Rimutaka Incline and Ocean Beach - MTB

Solo weekend MTB trip

Corner Creek looking across to Lake Ferry

For a while I have been interested in setting my MTB up for combined on and off road weekend trips. I had been picking up bits of suitable kit but was yet to tie it all together. Easter and the prospect of winter weather reducing the opportunities was the impetus to finally get on with it.

The original plan to tour Port Underwood gets scuppered so a plan B is hatched. The Corner Creek DOC Campsite on the south Wairarapa Coast looks like a likely candidate to reach via the Hutt river trail, Rimutaka Incline and the road down the west side of Lake Wairarapa.

The bike set up being trialled for this trip is a Kathmandu bike bag strapped to a cheap seat post mounted carrier, a sleeping mat bungeed to the handlebars and a light backpack. In theory this comprises sufficient gear to keep body and soul together whatever the conditions.

It's 8.30am on Easter Sunday when I finally roll out the gate and head for the Hutt river bank. The day is cloudy and threatens (and delivers) scattered showers starting around Silverstream and carried on a strongish norwester.

The route follows the riverside trail about 27 Km to Harcourt park; with no road travel required. This is pretty cool when you consider that you travel through two (modest) cities on the way. From the harbour to Kennedy Good Bridge it is asphalt and from there pretty much all a good gravel surface with a particularly pretty single track section from Stokes Valley to Silverstream.

At Harcourt Park there is an option to cross the river by the foot bridge and continue on the single walking track to the Akatarawa / Hutt river junction. It's a nice enough ride but I decide to skip it today and take the road. A right turn onto Gemstone Drive links through to SH2 and a short stretch dodging traffic before the right turn at the Te Marua Dairy.

It's easy to follow the road past the houses to farmland and the railway underpass by Maymorn station. A left turn and it's off road again. The track through to tunnel gully starts with a short steepish uphill quickly turning into wide, easy going trails and pretty soon, the first old railway tunnel. The tunnel is straight and the floor even so there is no need for lights. But more about tunnel technique later.

The tunnel emerges at the bottom end of the park at the start of the climb up Mt Climie (a 4WD drive track which takes you up to get unparalleled views across the Lower North Island - I really must write that trip up). From here the track follows the access road for a short distance to Station Drive on the right (actually straight ahead as the seal road takes a left turn). It's a wide 4WD track apparently following the original railway.

Looking back at the first tunnel; Tunnel Gully

Station drive ends at a T junction. The sign says turn right for the Rimutaka Incline, the Kennett's guide book recommends left (basically flat). As usual you should follow the Kennett's advice but I am inclined to explore so turn right and prepare for a bit of climbing. There are a few steep climbs on a well formed logging track and only one unmarked turn (left and down or right and up - I take right as I figure it will bring me out further along the Incline road, fortunately I'm correct). There's a bit more distance through the forestry block than I am expecting before suddenly encountering an interesting descent to the Incline itself.

The new carrier bag wags the back of the bike a bit and unweights the steering. I make a mental note to redistribute the heaviest stuff and pull the bag tighter in to the seat post. However, it's plain sailing from there to the top so no sense worrying about it now.

The Rimutaka Incline trail really is a fantastic asset. There are plenty of family groups about and you always seem to come across people that are having their first tentative go at getting off the seal on two wheels. It's very well maintained and perfect for families and first timers or if you want to hammer through at a cracking pace. Despite many trips across, joining the trail always brings a sense of familiarity and satisfaction.

The top is about 10-11 Km from the car park (the usual starting point) and today a chance for a first stop and OSM. It's still a bit inclined to be showery and the (very helpful) wind is on the firm side. A father and son are sitting out of the wind in the old shelter having come up from the Wairarapa side (Cross Creek), we exchange experiences of the day before I head off for the top tunnel which is about 700m long.

Tunnelling technique on the Incline involves the basic choice of light or no light. I have a head torch in my pack somewhere but don't bother. The short tunnels tend to be on bends and on the Wairarapa side they can have rough floors which can be a bit disconcerting. But they're short and fine if you take them slow and let people know that you're about. The long top tunnel is a little more intimidating, you can see the other end so it's just a question of keeping your eye on it and keeping up sufficient pace not to wander into one of the walls. I have a bell and keep tinging it as walkers are not always visible against that small dome of light in the distance. Then it's just a question of pedalling and hoping there are no washouts.

After the top tunnel the incline proper starts. This is where the Fell Engines operated and is a lot steeper than the Kaitoke side. A lot of people turn back at the top as this side is also rougher and there is a section where you have to walk your bike into and out of the gully at Siberia.

With a loaded bike and road pressure tyres it's a more circumspect descent than normal. Even so the bumps cause the carrier to rotate and rub on the back wheel a few times (knocking it back in line by flinging one foot back seems to work but gets annoying). Clearly some adjustments needed to improve the clamp grip.

There are less people this side of the hill but still a few about including a fully laden tourer just starting to sweat his way up.

At the bottom the old Cross Creek area is worth a stop but not today. The single track from here to the road end has been upgraded and is a nice smooth cruise. Just a short section of gravel and on to Western Lake Road.

I'm sorting out texts and sunscreen before heading south on the seal when a cyclist from Masterton stops to chat. He's heading through to Kaitoke to camp with friends and has basically a road bike set up with panniers. We compare notes about wind resistance (I prefer the bag behind the seat, he likes the weight low) before going our ways.

The cross wind is quite strong now and plays havoc with the light steering but eventually it swings more in behind making for a fairly quick trip down beside the lake. Even so the road seems quite long beside the featureless lake and through farmland. The short climb away from Lake Onoke seems higher than it really is and is completed in what is now fairly consistent drizzle.

From the top of the hill the road dives off onto a terrace and then down again into a gully turning to gravel on the way before a bridge and the turn for the beach. I ignore the sign towards Wharekauhau and the luxury lodge and ride into another world.

The Southern Wairarapa Coast can be a bleak and forbidding place. At its most harsh a grey sky and grey sea lash southerly storms onto the grey beach and ragged forbidding greywacke hills behind. Scattered along the base of the terrace are ramshackle baches in various stages of repair and tenacious scrub. Blasted by wind, rain and sharp edged grit they show all the scars the harsh environment can inflict.

The starkness of the landscape is however the attraction. It is a magnificent place to be when nobody is about and a storm is demonstrating just how little you matter in this setting.

Between the baches and the beach is a shingle highway. Although the baches look rough, each one has at least one SUV parked alongside. I can't believe the number of people and start thinking that Easter isn't the smartest time for my visit. It's a pretty easy and short cruise along to Corner Creek DOC campsite with two small (today anyway) stream crossings. The Campsite is on the right after the boat tractors and is easy to find.

From Corner Creek, terraces with baches below

At the risk of starting to sound whiny I have to say it is not the best DOC camp I have seen. There are two pretty good long drops and a shelter with sink, rain water tap and an impressive slab table. The areas marked as being campsites are mostly rough and sloping and very old litter hasn't been picked up.

Its 1.40 when I arrive and it takes a while to find a flat, non-rocky spot; they've all been snapped up it seems although it is nowhere near capacity. I pitch my tent hopefully and congratulate myself for strapping a sleeping mat to the handle bars at the last minute.

The last good spot

I guess if you go anywhere with baches at Easter you shouldn't be surprised by the press of humanity. There are many quads buzzing about, periodically motor bikes howl up and down the beach or send thundering echoes out of one of the shingle gullys. A procession of 4WDs drive up, nose around the camp site before grinding off elsewhere.

The clouds are streaming off the Orongorongos behind but across the bay Lake Ferry and Ngawi are bathed in the afternoon sun. If I wasn't so tired I would strike camp and head somewhere with a few less people. However, nothing to be done but hunker down and hope the seasonal locals don't stay up too late.

Away from the terrace, the hills are steep and eroding, scree slides of greywacke of various hues fan out of the gullys. The beach is of the same tone; grey to match the sky behind the hills. The stones on the beach are rounded but the scree is angular suggesting it hasn't come far (or for long).

The norwester whips spray up in the bay but it is still relatively warm, the rain has disappeared and the worst of the wind is missing the area at the bottom of the hills. The odd gust comes marauding down the slopes though and I put a couple of storm guys on the tent.

About 5pm the view has provided all the diversion it can for now so I head further along the coast. The road has signs indicating it is for serious 4WDers only and it crosses a number of active slips. The surface is variable but only the sand traps that build up quickly on the lee slopes interrupts the ride.

A flat concrete platform beside the track catches my eye. It turns out to be a memorial to the first drovers to bring stock along the coast (before earthquakes raised the land forming handy terraces). A bronze plague bears the names and story; it is set in a concrete pavement and across the concrete the prints of a dog, horse and a flock of sheep. I figure it is just short of Mukamuka stream which would likely have been a significant milestone in an incredibly rugged journey. Someone has done a burnout on the plague in an attempt to obliterate the letters.

Looking further along the coast the road skirts the bottom edge of the Orongorongos and out of sight, eventually reaches the Wainuiomata River. After that there are options to travel around to Eastbourne. It is very tempting to try to travel this way but last time I checked one of the intervening land owners was being less than accommodating about access. Seeing the damage from inconsiderate visitors I can understand their position but regret the loss.

I do have some memories of passing this way before though. One long weekend in the late '70s Dad threw a selection of the kids into the Mazda 808 station wagon to see how far we could get. We camped under flies (our one canvas tent got blown to shreds) and fished from the rocks. At times we would have to build up sections of road or dig the car out of a sand trap but eventually we turned up at the Orongorongo station's locked gate. They seemed somewhat surprised to see a car load of grimy children but I guess they didn't have much choice but to let us out of their property.

The baches are well behind me here and it's possible to enjoy a sense of isolation, however the light is fading so I reluctantly head back to SUV paradise. On the way I find an exploded bike rear light which looks exactly like the one that turns out to be missing off the back of my bike. Once reassembled it still goes but I decide that maybe it doesn't need to be mounted for now.

Back at the campsite it’s after 6 and time to think about dinner. My penny stove does the business and I settle down for dehy nasi goreng. Some heavy showers come through and there are more frequent freight train like gusts that can be heard approaching off the slopes and through the trees. The secluded site I had carefully chosen gets buffeted as much as anywhere else and I'm less than impressed with the dust that it deposits in the tent when the flap is open.

A couple and son sit and chat as I eat. There is clearly something about the spot that brings all these people year after year and his talk of the sea food they have caught and exchanged over the past few days provides the answer. This is a slice of New Zealand going about their leisure and pleasure with which I seldom make contact.

Suddenly their tent blows down and they scamper to check nothing is broken. I beat a retreat to check my own and do not get another opportunity to talk with them.

At 8pm the sound of a generator, numerous vehicle movements and the cheerful shouts of neighbours are only eclipsed by the next freight train gust. I lie in my small tent jotting a few notes and remembering a white canvas pup tent in a very similar grove of trees getting shredded about 35 years ago.

A short wander onto the beach just before turning-in gives a view of large chunks of the Milky Way between clouds and the lights of Lake Ferry, Ngawi and the baches along the base of the terrace. At last all but one of the vehicles have stopped.

During the night the crags and gullys of the Orongorongos throw a constant barrage of wind bombs down on the campsite without pause. It’s a sleepless night waiting for the tent to collapse and imagining what cycling into this in the morning will be like.

At 6.30 it’s just light enough to get up and pack. The predawn sun is catching the wind sculptured clouds overhead and without the people there's a taste of what the area could be like.

A windy sun rise

Getting the tent down in the wind gusts is a little tricky but eventually it’s all done including breakfast and I'm the only one on the road at 7.45. The wind is enough that little or no pedalling is required along the beach highway. The two stream crossings are easy and soon it’s the climb over to Lake Onoke.

Over the next hour 45 minutes to Cross Creek, the wind is mostly cross so doesn't slow things down that much and there are only about 5 cars. I take one stop to check out a lake side reserve which would have been a better overnight proposition, it doesn't actually say no camping and there is a tent beside a single car.

The turn into the hills is also into the face of the strong wind. It's a slow grind up the Incline to the top battling the gusts the whole way. A few bikes plummet past in the more sensible direction. In the top tunnel there's a couple of new water channels crossing the floor which cause a bit of a surprise but no difficulties. A couple are just venturing into the tunnel are a bit surprised when an unlit bike hurtles out of the black maw preceded by cheerful tings of its bell.

Despite the dull day there are many family groups at various points, mostly on the way to the summit. It's quick riding to the car-park and then to the access road and back to Station Drive. There's a moment of uncertainty finding the access to Station Drive. It wasn't marked but is reasonably obvious; I would however recommend working it out on Google earth or similar beforehand.

Station Drive is a fast easy downhill and soon Tunnel Gully and the tenth (I think) and last tunnel section for the weekend is behind.

The last tunnel

I take a different route back to the river trail; over Mangaroa hill (a short climb from this direction) and through the centre of Upper Hutt to the first bakery I can find for a pie, slice and chat with an elderly Dutch woman. Joining the trail again at the river road bridge it's a familiar haul to be home by 1 and a long, hot soak in the bath.

A few tweaks will be required to the bike set up but the combo worked well and stood up to a bit of rough treatment. The Penny stove did its job, as did the Macpac tent on its first outing. Next time I come through Corner Creek it will either be on foot via the Mukamuka stream or hopefully there will be an opportunity to close the loop around the coast road.