Alps2Ocean on New Zealand’s south island is an iconic ride, the longest of their many ‘tiki-tours’ on two wheels at 320 km, beginning at Aoraki/Mt Cook Village in the alps and ending at Oamaru on the east coast. I have wanted to ride it since seeing my friend Kaaren’s photographs of the spectacular scenery, lakes, mountainous territory – and the active adventures she had en route. When the opportunity presented itself, to attach the Alps2Ocean cycle to our friend Cheryl’s existing trip to Auckland, we priced it, looked at how many days we would need, and shoehorned it into an already busy January. It was impromptu; accompanied by three of my cycling buddies, Alps2Ocean exceeded expectations.
We booked with Cycle Journeys, who assisted our planning with an itinerary pitched to our riding abilities, bike hire, accommodation, and with the moving of bags every morning to the evening’s accommodation further down the track. They were responsive to our many questions, gave good advice and booked us in as soon as we said go.
The trek itself is not to be underestimated. We took it on over five days, which meant three days riding 70-80 km on a mountain bike; the other two days were 38-55 km. Our lead time was only about four weeks, during a rainy period in Brisbane (not to mention other Christmas-related travel), which meant our fitness preparation was far from ideal. Even if we had trained on mountain bikes over similar distances, we didn’t regret (for a moment) our decision to hire e-bikes.
The trail follows the hydro-electric scheme that powers half of New Zealand’s electricity needs. It is a visionary project built at a similar time to Australia’s version in the Snowy Mountains and Jindabyne (1960s) and, while the scale of our local endeavour fills me with awe, the version we cycled has higher elevation, bigger lakes, and even larger scale.
We learnt a bit about the scheme, and the country, on our bus trip between Christchurch and Twizel, especially about the glacial ‘flour’ that gives the lakes their picture-perfect blue tone. On arrival in Aoraki/Mount Cook (on the Cycle Journeys shuttle) we warmed up our legs by riding our bikes from the Hermitage Hotel to the trail start which is a couple of kilometres up the road at the National Park. This was Day #1 on our itinerary, and doing the ride to the start meant that on Day #2 we didn’t need to backtrack to tick this off. (It was important, to us anyway, to complete all parts of the trail.) The alpine landscape is rocky, wiry, and hardy – with Mt Sefton looming we did a short walk to a glacial lake. Its steep sides were a premonition of what we would see around many of the lakes further down the Alps2Ocean route.
Day #2 (78 km) began with a short ride from Mt Cook Village to the airfield. Watching the helicopters coming and going up to Mt Cook kickstarted the adrenaline. By about 11.30 we were watching our bicycles swinging in a cage below the helicopter over the Tasman River. We were the next cargo, setting off toward Twizel from the other side of the river about 11.30 am. It was warm.
The first section of the trail was rocky and loose, and not too challenging with the e-bike which powered through. Even on the lowest power it was invaluable – to sail through deep gravel and the loose rocky sections. The ride toward the Lake Pukaki is through varied terrain, lovely grasslands, wildflowers, little bridges over streams. Kaaren, who first did the ride in 2019, remembered forging through water in this section. There were a few shady areas between Rotten Tommy and Jollie Car Park. Onward from there yielded lovely views back to the mountains, and forward to the bluest of blue lakes. When we reached the lake we stopped to eat our packed lunch under the trees at the gate to Braemar Station.
The next section started on a trail and segued onto a corrugated gravel road. That seemed to last a long time. A bit of bitumen near the Tekapo B Power station was welcome relief from the vibration of the corrugations. Signs suggested no swimming within 200 metres of the power station, so we continued until we saw the group ahead of us on a beach. The water was cool and a swim dropped the body temperature fast. There were some lookouts, a dinky foreshore path, the Lake Pukaki visitor station and then we crossed the highway, riding along a flood plain, and onto the Pukaki flats. This bit is fun. You can travel fast through open grasslands. Beyond the rabbit proof fence, we rode under the trees toward Twizel.
Our hotel had a classic 1950s exterior, but the inside was beautifully renovated and super comfortable. We put some washing on, and prepared for tomorrow.
Day #3 was the shortest day on our itinerary, with a 38km cycle to Lake Ohau. We had a slow start out of Twizel, and stopped along the road as we went past the canals near the Ohau Weir. We met two cyclists doing 28 days and 1500 kms on ordinary mountain bikes (hard core). Salmon farming is visible there, and we chatted to the locals chancing their luck opposite. A friendly Clydesdale ate Kaaren’s apple before we crossed the Ohau Weir twice, riding the gravel along the lake (with kites wheeling in the open skies overhead, lovely grasses, and wildflowers). The lake was eerily blue and we stopped to swim at the weir, where the water was beautifully cold and baby ducks stayed close to their parents on the other side. Cicadas were crystallised under the timber platform.
Close to Lake Ohau we saw a Maori memorial for Lake John, part of the sad story around New Zealand’s colonisation, and read about his pacificism. Then we were back on the road for a while, before heading up a tree-lined driveway to Lake Ohau Lodge. This classic ski lodge has the timber and aesthetic of the 1980s, but the rooms were comfortable and outlook over the lake incredible. We started our preparation for tomorrow, (the toughest day) with the scary-looking uphill that we saw from the road today front of mind.
While the trail is largely downhill, there are three-four peaks ranging from 450-900 metres, and the riding is not for the inexperienced mountain biker, nor for the vertiginous. Day #4 (80 km) Lake Ohau to Otematata is a climb up the side of the mountain from Lake Ohau (900 metres), down the other side Omarama for a lunch break which required at least on hour of battery charging time. And then another climb along a goat track above Lake Benmore, with steep sides (and few guard rails). It was spectacular on every level, with another incredible descent to Benmore Dam and Otematata.
Day #5 (72 km), Otematata to Duntroon, begins with cooler weather and coffee at the Hungry Hydro, before heading back to Benmore Dam and on toward Lake Aviemore. Cycling alongside and above this lake is also head spinning and beautiful. After Kurow the waterways narrow and become wetlands and farmland, even a winery (River-T Estate Wines). I was looking forward to the Takiroa Maori Rock Art outside Duntroon. Sadly (as we see too often), this special site has been desecrated by graffiti, and is walled off with wire for its own protection.
On our final day, Day #6 (54 km), Duntroon to Oamaru, we spent some time walking around the giant limestone Elephant Rocks, before winding upward again, through farmland, up the Anatini switchbacks (for me the trickiest part of the trail). Mountain biking is such a head game and tackling tight turns with gusto and confidence is necessary to pull it off.
Arriving into Oamaru is a gentle reintroduction to a bigger town than we had seen since Christchurch. Its outskirts are gravel paths and gardens, suburban houses, that wind through into the local botanical gardens, through an historic part of town and out to the waterfront and the ocean. There is a stage for photographs, and we celebrated our completion before riding around to see seals up close at the penguin education centre.
Highlights? Riding with friends, the alpine landscape of Mt Cook, the incredible lakes we saw on our journey, the pristine and comfortable accommodation (often beautifully retro given it was built for the hydro electric scheme workers who lived there in the 1960s), the friendly locals, the cheese scones and excellent coffee, not to mention collegiate conversations had along the way with fellow riders.
How we did it: We flew into Christchurch on Qantas direct from Brisbane, overnighted there, and caught the intercity bus to Twizel the next morning. Cycle Journeys drove us to Mount Cook’s Hermitage Hotel with our bikes with a pit stop at the Lavender Farm for delicious ice cream en route. From Oamaru we caught the Intercity bus back to Christchurch and returned to Brisbane the next day. Christchurch is a city with historic buildings and heritage and damage from the 2011 earthquake still being repaired (notably the Cathedral), beautiful botanic gardens and art galleries and centres I had too little time to explore.
Thanks to my travel companions first and foremost – Kaaren Maley, Cheryl Sardena, Jan Leach – for sharing the experience, photographs (especially Cheryl Sardena) and great company! Also to Cycle Journeys, all accommodation providers along the trail, friendly locals, and to New Zealand who host so many cyclists through incredible landscapes. We’ll be back!
