Monday December 30, 2013

The Rimutake Rail Trail keeps you off of SH2 going through the Rimutake Mountain Range.  Although it is 8km longer it is actually 100 metres less elevation to climb.  Ralf really wanted to do it, I didn’t.  I knew it was going to be challenging with the loaded touring bikes but … we did it.  I kept asking people if it was doable on loaded touring bikes.  Yes they said but it is easier from the other side!!

We got to Featherston in time to see the 11:00 train leaving for Wellington – the trains are running.

We had a good lunch in Featherston and then cycled to Cross Creek the start of the Rail Trail.  The road to the start was very gravelly and I thought “Here we go”!! When we got to the entrance gate we couldn’t get our loaded bikes through.  An omen!!  A couple of South Africans carried mine up and over the gate and invited us to their place this evening if we wanted to carry on to Upper Hutt.  I knew Ralf also wanted to camp overnight at the Summit.

However as we got into the trail it was absolutely beautiful.

Another reminder for me: “Never let my fears stop me from doing something”.

It was a tough trail for loaded touring bikes but we took it steadily and got to the Summit (354 metres) which has a 1 in 15 slope most of the way.  All the way up the trail there were information boards telling us what the incline was, how the ‘little trains’ got up here, how many men died building the tunnels, how many slips there were and at the Summit how many people lived up here.

We met several groups of people (all on Mountain Bikes), it is a great trail for mountain biking.

We could have easily made it down the other side and to Upper Hutt but it is a beautiful spot, so I decided that it would be nice to stay the night.  Again there are public washrooms and we are permitted to camp.

So here we are, we have eaten a wonderful one-pot meal of pasta and tuna, with pita bread – very gourmet.  Unfortunately no wine to wash it down with we had a cup of tea instead.  It is now 7:45 pm.  I am finishing this blog and then we will have an early night.

We will wake up at first light and cycle down to Upper Hutt for a second breakfast.  Kosie (the South African) has invited us to stay a couple of days at his house if we want to while we get our ferry bookings for the South Island sorted out.  We might take him up on it.  He said coming from South Africa you don’t trust anyone.  When he came to New Zealand he wanted to make a change he wanted to trust in the innate goodness of people so, he often invites people back to his house and is a host on couch-surfers.