Our Great Adventure: Ohakune Old Coach Road Day 151 16/02/2015

We had pondered walking up to Crater Lake on Mt Ruapehu today but were both a bit jaded after yesterday's adventure and the mountain was shrouded in cloud so we opted for what we thought was going to be an easier option of cycling the Old Coach Road near Ohakune. Images of the flat cycle ways in the Peak District came to mind certainly for Diane. After a leisurely breakfast we packed up and drove the short distance south to Ohakune. The bike hire company recommended in Lonely Planet (Mountain Bike Station) took a bit of finding but it was run by a very friendly couple, so it was worth the effort. We were given a lift to the start point at Horopito, in order to ride back along the Old Coach Road, which was described as a mainly down hill journey of 14km, with lots of stop off points for viewing sites and learning its history. The Old Coach Road was recently restored for hikers and cyclists and meanders through rich forests, gullies and finally onto open countryside. It was built in 1886 as the short cut of 3 days (!) for coaches with passengers and wagons to cross the high pass from one end of the railway line to the next (at that time it took two weeks from Auckland to Wellington which is now an 8 hour drive or 90 minute flight!). It was used until 1909 when the railway was built to join the two ends. The route had many historical points of interest including old collapsed viaducts, a very impressive restored one that you can cycle over, sites that once were bush villages and insights into what life was like living and travelling along the trail in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also had a few uphill sections and Diane's thighs were burning with the effort needed to get up them (good job we went for the easy option). We learnt from the bike owner that it's actually a grade 2 mountain bike trail and it certainly had it's fair share of twists and turns along narrow pathways (we both failed to steer around two sharp corners!). Luckily it also had a few downhill sections. It was great fun and hopefully less tiring than walking up to Crater Lake although it was certainly more painful on the butt. We treated ourselves to tea and date scones before heading south to the coast and then north west to New Plymouth where we were planning to stay for the next few days. There's no direct route and this seemed the easier of the two options. The journey south along the Whanganui River Road was lovely although very slow as you follow the course of the river around numerous bends and up and over hill tops. It's apparently a great place for canoeing and kayaking but we had other things in mind for when we reach New Plymouth - another huge volcano to climb! After stopping for provisions we finally arrived at the campsite, ate and headed off to bed in anticipation of a big day tomorrow.