Sneaky ride on the way to the South Island
I couldn’t resist the chance for a bonus ride on the drive down to Nelson. Advised by a Facebook group Recreational Riders, we chose the Ohakune Old Coach Rd, a road built over 100 years ago using cobbles to give horses grip up steep hills when pulling coaches. A coach passenger reportedly counted over 430 bumps in the first 15 minutes before giving up counting. The Motom, with no suspension and three wheels in different positions (all hitting different cobbles or holes), cleverly ensured I maximised the authentic feel of this trail. At the same time, I was taken back to my childhood summers with the smell of the long grass on the sides of the track.
Happily it morphed into a beautiful ride on a forest floor weaving between trees, then to Hapuwhenua viaduct, where we were delighted to hear koekoeā (long-tailed cuckoos) and riroriro (grey warblers) over the noise of the stream far below.
Distance and accessibility: 14km of riding today including getting to the trail. The section we did was fine for a three-wheeler.
Looks like the beginning of the adventure is going well! Wishing you all the best for your trip-ideally more forest floor than cobbles!
Great start team. Let’s hope the weather stays in your corner & the bumps lessen!
Safe sailing today.
I tried to imagine the horse/s and coach rides of the past, after reading your experience and wondered if people were as anxious to travel then as we are today! An uncomfortable deterent I would think. Well worth the experience for you, though! Travel safely.
As the Chinese proverb should have said: every journey of a thousand miles starts with a few cobbles! Good luck xx