After completing the Kahurangi 500, CyclingGravel’s plan was to head towards Alps to Ocean. After some research, it seemed that the Molesworth Muster Trail was a ‘must do’. I can confirm that it is a pretty epic ride through some amazing scenery, quite the contrast to the west coast!
Starting off: Whale Trail
When setting off from Blenheim it was not possible to head over Taylor Pass. The official Muster Trail website now flags this, but it was a surprise to me at the time. Taking the Whale Trail adds some distance to the ride, but it is definitely not a downer and is pretty straight-forward to pick up when leaving Blenheim. The trail combines gravel with sealed tarmac, and although the recently re-laid gravel was a bit loose the traverse over Redwood Pass offered some great views.
In fact, I had already ridden part of the Trail between Picton and Blenheim, specifically the section that was open from the top of Picton elevation to the airport. It will be pretty cool when it will be possible to cycle the full Whale Trail – from Picton to Kaikōura.
SH1 to Middlehurst
The Whale Trail eventually meets up with SH1, at which point it is time to cross and head towards Molesworth Station on Awatere Valley Road. For quite some time this road remains sealed – pretty much as long as the route is passing vineyard after vineyard. Lots and lots of wine produced here.
Eventually the route unfolds into an undulating trail that follows the Awatere River. This is not a straight-forward ride – you regularly head up a hill and down a hill as the road follows the river but needs to take cliff-side and hill-top routes to follow the river’s route.
Thankfully the gravel is pretty nice, and the views are often pretty epic. There are regularly times when you are passing amongst and between livestock (cattle and sheep) – this is working farm territory. But up until Middlehurst Station there are no fences you need to navigate – solely livestock grids.
Middlehurst to Hanmer Springs
After Middlehurst the scenery changes. Initially this aligns with entry to Muller Station, shortly after which is the Molesworth Cob Cottage camping ground. However from here things really change a lot. First there is the climb up and over Wards Pass, the views from which towards the south are pretty epic (unfortunately punctuated by the powerlines which follow the trail most of the rest of the trip). The floodplains of the Acheron River, and the broad Isolated Flat are stunning – photos don’t do it justice. Not a major issue, but it is worth noting that the route is regularly punctuated with farm gates.
Finally, after passing the camp ground at Acheron House, the road follows the Clarence River. Starting as a pretty barren landscape, the valley starts to have more shrubs and trees – at this time (December) yellow flowers made the scenes quite pretty. The final descent into Hanmer Springs is quite steep and unfortunately cannot be taken at high pace as it is gravel and not super smooth.
Tips, recommendations and things I’d change
Having completed the Kahurangi 500 I cycled to Blenheim via Havelock (and the extreme hike-a-bike of Maungatapu Track) and Picton. It was time for a bit of a break in Blenheim – which I can recommend. It’s All Good Brew offered great coffee, and a lovely cycle out to the fantastic Roots Gin Shack provided an excellent afternoon out.
For the ride via Molesworth there are limited accommodation options. Given my month-long trip involved no camping (other than DOC huts), I was not keen to carry the additional tent kit just for this part of the trip. Having said that, the camping areas looked really nice. Instead I saved pennies elsewhere and splurged on a stay and Middlehurst Station. It was definitely not cheap (especially when combined with meal package) but it was very nice. Absolutely outstanding was the packed lunch option – the food had me going all day no problem.
A final note: this route is not open all year round (it is open October – early April, broadly in-line with daylight savings). I’m not sure it would be nice to cycle in colder months – it is pretty exposed and I imagine it gets quite a bit of snow.
CyclingGravel 