Erik's Overnight Bikepacking Trip from Rotorua to the South Waikato and Back

I had planned this trip carefully, using the Walking Access Map Service (http://wams.org.nz) to find a route from Paradise Valley in Rotorua, along Endian Road to the southern Waikato, and back along Lesley Road from Putaruru up to Mamaku.  Both routes follow public-access easements, so I could get past without tresspassing on private land.

The plan was to head out on Friday, travel as far as I could and then camp overnight, before heading back via Mamaku on the Saturday morning.

The weather report wasn't looking too flash, but fortunately the forecast rain held off and wasn't predicted to arrive until Saturday morning.  Hopefully by then I would be almost home.

I left on Friday just before 4:00 pm, cycling along the back roads to Paradise Valley, then up a 3km climb along Endian Road to the end of the tarseal.

Heading towards Paradise Valley.  That's Mount Ngongotaha in the background

Endian Road

At the top, the road flattened off and became rough and boggy.  My bike's made for this sort of terrain -- I was grinning the whole way.

After about 5 km, I reached the end of the easy riding.  There were "No Entry" signs on all the main firebreak roads, and the only remaining gate led into a paddock.  Since that was the only gate without a "No Entry" sign, I guessed it must be the right way, so I lifted by bike over the gate and began to make my way across open farmland.

Looking back the way I had come.

I was still on the right road at this point, though I was guessing the way.

I actually followed the public-access easement pretty closely, until I met a herd of cows on the road and decided to veer off onto another track.

I didn't choose a very good way to go here.

After lifting my fully-laden bike over about half a dozen fences, I finally reached my goal: South Road.  I ended up in a farmer's back yard, much to the farm dog's disgust.  Fortunately, there was nobody home.

Looking back at the farm I had crossed.  The farm house is directly behind that barn.

Almost as soon as I reached South Road, I saw someone in the distance.  I figured it must be someone on a quad bike, but no: it was another touring cyclist!

Wade from Napier.  Sorry about the bad picture quality -- my GoPro must have had dust on the lens.

Wade was heading up to Mamaku from Tokoroa, and wasn't sure he was on the right road.  I later heard that he'd made it okay, though he was pretty exhausted by the time he got to Rotorua.

I rode on along South Road, wanting to get as far as I could before I camped.

If you look closely, you can see Kinleith paper mill in the distance.

This area felt quite remote, and I never saw any cars.  What I did see, though, were hares -- huge jack-rabbits that completely dwarf the wee bunnies that are the only sorts of rabbits we see around Rotorua.  I wonder if it’s a difference in the ecology, or if it's just because there aren't as many people out here?

There are a lot of forestry operatons and areas of native bush along South Road, but just as I was starting to think about finding a place to camp, the forest and bush opened into farmland and there was nowhere to stay.  I kept pushing on, hoping to find somewhere suitable, but instead of reaching more trees, the road became sealed and there was even less chance of finding a campsite.

Just as it was starting to get dark, I finally reached the trees again.

Almost there.

A few km further on, I saw a partly overgrown firebreak road heading off into the forest, and I followed it off the road.

I quickly found a gap under the trees and set up my tent, and then began to prepare dinner.

Dinner wasn't anything fancy: instant noodles and a tinned meat dish.  I had also packed parmesan cheese and salami, but I was so tired I forgot to use them.  Oh well...when you're exhausted anything tastes great.

As dinner was cooking, I discovered a slight problem: I'd forgotten to pack a fork or a spoon!  How was I going to eat?  After scratching my head for a minute or two, I came up with the solution: if you don't have a spoon, make one.  I found a clean-looking stick, and used my trusty leatherman to cut away the bark and then quickly whittle it into shape.

Not bad for a few minute's work.

The end result was a bit like eating with one chopstick, but it worked great for getting the food off the bottom of the pan and into my mouth.

After dinner, it was time to hunker down for the night.  I've got my camping routine pretty well sorted now: pitch the tent, cook dinner, eat, clean up, put everything inside the tent or back on the bike, set up my sleeping bag and mattress, take painkillers so my aching legs don't keep me awake, charge up my phone and garmin, read for a bit, and then try to get to sleep.

I had been on the road for four hours, and covered 44 km -- not bad considering all the mucking about I did getting across the farmland.  I had also climbed over 700 metres.  No wonder I was tired and my body ached -- I hadn't been doing nearly enough training to tackle a ride like this.

I never sleep that well the first night in the tent, and it did take me a while to get to sleep.  But I eventually fell asleep with the moreporks serenading me in the darkness, and I slept soundly until morning.

I woke around 6, made a breakfast of instant porridge and Milo, and was on the road just before 7.  The weather was looking quite good, with a fair bit of sunshine.  Perhaps the rain would hold off after all?

Heading back out to the main road.

It was a half-hour ride along the tarseal to Tokoroa, then another hour to Putaruru.

Tokoroa.

Putaruru at last.

Unfortunately the wee motor in my belly was working overtime, and I was starving again by the time I got to Putaruru, so I stopped in at the local petrol station to buy some muesli bars, and then headed across the road for a snack of a steak and cheese pie, an apple slice and a milkshake.

Then I continued, turning off the main road into Whites Road, and then turning off again into Lesley Road.  Lesley Road goes all the way up to Mamaku, following a public access easement through the forest.

That's just to keep the punters away...I hope.

The road was sealed for quite a long way, before finally turning back into a gravel road.

The road seemed to climb forever, further and further up into the forest.

Finally, after climbing for about 20 km, we (that is, my bike and I) reached the intersection with Galaxy Road, a major thoroughfare for logging trucks through the forest.  On the other side of Galaxy Road, some overzealous forestry worker had dug a deep trench right across the road to keep people out. Beyond, the road deteriorated into a muddy bog.

Several trees had been cut down across the road, no doubt to keep the motor-cross riders and 4WD folks away.  I could go around most of the trees, except for the last one which completely blocked the road.

I had to lift my bike up and over the tree, dodging the side branches and the blackberry.

A bike's-eye view as I dragged the bike across the fallen tree.

It was quite awkward, but it only took a couple of minutes to get to the other side.  From there, the road improved and I came out into farmland again.

It was about five more kilometres through open farmland to Mamaku.

The Mamaku plateau is famous for these strange rock formations.

Mamaku village.

I was pretty exhausted by the time I reached Mamaku: I had been riding for five hours by now, and had climbed nearly 1,000 metres.  Fortunately, I then had a long downhill stretch along Dansey Road back towards Rotorua.

It was getting quite cloudy by now, and threatening to start drizzling, but fortunately the rain held off until after I got home.

From the bottom of Dansey Road, I headed around the back of Mount Ngongataha via Paradise Valley.  It was weird riding past Endian Road, where I had headed out of Rotorua out the day before.

Nearly home.

I finally arrived back home at 2 in the afternoon -- just in time to take Oscar to his ukulele lession. I had been riding for almost 7 hours, covered 96 km and climbed a total of 1,200 metres.  I felt completely exhausted, my body felt roasted from the unusual warmth, and I was suffering from dehydration -- but I had done it!

It was an amazing overnight trip.  My plan had gone pretty well overall.  I didn't get seriously lost, and found my way (mostly) along the public access easements so I couldn't get told off for tresspassing.  I'll definitely use Lesley Road again, despite having to climb over a tree to get to it from Mamaku, as it's a great option for travelling to the Waikato from Rotorua without having to ride along the highway.

I'm also getting more confident camping overnight with the bike, and preparing my own meals along the way.  Next time, I'll just have to remember to pack a spoon.