“The number one multi day adventure ride in New Zealand, this 85km ride traverses some of New Zealand’s most diverse and fascinating environments.” So reads the tagline of the Timber Trail website (link here), but does it live up to the hype? Yes it does. Even though the trail is not technically demanding, it is never boring with a combination of forest single-track, old ‘tramlines’ (narrow gauge railways that were used to extract logs) and small amount of gravel road. There is a lot to see, with virgin podocarp forest at the start of the Trail and a path meadering alongside the “typical” NZ scene of sheep grazing in a grassy field at the very end. Throughout there are spectacular suspension and other bridges to ride across.
A pdf of the map is here
The Trail is usually ridden from Pureora to Ongarue meaning that you typically leave your car at the finish point and book a shuttle transfer to the start point… although it would be possible to ride an additional 53km on the road from Ongarue to Pureora to make it an epic loop. However that was not in the plan for this year so 8am saw us arrive at the Bennett Road Carpark, near Ongarue at the end of the Timber Trail, on a wet and windy summer Wednesday in mid-December, for a shuttle to Pureora arranged by Epic Cycle Adventures.
It had rained very heavily on the previous day so we were hoping for some better luck with the weather
At the start of the Trail in Pureroa, with Lillian showing off her borrowed Giant Trance
The first 5 or so kilometres of the trail wound through native forest which has never been logged. In spite of the recent heavy rain it was not too muddy, and as we started the long but gradual ascent to the high point of the trail the sun came out, rain jackets were unzipped and we hoped that the weather was improving as had been forecast.
The first section of the trail through the podocarp forest
There was however a cold wind and at the point where we reached the turn-off where one could have walked up to the summit of Mount Pureora it did not seem an appealing prospect and we rode on.
In more benign conditions Lillian would have had to work hard to talk me out of diverting to the summit of Mt Pureora
Phone reception on the trail is so patchy that it’s marked with signs
About 400m higher than the start of the trail
The next section of the trail was flowing downhill single-track twisting through the forest. It was fun but not difficult to ride; Lillian, who claims to have no mountain-biking skills, only had to get off and walk one very short section so a technical rating of 2/3 seems fair.
It had started to rain again and that, coupled with the wind and unseasonably cold temperatures – it was 9 degrees for most of the day – meant that we got very cold on this descent. We had underestimated the conditions and our regular NZ Summer road riding kit of base layer, cycling jersey, arm-warmers and rain-jacket was only just adequate. The rain would occasionally stop, giving us false hope that the weather was about to change, but a minute of so later the wind and drizzle would pick up again.
For most of the ride we only stopped for a couple of minutes at most; just enough time to stuff a couple of Mallow-puffs or some Haribos into our mouths. As we became progressively colder, uphills were something that we looked forward as they offered a chance to generate some body heat, although after the initial climb these were not long enough to fully warm-up.
At the Harrison Creek Shelter (at around kilometre 27) we managed to warm-up our hands enough to eat some food
During the final 10 or so kilometres of the ride the rain eased, meaning that when we were almost warm when we arrived at our accommodation for the night – Camp Epic – located in Piropiro just after kilometre 40. Built by Epic Cycle Adventures, the camp had only just opened in early November and contained around 10 fixed two-person tents (complete with two proper beds and clean sheets) as well as a communal area where one could hang out and cook. We were very grateful for the hot shower that awaited us. It set us up nicely for an afternoon of eating, relaxing and chatting with Julian, one of the family that runs the business.
Later that afternoon it rained really heavily (see video here) and soon after that the first hiker arrived. There is a walking trail that runs the length of New Zealand called Te Araroa (link here) which follows the Timber Trail for 82 of its c.3000km. Apparently the news that you could get a hot shower and rent a bike had been spreading through the walkers’ chosen app, Guthook; by the following morning there were five hikers ready to ride rather than walk the last 42km of the Timber Trail. It was interesting to listen in on the chat about the Te Araroa Trail and in particularly how to travel light; two of the hikers were not carrying a stove, which resulted in lighter packs but also meant they missed out on what I think of as one of the pleasures of camping, hot cups of tea and coffee.
About to start whiling away the afternoon
The weather cleared up in the evening
This was the first time that I have been glamping and I have to admit it has lots of advantages over regular camping
The restroom was a cut above a regular campsite too
Julian getting the fire going
Chatting around the fire was a pleasant way to spend the evening
The rain did not return and the next day dawned dry. It was still quite cold; however, after the previous day’s rain it was a pleasure to be able to stop and take photos.
8.30am and ready to ride
The section before the Maramataha Bridge was flowing single-track through the forest
The Maramataha Bridge, at 141m the longest bridge of the Trail, and the third longest in New Zealand
The Maramataha River, a long way below
At around kilometre 47 we joined the end of one of the old logging tramways
Most of the rest of the trail followed the old tramline, built by the Ellis and Burnand company. Although that may sound a bit boring it was not as flat as one may imagine – obviously the little logging trains could go up and down some reasonably steep inclines – and passed under cliffs, over more impressive suspension bridges and down the intriguingly named Ongarue Spiral. We also passed some old logging camps and towns where nothing now remained apart from some stone foundations. A reminder of how quickly human habitation can fade into to the past.
Steaming along the tramline
A trail blockage caused by a tree that must have come down in the previous day’s rain
The remains of a turntable for jiggers
In case you were wondering what a jigger is…
Approaching the Spiral…
The tunnel in the Spiral is under the bridge that is crossing behind Lillian
More info on the Spiral
After leaving the forest, the final section of the trail was between the river and sheep filled meadows; an enjoyable section of single-track on which to finish.
By now, I was feeling a little sad that the Trail was nearly over
A bike cleaning stand behind the Epic Cycle Adventures hut in the Bennett Road Carpark
We both really enjoyed the Trail. It was a great combination of relatively easy riding with an interesting route that always had something new to offer. We could have ridden it in a day – our riding time was three and a half hours on the first day and three on the second – but we are really glad that we didn’t, as the overnight stay was very enjoyable and part of the experience.
Epic Cycle Adventures did a great job of arranging the logistics for us and putting us up in Camp Epic. I’d highly recommend them.
The guys in the Epic team are from Cape Town originally… I particularly liked their Cape Epic inspired name and logo!
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