26 February to 1 March 2026

Leader: Paula Richardson

We left Kapiti Thursday morning and headed to Ohakune aiming for a warm-up ride up Ohakune Mountain Rd to the Turoa Ski Field. Thank goodness for e-bikes. Even with e-power assistance it was a long, steep, long climb. We took photos at the top for the Parawai 30 Peaks and 30 Rivers Challenge and, as the clouds were rolling in, we took off back down the mountain. Yahoo, such fun! It was cold and wet as we rode down a beautiful bushy side track bush to the cars.

We headed to the Raetihi Holiday Park (who had organised the shuttle and jet boat for this adventure) and got ready for our big challenge on Friday riding the Mangapurua Track section of the Mountains to Sea Trail). We had an early start to get our bikes and gear ready for our overnight at the Bridge to Nowhere before the 7am shuttle departure. We were glad we took the shuttle which took an hour to travel only 40 km down a long rough road.

Finally, we started riding the infamous Mangapurua Track! What a fantastic day’s ride we had! The scenery was beautiful and the track had signs along the way detailing this beautiful historical place The track lived up to its muddy reputation, to which Bryan had alluded at a recent slide show presentation. The ‘horrific’ muddy sections jammed our bikes and slowed our journey as we stopped to clear the mud away. We were concerned as we needed to be at the Mangapurua Landing by 4pm for the jet boat. However, the track improved and the ride thereafter was great. We got to the Bridge to Nowhere with plenty of time to spare and reached the landing at 3:30pm. Perfect timing!

The jet boat arrived and took us to the Bridge to Nowhere Lodge where we had our cabin booked. Such a beautiful spot on the Whanganui River. We shared the lodge with a big group of canoeists. Even though we were staying in separate cabins, everyone was welcome at the Lodge for a drink, so we walked up and had a well-deserved beer! We had a very pleasant night.

The next day we were picked up by the jet boat for our trip to Pipiriki. Our driver was in no hurry and stopped frequently to fill us in on historical facts. It was great! From Pipiriki we caught a shuttle van back to Raetihi. After lunch at Raetihi we decided to go back to Ohakune to explore some more of the trails being developed as part of the Mountains to Sea Trail. We had a great couple of hours riding these new trails. Our dinner at the Raetihi Cosmopolitan Club finished the day nicely.

It rained all night, so we canned our planned ride on Sunday and decided to head home. The road was closed at Taihape due to a car crash, so we decided to return via the Parapara Highway to Whanganui. By the time we got to Whanganui the sun was shining so we unloaded our bikes and rode the final stage of the Mountain to Sea Trail, Whanganui to Castlecliff; there and back. A lovely way to end a great weekend! We all decided that now we have done both ends and the middle of the trail we need to do the rest of it sometime.

Those on the trip were:

Julie James, Paula Richardson, Sue Sparkes, Wayne James

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.