Day 24 Over the Remutakas

Colin Grierson
Apr 7, 2024
4 min read

Today we ride to Te Marua, on the far side of the Remutakas. This will be our last full day riding, after this we have just two short rides, both flat, before the end at Wellington where we will pause until spring.

The sky is cloudy in the North, clear in the South where we are going. There are balloons! It seems calm but they approach surprisingly quickly from the South. Maybe 10, they are lovely to see. Margaret says this was more popular in the past and sometimes they had around 50. That would have been spectacular! Still, this is so nice, and special for us.

We take SH2 to Greytown, there is no sensible alternative and we are early enough so that the road is not busy. The shoulder is good too so this is fine. Greytown is a cute town, very arty. Today it’s busy, the cafes particularly.

We thought we were staying here but dates were muddled

From here we enter the new Wairarapa cycle trail, taking us to Woodside along an old railway route. The trail is very good.

The access gates are a pain. I can squeeze through if I get off and tilt my bike and the trike can squeeze under - most of the time. But the gates are not all set up the same. Sometimes they are lower or tighter and we have to unload.

Today is good for meeting people, we have several nice conversations. One couple encourages us to cycle tour in France. Two people are on recumbent tricycles, which they say are very comfortable and effective - but they are wider than our tricycle and cannot get through the access gates at all.

The new trail takes us to Woodside - which we have to take on trust as all we see is the remains of a rail station - then turns south toward Featherston. This part is a shared back road – good – there are no access gates! At the end of the road a short track takes us to a new cycle bridge across the Tawharenikau river. We always enjoy these. Along the way we pass several groups, walkers and cyclists, this is the busiest track we have been on for a long time.

Lunch in Featherston, at the same cafe we used 2 years ago.

We have a very brief look around then head for Cross Creek, we are both keen to get to the crux of today’s ride – crossing the Remutaka ranges. The sun has gone, there is a light cold breeze. It's perfectly comfortable riding, but not inspiring.

Remutakas ahead. We go over and through that

Cross Creek road... We see half a dozen parked cars, that will be the car park at the start of the track. We are here, the Remutakas await us, but first we’ll use the toilets.

A man comes from his car, greets us, chats a little then warns us the track may be too narrow for our trike. We thank him and get him to take photos of us. Two riders come down the track, see the trike, and warn us the track is not suitable. Another group arrives, sees the trike and wants to talk. I cut them off. "Thanks, we know the track will be difficult in places and Sau Keng may have to walk there. I am sure we will get through" SauKeng says "I've come all the way from Cape Reinga, the 2 kilometers to Cross Creek won't stop me". We start before more people try to tell us we should not.

Two years ago when we came here Sau Keng tries this, went 20 metres, and formed a strong opinion she did not like like it. Today she makes the same path look easy. Further on the path is steep in places, rocky, narrower, with a drop off... It's slow, and SauKeng walks some sections, but we keep moving. After a while it gets easier...

We are at Cross Creek, which used to be a major station where regular engines were swapped for the specialised fell engines to climb up the incline. There were workshops and a small village. Now it’s open, grassy,like a large picnic area.

We start up the incline. It's not steep and the track is good. It just keeps on for a long time. A tunnel. The Siberia bridge, Sau Keng rode down this far on our last visit. Another short tunnel. Finally the long tunnel and we are at the Summit station – on the southern side of the Remutakas. Time for a celebration – we eat a scone we have been carrying for a while.

Coming down is an easy glide, Kaitoke, Maymorn, Te Marua. We are almost home.

Our Air B&B instructions say the driveway is long and steep. Sau Keng is smart, we'll get dinner now, ride home, and not come out again. The Te Marua store has fried chicken, we want vegetables too – a kilo pack of frozen bean is the smallest we can find (Sau Keng vetoed the 500g pack of brussel sprouts) Climb to plateau Rd. Ride 2 kilometres. We are here. The driveway starts steep, goes on and on, eases, gets steep again, (surely we are almost there?), turns a corner and is steeper still and gravel too. I stall, out of power, just 30m from the top :-( Sau Keng gets all the way, using the bottom gear and maximum power the trike just made it.