I got to experience the Paparoa Track on a recent trip to the top of the South Island, and I can't wait to go back and do it again.
We were camping on the West Coast in the otherworldly little settlement of Punakaiki, at what must be one the top five campsites we have ever parked up in. With direct access on to a wild beach overhung with massive cliffs and semi-tropical foliage, it's within walking distance of the Pancake Rocks.
The campsite itself offers a daily shuttle to the other end of the Paparoa Track, a 55 kilometre route from the old mining town of Blackball across the Paparoa Range and National Park, to Punakaiki.
I waited out a day of fairly consistent rain before grabbing a ride on a drizzly morning. Blackball is worth a visit - a really cool little slice of West Coast history in a quiet settlement.
The trail head is a few ks up a gravel road from the town.
I started a short downhill in light rain, then embarked on a solid climb: about ten kilometres gets you to nearly 1000m above sea level, on a rocky trail that is 100% rideable but quite hard work.
I passed a group of high school kids and their teachers on a particularly tricky section, they all stood to one side and cheered me on, which meant I had to clear that section without any dabs or stopping. Into oxygen debt, but executed successfully.
Just before I reached the treeline I came upon an apparition: two little girls in festive looking outfits walking down the trail towards me. They were about 6 or 7 years old by my estimation, and were incredibly cute. One of them politely said "good luck, you're nearly there!".
Around the next curve was their mother, with an even younger offspring, and carrying an enormous pack. Very cool.
The forest gave way to alpine tussock and rock just as the rain cleared, and the trail followed a ridgeline for about twenty glorious kilometres. Ducking from one side of the ridge to the other, and sometimes running right along a spine only metres wide, the track was edged by precipitous drops.
Clouds were blowing through, but I was lucky to get a fair helping of sunshine and some drop-dead views out to the coast and back into the Brunner valley. The going is really good fun, but it is not easy. Many little climbs slowly accumulate in the legs. Not far past an intersection with the recently opened Pike 29 Memorial trail the Paparoa Track drops into cloud forest and starts to lose altitude.
The run down through the forest is incredible. The trail itself is fun, but the scenery is really amazing. Huge chunks of rock litter a long section of twisting downhill trail, at one place the trail goes under a rock the size of our house.
A swingbridge transports punters across a rockface that features a stunning waterfall - it really is a mind-boggling bit of construction.
I was kind of nervous about tackling this ride as a one-day effort, especially with the shorter daylight hours of April. It is a big ride for an average rider like myself, and doing it solo is probaby not ideal, but I met at least 30 other trail users along the way. All of them were on foot. I could see that there were some bike riders ahead of me, fresh skid marks here and there showed they were travelling faster than I was.
The sting in the tail comes at the 50 kilometre mark, where in my case I had very little gas in the tank. There is a stiff little climb through a beautiful section of forest that really hurt.
A final swingbridge brought me to the carpark at the Punakaiki end of the ride, and I only had to get over a short hill on the highway to get myself back to the caravan.
All in all, one of the best mountain bike rides I have ever managed.
1 comment
I rode it around the same time this year but came down the Pike29. I found the initial climb much harder than the Old Ghost Road, it’s not the altitude gain, it’s the chunky surface. If you venture over that way again try the Pike29. Twenty minutes of dh that’ll leave your face sore from grinning and your hands sore from braking.