Even when the principal activities are sitting around looking at a stonkingly beautiful view, and then wandering out into it, there are a some things that are arguably better.
From a mountain biker’s perspective, one would be riding fresh trails. That is an absolute favourite of mine. And this week I got to do it twice.
We dropped into Blenheim to marvel at the amazing Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, do not pass up an opportunity to see it.
While we were there I dialed up the internet and found a little mountain bike park nearby. It is the Wither Hills Mountain Bike Park, name matching the Pinot Gris that happened to be in the fridge on the day.
Perched right on the edge of a new suburb, it occupies a slice of the foothills of Mount Vernon. I took to the trails at the same time as a posse of local youngsters. We passed them fuelling up at a dairy on the way, and by the time I had switched travelling getup for riding kit(interchangeable really) and fished my bike out of the bus they were doing wheelies and yelling abuse at each other in the carpark with us.
They headed up a trail aimed at the centre of the place, I took the Scenic Route. Capitals employed because that is the official signposted name of the trail, and it was not kidding. That trail loops right around the park and gets up to 200m odd, affording a drop dead view of Blenheim, the Richmond Ranges, and out to the Wairau Bar and the ocean beyond.
It is only 4km, so you can guess the trail system is very compressed into a triangular pocket of pine trees on an otherwise golden grass hill.
Take any route down was my plan, as they all appeared to be intermediate level which is my happy place on new terrain.
The trails down were fun, easy and fast. I passed the gang of youngsters parked on their bums at a junction where there a few jumps, and got heckled good-naturedly when they saw my admittedly lame effort over a table top.
Did a couple of laps of the hill, and filed the optional Mount Vernon Traverse trail that starts at the top of the park for a future visit.
Well worth a look if you are passing through, good place to blow away some cobwebs and get an aerial view of the region.
A couple of days later the incredible scenic and natural attractions of the Kaikoura Coast got put on hold for a few hours while I scuttled off to the Middle Hill MTB Park.
This place is a total one-off. Five kilometres off Highway 1, far from the nearest town, up a white gravel road, is an amazing mountain biking destination. There is a fee to ride, and that is fair enough when you get a look at the work that has gone in developing the joint.
While Middle Hill is really set up for shuttling, I didn’t expect to see anybody out there so opted for the Pedal Pass (which is kind of true to character to be honest, I like grovelling up hills).
From a neat little base carpark with a jump line and pump track there is a short but entertaining ride around a neighbouring farm to the trail centre. Bright pink signs saying simply “Up” pointed me in the correct direction, and the route was easy to follow if a bit of grunt to ride.
On my first lap I met one half of the management coming down in her vehicle (with a passenger from Rotorua - can’t escape the place). Genevieve was very welcoming, made sure I knew where I was going and advised that I was near the top of the part of the climb that is reasonably pleasant.
I took her advice and descended from there on a couple of trails that were tight, detailed and really well designed.
I was lucky enough to meet Morgs, the other half of the team, and have a quick catch up before heading back up the hill.
They have been developing the park for six years or so, and while I didn’t find out much about their methods or the size of their workforce, it is obvious many hours have been invested.
My second lap took me 410m vert to the very top of the park, up a road that was every bit as unpleasant to ride as Genevieve suggested it would be.
It is a shuttle road, and it is so steep that on the short section I couldn’t ride I actually struggled to walk.
But the pay-off! A fantastic outlook from their top base, where a perfectly located cabin provides shelter, and then a ridiculously fun descent on a trail called Skuxxo Deluxo. I probably set a record for slowness on that downhill, but the trail was completely trustworthy and very well built. If I rode it say, three of four hundred times I would probably loosen up and let go of the brakes a little more often. But hey, I am supposed to be on holiday and there are no prizes for coming back from a ride with skin missing.
Once again, if you are passing through do not miss this little gem - great scenery, great trails, and great people.
