Words & Photos | Emma Bateup
With my west coast midweek weekend plans canned due to a stormy weather forecast, I turned my attention to the warmer and drier-looking east coast, and eventually decided on the Wakamarina, an old gold miners trail that crosses the Richmond ranges from the Wairau Valley to the Wakamarina Valley.
The plan was to ride from my home in Nelson up the Maitai valley, over the Maungatapu track, on the road through Pelorus and Havelock, ending up at the Blenheim end of the Wakamarina track. Next, the plan was to ride through Wakamarina, staying at Fosters Hut overnight before heading back out the next morning through Canvastown, Pelorus, the Mangatapu then home.
I decided that my Santa Cruz Highball would be the best bike for the job due to the large amount of time spent on the road - it wouldn’t be too much of a hindrance on the pavement but is also very capable on the singletrack - a true all-rounder if you may. Aiming to travel fairly light, I fitted most of my overnight gear and plenty of snacks in a dry bag on a rear rack and, paired with a 9L backpack, it made for a comfy setup that ensured I could still ride properly. However, I did end up sitting on the dry bag a bit when getting over the back on steep descents!
Overcast with a hint of rain, I set out on day one and, by the time I'd slogged it over the Maungatapu and into Marlborough, it was sunny t-shirt weather. With a solid tailwind pushing me along, it made for a nice ride to the turn off before Blenheim. The weather rolled in quickly as I started the climb up to the Wakamarina carpark, and some heavy rain and winds kept me moving, arriving at Fosters hut at 4pm. I had the place to myself and quickly got a fire roaring away and warmed up. Dinner for the evening was a '2-serve' freeze-dried Nasi Goreng, which was nice but left me hungry enough to start digging into the Day 2’s snacks early. Although it was nice and cosy in the hut, it had started snowing outside.
The next morning I woke up to a clear but gusty day with a layer of snow around the hut. I enjoyed the nice sunrise while I filled myself up for the day on a freeze-dried cooked breakfast.
I set off down (with a few ups) the Wakamarina descent down to Devils Creek hut, which was a bit slippery in parts but very fun. I started getting quite hungry due to having eaten most of my food the night before, and found the road out to Canvastown to be longer than I had realised, especially with the first day's tailwinds now a headwind. I briefly stopped for an ice block and some lollies to keep me going up to Pelorus, where I had the best meal of the trip - some lovely mussel fritters, salad, caramel slice and, of course, an iced chocolate. With a full stomach and newfound energy, I headed back over the Maungatapu (which is a far nicer climb up that side) down into the Maitai.
After 15 hours’ moving time, with 200km and 4500m of ascending in total, I made it back to Nelson just in time for Mum's home cooked dinner!
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