March 2, 2024
Quinneys Bush to Nelson
Long climb on a long final day.
Because Spooner’s Tunnel is closed due to fire risk, we’re going over the top- up the Reay Saddle. This seems a less nerve wracking alternative to the suggested State Highway. Spooner’s would have been a great experience- 1.4km long, the tunnel is the longest decommissioned rail tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere. It was built manually in 1891. This is the second tunnel that’s been closed on us in recent times- we missed out on one near Maçon that had bats!
We breakfast and depart Quinneys, returning to the Kohatu Cafe where we pick up the trail as far as the golf club and there, make our turn off. From here, we’re on a long, virtually traffic free, valley road.
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Eventually this long road brings us to the start of the climb. This is a busier road but it has a good sized shoulder. Most traffic seems headed to St Arnaud and Nelson Lakes, from the kayaks they’re carrying and boats they’re towing.
Once we’ve all reached the top and caught our breath we begin the downhill race. And when you reach speeds of 50 Kph, it’s pretty quick. Before long we’ve reached the Wakefield cafe and bakery where we lunch on pies and other equally unhealthy fillers.
The trail from Wakefield takes us past the old church and down onto the plain where straight roads deliver us firstly to Brightwater and then on to Richmond, our starting point.
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After Richmond we cycle to pick up our car, left at a friends place. It’s been a great five days and we’ve enjoyed the taste of Tasman very much. We listed the different tastes as we completed the final kilometres- fruit, grapes, hops, fish, pies, real berryfruit ice creams, local wine, bread, pastries…. Some of us believe we worked that off, but we all appreciated it. If you can arrange for weather such as we experienced, take to the trail. You won’t regret it.
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Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 623 km (387 miles)
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