Mavora Lakes route
We met another Dutch couple, Vincent and Jeanette, in Wanaka and we decided to cycle to Queenstown together. We chose the route via little ski town Cardrona and the Crown Range. It was a nice route with a steep section to the 1076 m/ 3250 ft top. Then a very steep downhill of 10 kms/ 6 miles with many switchbacks. When we arrived in Queenstown it started pouring so we arrived just in time.
After a dry and sunny day in Queenstown, the 4 of us got on board of the authentic steamvessel TSS Earnshaw. It took us to the other side of the lake where we started the unpaved Mavora Lakes route.
It didn’t take long for it to start raining. Too bad, because it’s a nice route. There were many hills and, of course, a steep climb but after that it was mostly flat. We camped at a campground on the shore of one of the Mavora Lakes and had a nice and dry evening.
The next day we had another 35 kms/ 21 miles of gravelroad to go before we got back on the paved road to Te Anau. The last part we cycled in the pouring rain again and when we arrived at the campground we decided to share a cabin. We were wet and cold and weren’t looking forward to pitching the already wet tent in the pouring rain, so a cabin with a heater it was. We stayed in Te Anau the next day and the weather was good again.
The moment we got back on the bikes it started raining again. Around Manapouri we had a stunning view on the spooky mountains along the lake and we saw one rainbow after another. Beautiful! Then we went South to get to the southern coast. The weather stayed bad, a lot of rain and it got cold. It was only 6 C/ 40 F and often the rain turned into hail. Meanwhile it was storming, but fortunately we had a tailwind most of the time.
We were happy when we reached Invercargill, because from there it wasn’t too far to the East Coast anymore where we hoped to get better weather. But we still had to cycle in the rain and storm for another day. That’s why we decided not to take the coastal road, but stay inland a bit more. We would miss the most southern tip of New Zealand, but we probably would have been blown away by the storm anyway.
Finally, the weather got better and the last 2 days to Dunedin were sunny and warm again. That didn’t take the hills away or make them less steep, but the world looked a whole lot more pleasant and chearfull. The restday in Dunedin was another rainy and stormy day so we didn’t go to the beach, which is close to the campground, or get to see/cycle the steepest road in the world. But it’s not rideable on a bike with its 35% gradient anyway.
We continue tomorrow, back to the west through another unpaved route; the Otago Rail Trail. Then to the north, over Lindis Pass to Cook. Mt. Cook is the highest peak in New Zealand.
Jullie hebben net andere weggetjes genomen dan wij destijds. En wat jammer van het weer, maar de Foto’s zijn niet minder mooi. Wij hadden in Dunedin ook slecht weer (storm en regen) maar wij hebben de stad nog wel bezocht, echt Schots inclusief doedelzakken wedstrijd. Veel plezier met de Otage railtrail, halverwege hadden we een heel leuk hotelletje.
Het was en is nog steeds een mooie tocht. Bikkelen in het koude en natte weer in het zuiden. De zon van de afgelopen paar dagen maakt weer veel goed.
Whew, I was getting exhausted just reading what you are doing. The Crown range was not even paved when we last cycled it but it is the highest road in NZ so could not be missed. Glad to hear you went to Te Anau and Manapouri. Shame about the weather because we cycled the South Island first in 1977 then in 1992 and the weather was lovely most of the time. I hope you have been enjoying it all the same and just to make you feel better, the incredible heat and the persistent wind here is driving us mad. We are finally leaving Panama this Sunday and heading for Costa Rica and now is the dry season but I wish it would rain. You see, you just can’t win weather wise.