I had my eyes on a bikepacking event for a while and after doing so much mountain biking in Brazil I realised how much I love it and was missing it. So I came back to Aotearoa fully determined to get back into some mountain biking missions for summer. It was around November when I got a notification on Facebook with the route preview for the Great Southern Brevet(GSB) 2023. I looked at the route - 1080 kilometres with approximately 15.000m elevation gain going through some amazing parts of the country that I wanted to ride for a long time. I signed up right away.
A “Brevet” type of event in New Zealand is usually a self-supported bikepacking style ride with riders starting at the same time in one location, following the same route and trying to finish as fast as they can. It’s not an official event or a race, there is no entry fees and most rules are just common sense like respect road rules, people’s properties, leave no trace, take care of yourself and each other. In New Zealand, some event organisers really try to make the route as challenging and interesting as possible - so yes, lots of hills and backcountry, remoteness roads/tracks. All the ingredients for a great adventure.
The GSB organisers describe it as “possibly the most stunning and inspirational 1100km ride you can find on our little planet. Many would describe it as a life-changing experience to complete these southern courses for the first time.” Now that I finished it I can confidently say that is a very accurate description.
January 20th - 1 Day before event starts
I rode to Queenstown in the morning, with light tailwinds. A broken spoke early on got my worry levels up. I arrived in town with spare time so went to a few bike shops to try to get it fixed. Eventually the guys at Outdoor Sports had availability and replaced it for me. Still, a broken spoke on a relatively new bike/wheel is not a good sign. I rode to Frankton and met Mike who was giving me a ride to Tekapo. A few last minute supplies and we are on the road with a quick dinner stop in Cromwell. Despite his humbleness, Mike has done Tour Aotearoa twice and the infamous Tour Te Waipounamu (https://www.tourtewaipounamu.co.nz/) a similar(in some ways) kind of challenging bikepacking event in the South Island of New Zealand.
We arrived in Tekapo with sunset light, and checked into the accommodation where a lot of other riders were already there, many doing final preps on their bikes. The first thing I notice is the overall age of riders, way older than I would have thought. Quite a lot of grey haired folks at least in their 60's. Some look apprehensive, but mostly very chill, preparing dinner while chatting to their mates. Lots of people seem to know each other from previous brevet events, which reinforces the image I had of the bikepacking/brevet community aspect of this ride. I had a small second dinner, got the final few details on the bike done and went to bed. One last sleep before the grand depart.
Day 1 - Departure day - Tekapo to Top Hut
The morning sun shines in Tekapo with clouds hanging on top of the Two Thumb Range. Riders are doing final adjustments to their bikes. Me and Mike head out for breakfast and I meet my friend Tim from Auckland who is touring NZ on his bike and coincidentally was in Tekapo the exact same time as me. We had a brief chat while eating breakfast. It's already hot enough that I ordered an Iced coffee.
Breakfast done and we headed down to the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd, where all riders were getting together for departure time. I picked up my Spot tracker from Maprogress, attached it to the bike and got myself ready for the start. Matt the organizer of this year's event got everyone together and spoke a few words about the event. The only real rules were: Respect the private land we are going to cross and the no-sleeping zones. Other than that, every rider is responsible for its own health & safety. There is no specific arrangement/aid station/support crew on this ride. It's basically a bunch of riders going out on an adventure following the same route.
Riders gathering in front of the Church before the Grand Depart
Just after 9:30 we all start pedalling away from Tekapo, get into the canal gravel roads following the Alps 2 Ocean route. While most riders are still grouped together I manage to have small conversations with a few different groups and get to know some interesting people. It was mostly fast flowing all the way to Twizel, where most riders did their first stop to refuel. 4square was the choice for most, grabbing a drink, bananas, sandwiches etc.
It was in Twizel that I realised how this type of bikepacking event works. On my previous bikepacking adventures, stopping in town is usually a relaxed time I get to get off the bike, enjoy a coffee or a meal while resting, perhaps chatting with locals etc. But that is not really the case in this type of riding. Riders were eating as fast as they could, stashing food on the bike bags and doing whatever else needed to be done while chewing food, in a "rushing" state. Even though I more or less knew this would be the case, seeing it live, and even worse, realising I also had to take part if I wanted to complete this challenge, was a bit of a shock. Any ideas/plans I had of what exactly I needed to buy were replaced with a disorganised rush that resulted in me going inside 4square twice and successfully walking around the main square trying to find some chips, which means I lost a few precious minutes. By the time I left Twizel, only a few riders were still in town, even though I didn't even sit down for a coffee. Oh boy!
After a bumpy ride to Ohau we got back on the A2O trail and all its fun until hitting the gravel road with some strong headwinds just before Omarama. The Pub in Omarama had a 1 hr waiting time for dinner so I ended up having chips, grabbed bananas from 4square and some more snacks and set off to climb omarama saddle. Again, most riders were gone by the time I left Omarama.
Great views of Lake Ohau from A2O trail
At this stage I still had hopes I could make it to St Bathans, but I knew chances were slim. Riding the gravel road with the St Bathans Mountain Range right in front of me was another moment of "what I am putting myself into". The watch was clocking 140kms for the day way past 6pm and I was about to start the first big climb of the ride. I managed to catch up with some other more experienced riders, and while I was still a bit tense, they were all so relaxed and chatty that I ended up feeling more comfortable and slowly rode and walked the bike up the hill. Made it to the saddle just after 9pm, took some photos and rode the very rocky and bumpy downhill, arriving at Top Hut. With temperatures dropping and very little daylight left, I had a call to make: stay at Top Hut and have an early-ish night with solid sleep, or push through the night and try to get to St Bathans - another 35 kms with 20 river crossings. I opted for the more conservative option and stayed at the hut. There was a bunk left but I offered it to a man who arrived a bit later, so I slept on the floor of the shelter next to the hut. Lots of people camping outside too.
Omarama Saddle at 9pm, looking back at Omarama/Linds
Day 2
Cold morning, had a quick breakfast and put extra layers on. The first 10 kms or so were slow going due to a few gates to be opened and 20 river crossings, some rideable, some not so much. It's here that I also started realising the other aspect of this race: while everyone is riding as fast as possible, most riders are also taking turns to open/close gates in a collaborative effort. It is indeed a group ride!
The many river crossings leaving Top Hut
It took me about 2 hours to get to St Bathans. The pub was especially open at 9am for the event which was a treat. Had a second breakfast and hot coffee, got some food for takeaway and headed off to St Bathans station, the first private land section of the ride. And what an amazing section! Surrounded by mountains, following Dunstan Creek, the 4wd road winds its way up the valley with St Bathans range on our right side. We crossed the river countless times, opened and closed many gates. It was here that a group of riders riding at the same pace started to form: Me, Paul, Allan, Ross and a few others. We took turns opening/closing gates and slowly got to know each other.
As the valley opened up, the views were spectacular. We took a left turn at Shilmar Track, rode up a steep 4wd road to a saddle just above 1000m and with a great downhill following, which took us back to Linds main highway. We rode fast up the highway until arriving at a left turn, the next private land section which would then take us to Grandview.
This section was also the first time to be ridden on the GSB and I was really excited and grateful to be able to get into it. We took some water from Lindis river (questionable quality) as we knew we would be going up ridges all the way to Hawea with no water. As soon as we entered the private land, the uphills started and it was a mix of riding and pushing the bike all the way up.
As we gained altitude, the clouds all around us were dark grey and I could see many places where rain was falling. While I was a bit worried, none of the riders showed any sign of concern. The St Bathans range where we rode from just a few hours ago had completely disappeared into a thick layer of clouds and rain. A few raindrops reached us, we put rain jackets on but didn't last long, the sun was back shining. As we were close to the top, on the Three Tree Spur, magic happened: a stunning double rainbow just behind us. Even the most keen riders that didn't seem to care much about the landscape stopped to take photos of it.
Looking down towards Lindis highway
Looking back from where we came from - St Bathans Range is behind the rain clouds
The rainbow just as we approached the top of Grandview.
With the rainbows and the impressive landscape we were on, this was the first time I really felt relaxed and settled into an environment I belong. With my bike, in nature. We were approaching the end of the second day, and I took a moment to sink in everything that's happening. It was only the second day and I had ridden almost 300 kilometres of amazing landscapes, met some great people. Despite all the challenges, it was indeed where I wanted to be.
Self-reflection moment done - we reached the highest point of the day on the Grandview Track just above 1400m and the spectacular views of Lake Hawea, Lake Wanaka in the distance with dramatic clouds and sun rays. It was around 8pm and I still had no idea where I was going to sleep and Paul approached me to ask where I was going to sleep. Such a simple question meant quite a lot for me: I had company and this could indicate we might be riding together for a few days. I said I didn't know, but a bed would be nice. We tried booking a cabin but no success.
We then rode the incredible Grandview track downhill and that's where I had my first fall of the trip - I must have hitted a rock or a bump, and flew off and over the bike to the right side, completely off the track. Luckily this wasn't one of the steep cliff sections the trees/vegetation prevented me from rolling further down. Paul saw the fly from below and said "it was pretty spectacular". I double checked body, bike and everything seems to be in place with not a single sore muscle. "Thankfully!".
We arrived in Hawea Pub/hotel just after the kitchen closed - only snacks menu. Chips for dinner for the second day in a row! Off to Hawea campground where I had a shower and off to sleep just before 11pm.
(next parts to come..)