Te Anau to Manapouri.

February 27, 2025

Rest, bike maintenance and the Lake2Lake Trail.

I went to sleep with no plan for today. All that was certain was that I had a half of a bag of honey roasted peanuts which by the way are excellent. New Zealand has a price brand called Pam’s and their stuff is tasty. I digress.

On my mind when I woke up was having a shower, admiring all the nicks on my scalp from shaving a few days back, and finding breakfast. A quick search found a restaurant about a kilometre away so I left my bike and tent and walked. I get there and I can see that it’s busy with activity and quickly learn that they only have the buffet as an option. I’m usually not big on buffets because the quality slides and I overeat. But, knowing it was the only thing open I saddled up to the trough.

Sometimes it’s fun to just observe the world. In this case a bus tour of maybe 80-100 people. I felt so out of place. Grubby biker rolls in with a dirty shirt. They are all clean, manicured, and carrying 2-3 suitcases. I feel a million miles away from that type of tour but ask me again in 20 years.

Changing the front brake pads. A necessary skill for bike packers.

Breakfast was good if you were selective and I lingered over 3 cups of coffee. Back at the camp I decided it was time to check the front brake pads. And, just like the rear ones, they were end of life. I have to insert here that whenever you go on an extended bike trip you should carry 2 sets; I’ve been to 3 bike shops so far and no one has what I need. So, got those changed and kept the old ones for emergency.

Air in air out. I’ve been struggling with the rear tire. Leaking in more than 5 spots and one quite bad.

Then I set about the rear tire that just won’t hold air pressure. I rolled into town and found they have an outdoor store and bike shop. At the bike shop I tried again with sealant but it’s visibly leaking in 5 locations and despite spinning and rolling it with new sealant I could not get it to seal the leaks. The shop didn’t have an appropriate tire so I went to the outdoors store. They literally had 5 tires and miraculously they had a Maxis Ikon 29x2.2 and cheap. So I bought it and now I’m waiting for the other shop to install it. I’m feeling good about putting that problem behind me as I still have 1000 + kilometres of riding I plan to do.

I jumped on my bike when the tire was on. They were great at the shop. The mechanic was working on another bike but he pushed mine close to the front. I rode from Te Anau to Manapouri in the Lake2Lake trail. Parts of the trail I’d done already coming in but maybe 50% was new. It’s mostly double wide gravel and not technically challenging with a few narrow spots where you just need to pay attention.

Manapouri is a very small place with a couple cafes and a couple campsites. It’s very scenic with the beautiful lake and surrounding mountains.

New tire is noticeably slower but holds air.

Tomorrow I’m going to check out the option of taking a boat, then riding to Doubtful Sounds. If that doesn’t work out I’ll just head back to Mossburn and possibly on to Queenstown and back on the Tour Aotearoa but in reverse riding North back up the Island.

Highlights:

-great service at the bike shop

-friendly service for breakfast

-Lake2Lake trail was nice

Distance: 37 km and 406 m elevation

Today's ride: 37 km (23 miles)
Total: 3,055 km (1,897 miles)

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