Day 11 - Through the mountains

Day 11 - Haast to Makarora

I finished yesterday's blog declaring I was in for a good night's sleep. Turns our riding 120km is a fantastic way to sleep through the night. Our plan for the day was to make it to Makarora on the other side of the Haast pass. Not a long ride but we knew we had the elevation to make the day interesting.

The backpackers had a bit of a "shed" vibe. But it was nice.


Start your engines

I awoke bright and early at 530am and started packing up the tent and getting the bike loaded up for the day. Since we camped overnight we had a slower start as the tent and other gear takes a bit longer to get back into the panniers. The other issue is the condensation on the tents. Yes, it will dry quickly once we put it up again, but if we have the time we try and get it dried out. 

Haast is right on the Haast River which is a popular spot with jet-boaters. A crew of guys were milling around the kitchen and it turns out they were on the tail end of a lads trip to hunt, fish and jet boat. The latter experience involves exploring the waterways up into the mountains and apparently you can get quite far. Not an activity I’ve really considered before and it bring to mind how much our environment shapes our recreation. I’ve met plenty of Canadians who have never been on a jet ski, and a plenty of Australians who have never been on a ski-doo. Same kinda thing.

Wind just doesn't show up in a photo


It’s not always what you think it will be

By 830am we were on our way - quite a bit later than our usual 7am start but we knew we had the time on our side. All our focus was on the Haast Pass and making it through the tough climb. The first thing we encountered though was a brutal head wind, something that neither of us had mentally prepared for. Fortunately by about the 10km mark the highway entered a more forested patch and the wind was no longer a problem. The day was proving to be sunny and bright, with blue skies and high cloud. 

Looking back the way we have travelled


A lesson in positivity

At about kilometer 45 We stopped at the Pleasant Flats Recreation Area to take a breather and fuel up before the real ascent began. It was also a Must See destination for the myriad of tour buses going through the pass but probably only because it had washrooms. The steady stream of tourists coming and going paid tribute to the remoteness of the area and the lack of washrooms for traveller with a sensitive bladder. I’m learning that a fully loaded bike is about as perfect a conversation starter as you can get and lots of interest from folks stretching their legs or waiting in line for the loo. One old codger took great pains to rip us a new one due to the poor decision making we displayed in our choice of bike gear. He kept going on and on and both Tony and I were starting to get a bit sick of this and finally it took a “you’re a real ray of sunshine aren’t you?” to get him to change topic. At 85 years of age he definitely had some life experience to share. I suspect he would still be sharing it with us if the bus didn’t summon him back to his air conditioned comfort. Takes all types.

The view when we listened to grumpy old man


I hope you like riding up hill

Shaking off the negative vibes we began our ascent. The road followed closely with the Haast River passing by Haast Gates with turquoise water churning over the rocks as the river tumbled it’s way down the valley. The climb was indeed steep and the elevation gain steep in a short period of time. We took lots of stops, lots of magic chocolate bars (they keep on giving me that boost) and lots of photos of the majestic views all around us. The Pass is truly spectacular and worthy of a drive. If you really want to bike it, be my guest. 

Haast Gate


A Near Miss!

As we were getting close to the top of the pass we came across some roadwork and a row of orange traffic cones were placed on the road to keep the two lanes of traffic separated. The obligatory 30km/hr signs were also there to encourage drivers to slow it down. As we approached I could hear some pretty loud vehicles behind me - not uncommon but given the road work I made a point to really pull over to give space. All of a sudden two bikes scream by me (my guess is faster than 30km/hr) and a third bike looked like it was in the second lane. Before I knew it a traffic cone flew across the road and into my path. I didn’t have time to do anything but ride over it and fortunately the cone was soft enough to ride over with out causing me to crash. Tony was behind me and was certain I would go down. Everything just happened so fast. The construction crew came and checked on us as well as reset the traffic cones and just generally validate that “there are some @#$^ing crazy drivers out there”. Once the adrenaline abated we got back on our merry way to the summit

Not exactly the scene of the crime. But close.


You Shall Not Pass

At the 60 km mark we crested the Haast Pass. A big milestone in the books and a sign that we are leaving the west coast and heading into the Alps and south. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful and the legs held it together to get us to our campsite in Makarora. A quick setup of the tent, a shower, a load of laundry and the next step after finishing the blog will be a cold beer and bite to eat. Feels well-earned. You can be the judge of that.

We made it

Coda

A final coda on our run in with the motorcyclists. Just before we reached the summit they were pulled over on the side of the road, wrenching on one of the bikes. Turns out that hitting a traffic cone at speed will damage your radiator, drain all your coolant and require your friends to ride on ahead to get help. I don’t think they quite realised what they did and how dangerous it was. There was an apology and no hard feelings; I just hope the next time they will roll back on the throttle a touch when entering a construction zone.

A nice spot to camp for the night



Final tally for the day:

Distance: 79.74 km

Elevation: 1,018m


And the tally for the Tour so far:

Distance: 883.99 km

Elevation: 8,981m


Comments

Leon said…
Whoa, that was stressful reading that! Glad you are ok! Keep going Rob!
8:37 AM
Scott Watts said…
All right! They got what they deserved. So glad you're all right there buddy. Geesh, not nice manners.
8:44 PM

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