things going well….). We are so fortunate that everything is coming together, furthermore Lynn offered us the use of her Crib in Shag point for a night or two, as we made our way back up the country. We are indebted to so many people who have showed us so much kindness to make our travel plans work!
The rain finally passed by and the arrival of some blue sky meant our time to ride had finally arrived. We said our final goodbyes and thank you’s to Ros, and a probable see you later to Lynn, Ian was to ride with us and guide the way for the first half of the ride towards Queenstown. We enjoyed the sun on a mixture of sealed roads then sticky slow gravel cycle paths as we neared Queenstown. Ian peeled off after around 10km and we thanked him yet again for his generosity! Over the Shotover River we continued, seeing a Jetboat cruise through the canyon below us. Unfortunately however, as we neared Queenstown, we encountered a decent shower of rain that chilled us to the bone and made us wonder if it was the right decision to complete this final section of the TA in April!
Finally we rolled into town and found some shelter to stand under while the rain passed. We were due to catch the TSS Ernslaw across Lake Whakatipu to Walter Peak station in a couple of hours time so we parked up the bikes and spent time wandering around the markets, where the boys bought some greenstone necklaces for themselves and their friends, and eating lunch in a warm pub. There was so much snow on the mountains and the temperature was damn cold as we loaded our bikes into the bow of the over 100 year old steam ship – the TSS Ernslaw. Thankfully the engine room was hot and the smoke stack which ran up through the seating cabin was lovely and warm to lean against!
The ride across the lake was stunning with the weather becoming clearer and clearer as the day passed. The views of the mountains were spectacular, an advantage of the cold weather I guess! As we landed at Walter peak Station and unloaded the bikes I found that I was missing my gloves. I had no idea how I had misplaced them and after a search of the ship and still not finding them I was worried that I would be in real trouble over the next few days without them! Thankfully, an American tourist whom we had chatted to on the voyage kindly gifted me his pair, citing that I would need them more than he! An incredibly kind gesture and one that I was very appreciative of.
Being rather late in the day we headed straight out to the nearby DOC campsite and got the tent set up. We then returned to Walter peak station to have a little look around and get a photo next to an amazing Hasst eagle sculpture. The Historic station was quite beautiful and staff were busily getting ready for the dinner guests cruise that was currently heading across the lake. Raelene offered to wait for the Ernslaw to return to have a final look for my gloves while I headed back to camp and got dinner sorted. The captain let her back on the boat and miraculously she found them!!!! Tucked into the corner of a seat. I was pretty happy when she returned triumphant however felt terrible that I had relieved a gentlemen of his unnecessarily!
As the sun set, we were straight into bed, wearing clothes in our sleeping bags to try and keep warm overnight. Fingers crossed we wake to decent weather tomorrow as we have a 50km remote gravel section to get done, complete with a large climb and two water crossings…
19/4/26 – Walter Peak Station to Mavora Lakes. 54.70km (2590.65km) 730m elevation.
Thankfully everyone was warm overnight snuggled up in their sleeping bags, we knew it was cold as we ventured outside in the misty rain as there was fresh snow on the mountains close to us. The boys were very excited to see this and it was a great diversion to how cold the morning was. As we waited for the rain to pass we sheltered in the covered area around the bbq drinking warm drinks. When the rain stopped Rhys donned his new pink gloves to pack away a rather wet tent and the boys ventured down to the lake. They returned with wet shoes after collecting a floating stick in the water, the stick was apparently the same stick Arthur had thrown into the lake yesterday in Queenstown so excitement levels were very high as they couldn’t believe it floated all the way across to us. We had been using the bbq as a heater so I put the socks and shoes on the hot plate to try and dry them before we rode away. It was working well until I smelt burning and realised Oliver’s shoelaces had melted…..oh no! We saved them enough to still be able to tie in a small knot and thankfully was able to clean the hot plate so it wasn’t ruined. Unfortunately the boys had let their hands get cold so I pulled out the hand warmers, once they started to warm up they worked a treat being tucked into their gloves.
We finally rode out of camp just before 11, it was good that we waited for the rain to pass as being wet and cold is not a great combination. As we rode further from Walter Peak Homestead we climbed a few small hills and the sun started to shine so it didn’t take long for us to warm up a bit. It was a stunning ride through the station, the snow capped mountains certainly added to the beauty. We arrived at Mt Nicholas station and turned South, away from lake Whakatipu and started down a beautiful valley. Mt Nicholas station is one of New Zealand’s most historic, family-run high country stations with an area of over 36,000 hectares! Impressive. Hunger was setting in so we stopped on the side of the road for a lunch of tuna wraps. We then continued up the valley beside a river and then we had to cross the river….My goodness the water was cold! We were unable to ride across so Rhys and I took off our shoes and socks and walked the bikes over then Rhys carried the kids. I put some toe warmers in my shoes to try and help warm my feet up again quickly.
Further up the Valley we started to think about our up coming challenge, Von hill – the last climb of our tour. As we saw the hill approach it decided to lightly rain…. Both Rhys and I were nervous as we didn’t want it to rain hard on us. Oliver sped up halfway, it was hard to catch up but Arthur and I just slowly slowly pedalled up. Poor Oliver started to fatigue, being in our groove Arthur and I encouraged him as we overtook him and continued up the hill. It was an amazing feeling reaching the top of Von hill, we balanced Trunkie on a sign and went to cheer on Oliver who was not far behind us. We then cheered on Rhys and Patrick. Woohoo our last climb was completed and we were rewarded with no more rain and stunning views of the valley we were about to ride through. As we were enjoying our achievement a van of tourists stopped and spoke to us for a while, they were quite impressed with our adventure and handed us all a bag of lollies for extra energy.
As we continued through the valley we found large herds of cattle which provided a great distraction from the increasing coldness and loosing light. The day was getting quite late so we had to push hard to ensure we made it to camp before dark. The second river crossing was freezing! And deep, I was about 3/4 of the way across when it became quite deep and I needed Rhys to come and help me before I dropped my bike. All panniers were half way under water and the flowing water was starting to push by bike away from me. Thankfully we all made it across safely but it was impossible for Rhys and I to warm up our feet. As we were putting our shoes back on Arthur and Patrick ran ahead to try and get close to the cows.
It was a very welcomed sight seeing the turn off to Mavora lake campground however it was still a 2.5km ride down a forest road to the camping areas, by this stage the sun had set and we were in desperate need to find a spot to pitch the tent. We found the first dry area and immediately started to set up camp, the boys tried to find firewood so we could have a fire however the weather gods had a different idea and it started to rain.
For the first time this trip we had dehydrated meals for dinner (thank you Granny, Grandad and Nicola as they were left overs from the Abel Tasman hike) which was perfect as it was quite late and everyone was cold and tired. The boys used the meal packs to try and heat up my feet in the tent which was quite cute and poor old Rhys poured boiling water over his hand while preparing the meals, amazingly he did not feel the heat from the water as his hands were so cold.
We ate dinner in the tent and felt very spoilt when we pulled out the apple crumble dehydrated meals, a perfect end to a pretty amazing day!
Even though it was cold and probably didn’t get above 10oC we all loved the ride, the scenery was probably some of the best we have seen all trip and we were super impressed with how well Oliver, Arthur and Patrick handled the day. The hand warmers in their gloves certainly saved them from being too cold. Top day all round and as we snuggled into our sleeping bags we all hoped we would remain warm all night. Just as we were dozing off to sleep we heard a large splash into the water, big trout! Interesting fact about Mavora lakes is that the lakes themselves are only filled by rain water, they have no springs flowing into them and apparently the trout often feed on mice close to the shore where they have to sit in order to live in water oxygenated buy the small waves breaking in the shallow water!
20/4/26 – Mavora Lakes to Mossburn. 54.70km (2645.35km) 196m elevation
Waking up at Mavora lakes was cold, in fact we were all a bit chilly in the tent last night. However the skies were clear and the view of lake and the snowy peaks behind it were stunning. As Raelene and the boys cooked breakfast a little South Island robin visited the campsite and was hopping around looking for an easy meal, they are beautiful little birds. It took us a little while to get warm and get going this morning however when we did we were happy to ride into clear blue skies, however this happiness was soon to change.
At only around the 5km mark the wind picked up and al the layers we had taken off 5 minutes ago as we burst into the sun, were hastily put back on as we were assaulted with a 20-30kmph bitterly cold South-easterly headwind! What followed was 3 hours of brutally slow gravel combined with the headwind that dropped temperatures to 8 degrees, gave you a brain freeze, and made talking impossible. Oliver struggled and was soon put on the tow behind my bike with Raelene taking the damp, heavy tent to even out the weight. The next 29km was some of the hardest cycling we have done all trip. With no conversation possible we used Patricks speaker to play music to fill the void and encourage us to keep pushing into the wind, struggling to average anything over 10kph.
Thankfully we had no rain through this section or we would have been in a bit of strife, being so exposed. Finally we descended through 2 farm gates and found centre hill shelter, the only shelter on this 50km section. It was blissfully wind free and we enjoyed a well earned rest eating hot pasta, curry, cuppa soups and drinking coffee. We were absolutely astounded with the children’s resilience through this section. There was no whinging just a resolve to get it done, and get it done we did. With 20km left to ride and feeling mildly warmer we continued riding on a better quality gravel cycle trail and were thankful that the wind began to abate ever so slightly.
The long, hard, cold day was beginning to take its toll and with the mercury continuing to plummet to as low as 6 degrees as we neared Mossburn, poor Patrick was beginning to struggle. He was wearing every item of clothing he possessed however still felt cold. We finally arrived in Mossburn, as it turned out however the Pub had no more rooms available, and we needed to ride another 4km to the holiday park which had 2 cabins. With the forecast for -2 overnight there was no way we were Camping again! Poor Patrick was in Tears as we mounted the bikes and rode the final 4km to the campsite…Raelene was even on the ragged edge and needed a handful of prunes and some water as she bonked and hit the wall 1km from the end!
We check in to the cabins and got the heaters on in the cabins. The kids got snuggled up in the same bed and watched an episode of Lego Masters…slowly thawing out in the process. It wasn’t long before they were all looking back on the day fondly cradling a nice big hot bowl of Dal and rice! What a day and what a test of our nerve as we neared Bluff!
21/4/26 – Mossburn to Camp Taringatura 50.25km (2695.60km) 58m elevation
It was a rather cold morning of 2oC so we all stayed indoors for a while enjoying the warmth of the heaters. As we had planned a short riding day we certainly were not in a rush, so when check out time arrived we finally ventured outside. On the way out we said hello to the cute farm animals then rode into Mossburn to spoil ourselves with a cafe breakfast.
After a great big cooked breakfast we were ready to hit the road South. Again we had to battle a horrible head wind. For the first 14km or so we were on a gravel path which ran along side the road. Oliver needed a bit of a mental boost so for the first time this trip I put him on the tow, Rhys was having a flat day so didn’t have the energy to tow. It is amazing how just putting the tow rope on helps Oliver, most of the time he was up close chatting to Arthur.
About 12km into the ride we stopped for a drink break and Arthur asked Rhys “Dad where is your front pannier?” Oh dear Rhys had lost his front right pannier…..bugger. We went through our photos to see when we last saw the pannier and to our surprise it was gone at the cafe. Rhys phoned the campground and he hadn’t even put it on his bike. We got to an intersection and tried to think of what to do, it would take half the day for Rhys to ride back to collect it. The first idea was to hitchhike however I thought that would also take a while so I went into a house which had a car out the front and told the lady our story. Taylor was so lovely and happily offered to drive me back to Mossburn to get our bag, amazing! Patrick came along for the drive while Rhys, Arthur and Oliver played soccer on the grass area while they waited for us to return. Taylor was 8months pregnant and had just started maternity leave so we were very lucky she was home, when she learnt more about us she was excited to hear we had a son named Arthur as that was the name she planned to use for her baby.
Bag collected we all reunited, thanked Taylor then continued on our way. We were now on sealed road and not far down Oliver spotted cows being milked in a shed not too far from the road. Arthur very strongly reminded me that I had promised next time we saw cows being milked I would take him in to see how they were milked. Oliver joined in with nagging me, Rhys was very conscious of the time therefore not super keen to go in however a promise is a promise and we turned into the driveway. Oliver, Arthur and I started to walk towards the shed and as I was speaking to the manager explaining why we were there Patrick came running around the corner. The boys had a great time watching the milking and I really enjoyed answering all their questions, it bought back so many memories of growing up on a dairy farm. The manager was great and also answered the many questions the boys had.
Unfortunately it was time to say bye to the cows and continue our ride through the farmland. We passed paddocks and paddocks of bailed silage, it is amazing how much they make. Again we were racing the sun so while we sheltered behind a great hedge we refuelled on cheese and crackers before we rode the final 10km to our camp. It was so lovely riding through the farmland, at one point a little car stopped beside us and it was the lovely lady who owned the campground we were staying at. She was checking we were ok and after telling her the stories of our day she laughed and happily informed us we were only 2km from camp. We won the race with the sun pulled into camp to be greeted with snacks for the kids. Camp Taringatura is an old church youth group hall and accomodation blocks, it was gorgeous and had so much charm. We were the only ones staying which was nice as we made ourselves at home beside the fire in the kitchen. Our bunk room was great however quite cold so we all found a bunk and snuggled under our blankets. As we lay in bed we all agreed we are very excited for tomorrow – we were actually going to make it to Bluff…..
22/4/26 – Camp Taringatura to BLUFF!!!!! 87.47km (2783.07km) 179m elevation
Everyone was so excited to get on the bikes this morning and begin our final leg to Bluff. We couldn’t believe this day was here and as we sat by the fire in the kitchen loading up of a big breakfast we were all reminiscing about how far we had actually come and how proud we were of each other in making it this far! Thankfully the weather was finally on our side today, no wind and blue skies greeted us as we rolled out of camp Taringatura and out onto the road at 9am. The weather was crisp however with no blasting headwind today it was a very manageable temperature.
Not ones to do things the easy way we had left ourselves our final hurdle today in order to reach Bluff…around 90km stood between us and reaching our goal however we were not going to let that stop us! With motivation levels at all time high we chewed through the km’s, passing through Winton and onto Wallacetown where we had our first long break. With 40km done already we continued onto Invercargill and onto a cycle path that took us around the estuary on the outskirts of the Southland city. At around the 65km mark we joined the Invercargill to Bluff cycle path and Bluff was well and truely on the signs! We were all beginning to feel a little fatigue creeping into the legs but the excitement of reaching the end spurred us on.
The final 20km was not the most picturesque riding we had done…right beside the highway we had multiple trucks blasting past us and the cycle path had pieces of glass and loose rocks to dodge. Oliver found his legs and led us out, powerfully averaging around 20km/hr for a good 30-45 minutes. Raelene and I were both pushing hard to keep up with him and our legs were feeling the strain!
Bluff edged closer and closer, we were all becoming more and more excited, filled with disbelief that this was it! Finally we rolled up a small rise and were greeted with the sign saying ‘Welcome to Bluff’. We all let out a huge cheer and high fived each other as we continued pedalling towards Stirling point, the official end and finally photo point. In a moment of fatigue, Raelene saw a Stirling point sign and misinterpreted the 1.2km to go, reading it instead as 12km to go! Oliver led us up the final rise…..and down to the signpost, signifying the official end of the Tour Aotearoa!
We simply couldn’t believe we had ridden the length of New Zealand! Both Raelene and I had a tear in our eye as we got ourselves off the bikes. We gave each other a big hug, it was beautiful watching the kids hug and congratulate one another too. Arthur was super excited to have finished, Oliver was in a state of disbelief and Patrick was quiet and a little upset, it may have been a little much for him to process and understand in the moment.
A family that was also at the Bluff signposts, were stunned when we told them we had just finished riding the length of New Zealand. They took our photo for us and pointed us in the direction of a good place for a celebratory dinner. Finally we gave Grandad a call for his birthday and let him know we had made it to Bluff, enjoying a Whittakers peanut slab in celebration of his birthday and our ride combined!
Finally it was time to get back on the bikes and ride back to our accomodation for the night which turned out to be a beautiful 100 year old cottage with very uneven floors! Unfortunately the place that we were recommended for an essential seafood dinner – including bluff oysters which Arthur and I were rather excited about – was closed! We resorted to the local burger takeaway joint and enjoyed a huge celebratory bluff burger!
To close out the night we sat around and had a great family chat about our highlights from the trip. Everyone came up with something different and it was really rewarding having the time to reminisce and reflect on what has been an amazing cycling trip. Some of the highlights that came up were
Arthur – Riding the West coast wilderness trail
Oliver – Conquoring the Crown Range
Patrick – Paddling the Whanganui river
Raelene – Our first big climb up to the mighty Tane Mahuta
Rhys – The scenery on the around the mountains trail from Walter peak to Mavora lakes
To wrap up we also talked a lot about how this would not have been possible if it wasnt for everyone in the team. We were making sure the boys understood that it was only because everyone played their individual parts, and played them so well, that we were able to ride from Cape Reinga to Bluff. We hope that this trip can ultimately be used as a literal metaphor for the boys as they continue through life, believing and knowing that they can overcome challenges and trust themselves in whatever they do.
Finally, way back at the start of the trip we me some great people (Mel and Kahung) who after hearing what we had already done with the kids said, ‘do you call yourselves cycle tourers?’ Back then we disagreed and just said that we liked riding and exploring but didn’t feel we had justified the label….Raelene and I recalled this conversation and both had a giggle when we said to each other that ‘I think we can call ourselves cycle tourers now’!
23/4/26 – Bluff to Invercargill, 25km.
Wow my legs were sore when we woke up today, I am not sure if it is because mentally I know we have finished our goal or if it was because Oliver made us ride so fast for the last 20km! Whatever the reason both Rhys and I were sore so we were not moving fast and enjoyed a relaxing morning around the house before needing to check out.
As we rode out of Bluff our goal was to find Oysters, we stopped at Fowler’s Wild Bluff Oysters. Arthur and Rhys were extremely excited to buy a dozen huge Bluff oysters and thoroughly enjoyed eating them. I tried one and I admit it was delicious but the texture really does make it difficult to swallow a large oyster. Oliver and Patrick opted for a hot chocolate.
Riding back to Invercargill was both uneventful and also a great time to reflect on our months of riding and the achievement. Arthur was quite right when he told me he was both sad and happy to finishing on the bikes. The boys made it as fun as they could by getting nearly every truck that passed us to toot their horns. It was funny that some of the biggest trucks had the smallest toots!
It was lovely riding along the estuary into Invercargill, there were hundreds of black swans which Arthur and Patrick enjoyed looking at. When we reached our house we had to wait for about an hour before we finally received the code for the key. Once inside we realised the heaters weren’t working so requested to use the firewood, not long later a delivery of wood arrived and Oliver and I happy set to lighting the fire. Rhys found a supermarket and returned to a warm house.
Wow we have finished on the bikes and tomorrow we pack them away ready for our next adventure. Finally we were fortunate to have Janine drop over our bike bags after she had stored them for us as we were making our way south! Better yet she then returned in the evening for a chat and a catch up on old times! Reminiscing of how her and her brothers would come out to the farm when we were kids.