TA Day 8 - Arapuni to Pureora Cabins

 66.2 miles, 6755’ climbing

Pureora Cabins (seem to be run by the forest service aka DOC)

All 4 other bikepackers were up before us. We snoozed while listening to them pack, then we finally got up at 6:30, made breakfast, and packed our bikes. Martin was just getting under way. Nigel and Lara were gone. Maddie left very early but after 30km realized he’d forgotten his backpack, and he returned for it, a lot of extra distance since he was already planning a long day.

We backtracked to where we had left the trail so we wouldn’t miss seeing the swing bridge. It didn’t swing, and appeared to be by a hydroelectric dam. After that we climbed quiet paved and gravel roads for a few hours, seeing almost nobody, until we descended to the Waipapa dam. Here we met an Australian couple touring a different route. They are from a town a couple of hours north of Perth, and mentioned a long bikepacking route in the area. They took off down the singletrack ahead of us as we took a break. Although the strip of forest next to the reservoir is narrow, abutted by the ubiquitous farm land, the track stayed in the trees which gave it a feeling of being remote. It had switchbacks, swoopy corners, climbs — in all about 30km of singletrack. One section was carpetted in pine needles and very quiet. It was tough going in places, but the most fun riding we’ve had on this trip so far.

We stopped for fish & chips in Mangakino, and for the second time on this trip we found that one order of fish and chips can feed 2-3 people. We shared our bounty with the Australian riders who arrived just after us.

From Mangakino we climbed quiet, hot hills, first on pavement and then gravel. After a while we turned off on some narrow, slightly overgrown single track. After taking some pictures and navigating the trail, we turned off on a gravel road which led past the marker for the center of the north island. A bikepackers with a heavy load was camped there, but we wanted to get to a place with water. 

After taking the singletrack to the marker, we backtracked to the road and continued to Pureora, arriving as the sun was setting. The angle  of the setting sun feels different than home! We booked a DOC cabin, had showers and a bunk bed in a room to ourselves. Water has to be purified, but a shower felt great. Nigel and Lara from Arapuni were there ahead of us.