Mauri ora,

Summited in horizontal rain and blustery winds twas Peak #25,

If it wasn’t for this peak of the week challenge I think I’d have opted to stay inside!

As I scanned my topo map for an appropriately short adventure- This 298m peak appealed to me,

‘Windsor Castle’…some of you are possibly wondering if I headed overseas!

This rocky peak is nestled in our local Port Hills,

Accessed from the (new to me) Frog Pond mountain bike track,

Which is sure to provide some future thrills.

Unfortunately Windsor Castle did not provide us with High Tea,

But an unsheltered outlook to the raging, wild sea.

Til next week,

Reta

Tena koutou,

Peak # 24,

Sunshine, beautiful views, new roads, fantabulous company,

One could not ask for more (though I may have been heard asking for ice-cream)

I bet them folks way down there on that giant cruise ship have ice-cream,

But hey, they sure haven’t seen the glorious peak vista I’ve seen.

The name of this Peak is a mystery, though it lies in the Mystery Peaks,

It was a jolly long, hot, MTB climb, short, vertical walk combo above 700m this week.

My flying fit Pioneer teammate and explorer Nina is known for singing on her bike,

However the gradient inhibited singing whilst climbing to this great height.

We looked down to Akaroa Harbour on one side,

And on the other Stony and Flee Bay,

The latter of which we had gleefully explored earlier on this 30 degree day.

You can spot the long winding road up in the photos- it provided a long lasting, rewarding downhill

Ending at the beach in Akaroa for a refreshing swim- nature is such a thrill!

Til next week,

Reta

Once upon a time there were two Tramps, tramp 1(Rachel) and tramp 2(Simon). They set off on a sunny Tuesday morning from the road end for an adventure in Tararua Ranges. They had two solid days planned, but the real test would to see if they could complete their goals of hut bagging Dorset Ridge Hut, Tarn Ridge Hut and Mid King Biv.

Their first stop was Mitre Flats Hut; they had a lovely walk along the track into the hut which took 2.5hrs (DOC estimate 4hrs); they were pleased with progress and prepared themselves for the hill ahead. The Tramps started on the big climb

Peggy’s peak, it was part of the climb up to Mitre

ahead of them, it just kept going up and up. Finally they made it out of the bush line. They looked up and saw all the hill they still had to go! They just kept plodding on. Tramp 2 did not like the look of the walk along Peggy’s peak with a step drop on the side of the track. He keeping going, not looking down. The Tramps were ecstatic when they reached the top of Mitre at 1571m (the highest peak in the Tararua’s). They enjoyed the panoramic views on this glorious Tararua day. They had a nice lunch break before checking the maps and seeing what there was to come as the day was not over yet. From the peak they could see the two huts they were aiming to bag in the distance.

On the top of Mitre

This is where we still had to go along the ridge

Off the Tramps set scrambling their way down the step side of Mitre. Tramp 2 was not enjoying the downward rock climbing. Across the ridge they continued and fear entered tramp 2 as he saw the skinny ridge ahead. It didn’t look that thin on the map! Tramp 2 slowly tramped on looking at his feet and not the drop below. Tramp 1 did what she could to help tramp 2. Progress was slow but they eventually made it to a junction on the ridge. The Tramps merrily headed down the ridge to Tarn Ridge Hut. They had made it! Hut number 47 in the Tararua’s for tramp 1. After signing the hut book and scanning it for interesting comments and friends, they set off on the final leg of the day. Back up the ridge they went to the junction; they turned off and headed on their way to Dorset Ridge Hut. After a bit more up and downs, the Tramps had finally made it to hut. Tired bodies lay in the sun outside the hut enjoying the best weather the Tararua’s could offer.

Tarn Ridge Hut

Dorset Ridge Hut

The next morning the Tramps got ready for another exciting day. They had enjoyed day one but they didn’t realise what day two was about to bring. They set off on an old track no longer maintained by Doc and had an interesting time following it down to Dorset Creek. It was steep and slippery, and tricky to follow at points. Once they had made to the creek they had to find a way up to the spur. With a bit of scrabbling and looking around they decided just to head straight up the step side of the spur. It didn’t take long to reach the top of the spur which the Tramps traveled up along to South King. On the ridge they were hit with typical strong Tararua wind which prevented them from being able to walk along the ridge. They sidled just below the ridge along to South King. From there the Tramps dropped down and had to navigate their way to Mid King Biv. This turned into a challenge with slippery snow grass, hidden Spaniard and unexpected holes. Worse was still to come. Tramp 1’s frustration started to increase, the Biv was so close yet so far when they hit the thick leatherwood which they had to bush bash through. Progress was slow and challenging, with the feeling that the leatherwood was winning. The Tramps finally made it out of the leatherwood and found their way to Mid King Biv! They were stoked to have made it out of the leatherwood and to have achieved their final goal.

Enjoying the Leatherwood

Finally made it to Mid King Biv

It was now mostly downhill from Mid King Biv back to Mitre Flats Hut. The Tramps where shocked to see their first orange track marker of the day which alas only lead them up out of the Biv and them disappeared again. They tried to follow the already formed tracks down the ridge and occasionally lost it. They made it to the river and then to Mitre Flats Hut. Now it was time for the home straight. The Tramps had a snack to keep their energy levels up for the final tramp out. The Tramps where very excited to finally be back on a marked track which they followed all the way out. The two tired Tramps had made it to the end of their exciting adventure. Tramp one was happy to have bagged three new Tararua huts which only left her with two remaining huts to bag. It was a good GodZone training mission with hopefully a few more exciting training missions to come before the race.

Mauri ora,

16 is the number of this Peak,

It was Mt Bradley on Banks Peninsula, of which the summit I did seek.

A MTB/walk combo for transportation,

Scott’s date loaf, homemade froozeballs and bananas for a snack,

A beautiful view and friendly Giles from Bath, England

I did meet at the hut of the Horse-pack (read Pack-horse).

I started out hanging on the wheel of some roadies with my fat tyres,

It was all very well until the bottom of Gebbies Pass where my ability to hold their wheel expired!

Mt Bradley was a long awaited exploration;

I’d been turned away last month by the lambing sheep,

A red-roofed, stone hut overlooking Lyttelton Harbour and Quail Island,

This hut was sure worth a peep!

My MTB rested, leaning on the gorgeous hut,

Whilst my new found friend Giles and I continued 400 more meters straight up.

Several bodies of water were outstanding from the summit,

Lyttelton harbour, Lake Ellesmere and the Pacific Ocean,

A swim would have been quite nice I must admit.

The challenge of the Peak of the week took me to another undiscovered, local gem

It encouraged me not just to ride but to move on my feet-

Peak of the week strikes again!

Til next week,

Reta

P.S. I momentarily forgot how truly awesome was the mountain bike back,

It had more ‘no pedaling time’ than expected

And farmland, forest and pine needles provided a varied, interesting and challenging     track!

Mauri ora,

Peak 17 was a local Mount,

The fun rides I have had up this one total too many to count.

Yet this peak of the week adventure had a different twist,

For it was the route up a gravel road on a road bike with which we did persist.

It wasn’t entirely pleasant as my tyres spun round-

But I did not seem to gain any ground!

Pleasant was my company (Scott) and of course the view,

And the sense of satisfaction of taking a route that was new.

The downhill on the gravel was where the pleasantries stopped,

And I was thankful neither of us had a tyre that popped!

It should also be mentioned that last weeks Mt Bradley made up a great deal of our view from Mt Pleasant, (as highlighted by Puke in the photo)

It was exciting to stand there and reflect on where many hours last Sunday were spent!

Til next week,

Reta

Mauri ora,

Peak #18 was the Cragieburn Range,

And what glorious weather Ranginui did arrange,

For after pedalling up the road to the ski field,

Not even a glimmer of a mountain outlook this effort did yield!

Alas, after climbing up to 1368 metres,

The thrill of a single track down hill could not be defeated.

Happy thrill morphed to nervous thrill during the Scree slope sidling,

But the roots and the rocks and the trees soon had me back smiling.

It was super to be in the company of Richard, Alistair and Jake,

Chat on the uphill and entertainment on the downhill (thanks Jake),

An interesting adventure this company did make.

A point of significance is the start time of this journey

4.40am (that is not a typo)…..never before have I risen to ride my bike this early!

Apparently this is the way of life once you have kids,

I packed extra fruit cake to uplift my eyelids!

My post peak sandwich is also worthy of a mention,

-so gloriously satisfying, not even the renowned Sheffield Pie shop could grab my attention.

Homemade Italian herb bread, lined with Scott’s homemade tomato relish,

Chamois salami (thanks to my brother) and home-grown lettuce,

The group concurred this Sammy was delish!

Til next week,

Reta

Mauri ora,

I will name Peak #19 Treasure Peak 360.

The road up Okuiti Valley from Little River isn’t actually on my topomap puzzle.

Yes, despite having 3 topo maps I decided to ride in the area of which I did not have a map for and thus I do not know what the peak is called.

It is definitely a real peak though- it had a trig AND a treasure box!

And I had to high jump over a barbed wire fence and navigate Gorse bushes to summit this one- it was tapping on the doors of extreme!

So extreme in fact that Puke decided to take a recovery day after his early morning peak last weekend and left it up to Hoiho the penguin to keep me company.

I loved the 360 views from this peak, so many green hills and bodies of water! I could see Port Levy saddle from yesterdays adventure, and Te Oka Bay and Magnet Bay of which I had just ridden alllllllllllll the way down to.

This part of the Banks peninsula has been largely unexplored by myself and now I am filled to the brim with excitement to venture to more of these apparently secret bays.

Since a rather tough 5hour ride at the Huka Challenge two weeks ago I haven’t exactly been fizzing on my bike but these liberating downhills, and the lure of the natural beauty around each corner had me making ‘yippeeeee’ ‘yahooooo’ sounds all the way down (I was a little quieter on the way up!).

This peak of the week adventure brought my fizz back- it was Treasure Peak indeed!

Til next week,

Reta

Mauri ora,

Located in Dunedin, Peak #20 was a ‘stiff little walk’,

But with the inspirer of the challenge himself (Joel Davies),

We managed to keep up the talk!

Given my days of living in Dunedin were largely spent riding a bike,

It was with great pleasure to be led up Mt Kettle on this unbeknown little hike.

This was a particularly special peak because it looked out to my favourite cycling routes,

The Otago Peninsula High Road and Karitane loop are two of the best places in the world to road bike-

Many locals would support this notion- I have no doubts!

I would like to thank the kind individual who it seemed marked out the route with the shirt off his back,

This kept our conversation filled climb to the summit on the right track.

Twas fine company with Kat and Joel and Ingrid, energetic pup Charlie and Scott,

It’s a shame we didn’t take up a cooker and our own kettle to enjoy a cuppa at the top.

Til next week,

Reta

Tena koutou,

Mt Montgomery -Peak #21

A Christmas Eve adventure- oh what spectacular fun!

For those that have not heard the three words; Old Ghost Road

This is a magical trail through Aotearoa’s West Coast bush- access to this area is a true gift we have been bestowed.

Mountain biking 18km up the encouraging gradient to the Saddle of Lyell,

Enshrouded by gorgeous green bush- one could not help but smile.

And then came the lookout from the magnificently situated Lyell Hut,

And then the wee surprise of a less gentle climb up!

As we climbed out of the bush and begun the traverse

“We are so lucky to be born in NZ”, “holy moly”, “WOW” were the words we did converse.

The outlook was so stunning it made us stop and stare,

We felt so very grateful to be fit and healthy enough to spend Christmas here.

Mt Montgomery was a slight hike detour off the MTB track,

To add to the enjoyment of the view we enjoyed a Marshmallow Santa snack.

Looking out along a narrow ridge to the next part of the track,

We deeply inhaled in amazement- how did people build that!?

We waved goodbye to our outlook; 1332m above the sea,

Skipped back down to our MTBs,

Then tackled that grand trail we did see….YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Til later this week when I get up to date with my peaks,

Reta

Tena koutou,

Peak #22 – the last one of the year,

Located in Devonport- North Head boasts both a natural and man made vista

Rangitoto Island and Auckland city- can both be seen here.

The outlook up north is so different to the peaks in the south,

Pōhutakawa trees abundant around the Hauraki Harbour mouth.

Twas a leisurely stroll with the Thomas family out in the late, afternoon sun,

After we descended from the great heights of North Head, at Narrowneck Beach we swum.

Amazingly this peak/beach combo is just five minutes walk from their front door,

A view to a volcanic island on one side- and on the other skyscrapers galore.

Til later this week,

Reta