We wake up to an amazing sunrise over the Southern Alps. After brekkie, we are dropped back off below the weir at Lake Ohau where we left off yesterday. It’s a bit overcast today and the lake is windy, which is driving white capped waves against the shore. We’ll counter-intuitively ride north for awhile along the shoreline before climbing Tarnbrae Hill to the highest point along the A2O track. Today's ride is broken up into three sections, each roughly 20 kms long. We'll meet the van for snacks or lunch at the end of each section. We’re off and we certainly notice the strong headwinds slowing us down as we ride a gravel single path around the lakeshore. The ride is very scenic which we’ve come to expect! It’s Saturday morning and there are a few locals out with dogs and baby carriages that we do our best to avoid! We see a few backpackers as well as the long distance Te Arora trail passes through here - someday soon I'm going to walk the South Island half of this trail! Despite the headwinds making the cycling a bit hard work, I'm running the e-bike on eco mode, as I'm worried about the coming climb. I can see a path zig-zagging up a steep mountain on the far side of the lake and both Lisa and I think that climb lies in front of us. Despite the wind, we make good time and reach a paved road for the last part. Morning tea is adjacent to Oahu Lodge where we had hoped for a barista coffee but they are too busy preparing for a wedding this afternoon. Leyton's French press coffee isn't a bad second as I enjoy a couple of cups. Turns out that the climb I've seen and been fearing is actually the road up to a nearby ski field; our route is much much gentler. Whew! We set out after morning tea with the plan to take a group photo at the high point of the A2O trail, at 900 metres elevation. In fact, the climb is not that hard at all. I set my e-bike on normal mode, choose a gear where I'm peddling at a good clip and we zip up the long uphill grade. The route passes through a few picturesque Beech Forests (wish there was more of these!) but also crosses long sections of avalanche fields where the path is very bumpy and rocky making for more challenging riding. About two thirds the way up, we come upon Niko who has punctured his rear tyre and is waiting for Leyton, to come along to repair it. Soon afterwards we reach the high point which has magnificent views of Lake Ohau below ringed by mountain ranges. Surprisingly, the wind has dropped off and it's quite pleasant so we wait for everyone to arrive so we can get the group photo. Interestingly, we don’t go over a saddle or anything similar. It seems like we just climbed up simply for the views and will ride down the same slope but further along! The ride down is extremely rough as we traverse rocky avalanche fields again. In fact, it’s worse as we have speed up so hanging onto the handlebars is like holding a jackhammer. I keep my feet level and stay off the saddle. It’s physically tough enough that I realise there is no way I would want to be a downhill biker like our son - far too hard! Once we get past the rough bit, the ride gets quite fun and we fly along. Before we know it we’ve arrived at our lunch spot, Quailburn Woolshed. It’s a nice quiet treed area that’s perfect for a picnic. We fill up on the yummy lunch that the guides have assembled and chat while we rest our bodies a bit. Then it’s back on our bikes for the last leg of today’s ride. For once, Lisa and I lead the pack out (I’m usually at the back as I stop frequently to take photographs). The section has a bit of downhill to it and we fly along - rarely doing under 30 kph. It’s exhilarating after the long climbs earlier today. We fly along but are eventually passed by Matt and Nicki. As soon as they pass us, we come around a bend to find a herd of sheep 🐑 clustered in the trail in front of us. There is nowhere for them to go but down the trail as there is a river to our right and cliffs on our left. We feel like four sheep dogs 🐕 as we heard them along, until the trail opens up and they can run into an adjacent paddock. Just after that we reach our night’s stop in Omarama and have the novelty of being able to ride up to our accommodation! It’s 4pm and we’ve ridden nearly 62 kilometres. But the day’s activities are not yet over. Tonight we have a treat - wood fired hot tubs! After washing off the trail dust we reassemble and walk across the street where there is a cool business with wood fired stainless steel hot tubs, each in a private scenic location. They are even licenced so we take water and drinks to our private tub. Niko and Louise join us at ours. The water is extremely hot; reminding me of Japanese baths or onsen’s. We open the tap to add cool water and eventually all four of us are submerged up to our chins. I can feel my muscles relaxing in the heat. The ladies decide they’ve had enough after 40 minutes but Nico and I keep chatting and soaking until our 90 minutes are up. I feel wobbly and relaxed after our long hot soak. Dinner is just down the road at a Kiwi pub with the perfect colloquial name “Boot and Jandle!” It’s been another cracker of a day! Carl / Pilgrim #cycling #A2O

Mountain Biking

New Zealand, South Island, Alps to Ocean, A2O, Cycling

Mackenzie District, Canterbury, New Zealand

time : Mar 1, 2025 9:28 AM

duration : 5h 10m 16s

distance : 61.5 km

total_ascent : 476 m

highest_point : 907 m

avg_speed : 16.6 km/h

user_id : gstreet

user_firstname : Carl

user_lastname : Greenstreet

We wake up to an amazing sunrise over the Southern Alps. After brekkie, we are dropped back off below the weir at Lake Ohau where we left off yesterday. It’s a bit overcast today and the lake is windy, which is driving white capped waves against the shore. We’ll counter-intuitively ride north for awhile along the shoreline before climbing Tarnbrae Hill to the highest point along the A2O track. Today's ride is broken up into three sections, each roughly 20 kms long. We'll meet the van for snacks or lunch at the end of each section. We’re off and we certainly notice the strong headwinds slowing us down as we ride a gravel single path around the lakeshore. The ride is very scenic which we’ve come to expect! It’s Saturday morning and there are a few locals out with dogs and baby carriages that we do our best to avoid! We see a few backpackers as well as the long distance Te Arora trail passes through here - someday soon I'm going to walk the South Island half of this trail! Despite the headwinds making the cycling a bit hard work, I'm running the e-bike on eco mode, as I'm worried about the coming climb. I can see a path zig-zagging up a steep mountain on the far side of the lake and both Lisa and I think that climb lies in front of us. Despite the wind, we make good time and reach a paved road for the last part. Morning tea is adjacent to Oahu Lodge where we had hoped for a barista coffee but they are too busy preparing for a wedding this afternoon. Leyton's French press coffee isn't a bad second as I enjoy a couple of cups. Turns out that the climb I've seen and been fearing is actually the road up to a nearby ski field; our route is much much gentler. Whew! We set out after morning tea with the plan to take a group photo at the high point of the A2O trail, at 900 metres elevation. In fact, the climb is not that hard at all. I set my e-bike on normal mode, choose a gear where I'm peddling at a good clip and we zip up the long uphill grade. The route passes through a few picturesque Beech Forests (wish there was more of these!) but also crosses long sections of avalanche fields where the path is very bumpy and rocky making for more challenging riding. About two thirds the way up, we come upon Niko who has punctured his rear tyre and is waiting for Leyton, to come along to repair it. Soon afterwards we reach the high point which has magnificent views of Lake Ohau below ringed by mountain ranges. Surprisingly, the wind has dropped off and it's quite pleasant so we wait for everyone to arrive so we can get the group photo. Interestingly, we don’t go over a saddle or anything similar. It seems like we just climbed up simply for the views and will ride down the same slope but further along! The ride down is extremely rough as we traverse rocky avalanche fields again. In fact, it’s worse as we have speed up so hanging onto the handlebars is like holding a jackhammer. I keep my feet level and stay off the saddle. It’s physically tough enough that I realise there is no way I would want to be a downhill biker like our son - far too hard! Once we get past the rough bit, the ride gets quite fun and we fly along. Before we know it we’ve arrived at our lunch spot, Quailburn Woolshed. It’s a nice quiet treed area that’s perfect for a picnic. We fill up on the yummy lunch that the guides have assembled and chat while we rest our bodies a bit. Then it’s back on our bikes for the last leg of today’s ride. For once, Lisa and I lead the pack out (I’m usually at the back as I stop frequently to take photographs). The section has a bit of downhill to it and we fly along - rarely doing under 30 kph. It’s exhilarating after the long climbs earlier today. We fly along but are eventually passed by Matt and Nicki. As soon as they pass us, we come around a bend to find a herd of sheep 🐑 clustered in the trail in front of us. There is nowhere for them to go but down the trail as there is a river to our right and cliffs on our left. We feel like four sheep dogs 🐕 as we heard them along, until the trail opens up and they can run into an adjacent paddock. Just after that we reach our night’s stop in Omarama and have the novelty of being able to ride up to our accommodation! It’s 4pm and we’ve ridden nearly 62 kilometres. But the day’s activities are not yet over. Tonight we have a treat - wood fired hot tubs! After washing off the trail dust we reassemble and walk across the street where there is a cool business with wood fired stainless steel hot tubs, each in a private scenic location. They are even licenced so we take water and drinks to our private tub. Niko and Louise join us at ours. The water is extremely hot; reminding me of Japanese baths or onsen’s. We open the tap to add cool water and eventually all four of us are submerged up to our chins. I can feel my muscles relaxing in the heat. The ladies decide they’ve had enough after 40 minutes but Nico and I keep chatting and soaking until our 90 minutes are up. I feel wobbly and relaxed after our long hot soak. Dinner is just down the road at a Kiwi pub with the perfect colloquial name “Boot and Jandle!” It’s been another cracker of a day! Carl / Pilgrim #cycling #A2O