Length of the South - Day Three

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Route

Omarama to Twizel, Tekapo and Burkes Pass township via the Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail, Te Araroa Trail, the Alps to Ocean flood alternative, Tekapo Canal Road and SH 8.

Day 3 Map

Distance: 154    Cumulative: 555 (both estimates as I forgot to note the readings)

It’s another overcast cool morning and a bit of uphill to get out of the way so it’s a nice start to the day at 0729 hrs. My route follows the Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail in reverse starting up Quailburn Road on seal then gravel, then at 22km leaving the road for the single track. The Trail meanders up through grass land before getting serious and climbing to the Tarnbrae highpoint (900m) arriving at 0925 hrs. All rideable. I clean forget to leave the promised letter ‘A’ on the track for Glenys, who is due through in the next few days.

High point on Alps to Ocean. Lake Ohau behind

I’m looking forward to an entertaining descent but my right knee is giving gip to the extent that I have to go slow: what a pain. Part way down I remember the forgotten ‘A’ and place one in an obvious position at the edge of a beautiful patch of beech. I think she found it.

Lovely section of track through a stand of BeechNot many stands of trees like this in the last 2 days. 

From the satellite images I’m pretty sure there’s a short cut or two that avoids going all the way to the Ohau Lodge. In the end I follow part of the Te Araroa trail (sign posted) which drops quickly on an old 4WD track and saves about 5km. From there it’s along the lakeside first on the road and then on lovely single track to the lake outlet with the imposing face of Ben Ohau just across the lake.
Following the flood route to Lake Ruataniwha proves to be a mistake. The gravel road is in a poor state and plays merry hell with knee and backside (now with an impressive blister on one side). Most of the time it is easier to ride in the grass so it’s slow progress. However there’s some interesting hydro structures around and Lake Ruataniwha itself is a pretty oasis amongst its trees.

Lake Ruataniwha. Twizel obscured on the right

Short aside for hydro geeks ...
As far as I can tell Lake Ruataniwha receives the tail race water from Ohau A power station (which is fed by Ohau and Pukaki Canals from the respective lakes), and from Ohau river (natural flow from Lake Ohau), the lake outflow passes under SH 8 to Ohau B Power Station (with some diverted to the Ohau river course) and down another canal to Ohau C Power Station which discharges into Lake Benmore (which also receives the waters of the Ahuriri, Ohau, Twizel, Pukaki and Tekapo Rivers). Benmore feeds Aviemore which feeds Waitaki after which the Waitaki river proceeds to the see unmolested by dams.

I’m pretty relieved to join SH 8 for the short hop into Twizel at 75 odd km and around midday for pie, drinks and supplies. Sally buzzes in having spent the night in Alexandra.
The track from Twizel to Pukaki across the flats avoids the roads and feels like Arizona (at least I imagine so). The snow-clad Southern Alps in the distance are free of cloud and spectacular, but do little to mark progress. Wilding pines are dotted across the plain.

Bike propped against a wilding pine
Looking north towards Pukaki with Aorangi in the background.

How not to prop your bike against a wilding pine

There’s a wee climb up to the lake edge where a view across Lake Pukaki suddenly opens, it is its usual surprising teal colour. The information centre car park is stuffed with cars and buses. I decide not to visit and continue along the trail and across the high dam.

Lake Pukaki; ridiculously beautiful

The trail skirts between the road and the shore and is pretty good riding. A few stretches look like they were the course of an old road.

Head down and missing the scenery

I have one 140m climb noted for the arvo – from Lake Pukaki Power Station following the pipes up to the stilling basin at the end of the Tekapo Canal. It’s hot but not bad. From the top the stilling basin looks like an infinity pool with Lake Pukaki below. About a kilometre and a half of canal has salmon cages tethered in the current with hopeful fisher folk scattered along the banks on either side angling for a catch.

Stilling pool at the end of Tekapo Canal. Lake Pukaki visible on the left.

The road is closed to traffic soon after and I’m delighted to have a big wide sealed road above the surrounding landscape to myself (although before long it switches to gravel with a strong head wind).

Looking back down Tekapo canal

About 22km later, despite views across the Tekapo River into the MacKenzie Country and up to snow clad Alps, I’m pretty relieved to get away from the canal but have to admire the mass of water that travels along it and the engineering involved. The wind seems to be blowing from Burkes Pass which doesn’t bode well for later.

My route crosses the canal by the power house for a wee climb up a gravel road and through some forest into the back of Tekapo, arriving around 1720 hrs. Sally has booked a unit at Peppers and has water in the fridge, so I pop up for a break before hitting the road again. There’s a lot of tarseal ahead over the next day or so and I’d prefer to knock a bit of it off today.

The wind is getting stronger and it’s a grind across the flats (it’s actually downhill) then over Burkes Pass. A family of French cyclists are huddled by the road with a couple of youngsters unable to continue into the wind. However, they have everything they need and I suspect that soon after I pass they nick over a farm fence and pitch tents.

The wind is howling out of the Pass and the evening sun is striking low under the steely clouds trying to spill over the ridges and passes. Eventually the Pass is behind and, as the Burkes Pass Township has accommodation options, it meets my conditions for stopping and accepting a lift back to Tekapo from Sally who turns up bang on time (1930 hrs).

Options

The Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail was a bit of a side excursion and I suspect a more direct route would have been to stay on the Otago Rail Trail longer and go through Dansey’s Pass then the Hakataramea Pass. I wonder whether there may also be a way to get through to the back of Fairlie and bypass the McKenzie Country altogether. In any event I recommend against the hydro road to Lake Ruataniwha – better to follow the regular route of the Alps to Ocean to Twizel.

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