Adventure Magazine

Everything changed dramatically at around 1300 metres
elevation, as the path emerged out of the bush line and
onto Lyell saddle. Suddenly there were views to the
horizons. West to the scarred bush-clad valleys of the
Glasgow range. East past the tiny lines and boxes of
Murchison and the ridges of Nelson Lakes National Park,
to the jagged Kaikoura peaks outlined against the distant
skyline.
Gone was the lush flora of the forest - the ground now
covered in the browns and reds of wind battered alpine
shrubs and tussock grasses. A strong wind raced up from
the valleys and over the ridge where I stood gazing out
at the breath-taking views. Within a couple of minutes I
was uncomfortably cold, so I sought the sanctuary of Top
Camp Shelter, a few hundred metres away.
The next few hours were a mix of exhilarating and
exhausting riding, which also left me in awe of the
exceptional engineering and the effort taken to make this
track possible. Large sections of the track have been
carved into the cliff faces with several bridges clinging to
the rock, making it a spine-tingling traverse.
To say the next section below Ghost Lake hut is
challenging is like saying New Zealand has a few lakes
and trees. The steep descent below Ghost Lake on a fully
laden bike confirmed I am a bit of a wuss but the route
itself is truly impressive.
Thankfully, once below Skyline steps and into the bush
again, the pathway levels out and the last 8km along the
Stern Valley is an epic finish to an incomparable day’s
riding. There would likely be a bit of a sting in the legs
tomorrow, but this day had exceeded all my expectations.
The good news is that this wasn’t the only section of
the trail that would get the heart racing. A day later at
Specimen hut, I had gazed from the window down to
the narrow and steep-sided Mokihinui river gorge and
contemplated how the track could possibly get us any
further. Once again, all credit to the people who invested
thousands of hours blasting, digging, and smashing their
way to create the slender path that clings to the edge
of the cliffs, offering nerve-wracking views of the swift
moving waters of the Mokihinui many metres below.
Some choose to ride all 85km in a day, such as Lynn,
Mira, Charlotte and Duncan, residents from nearby
Westport. I am not a local and deciding to take 4 days
to make this amazing journey was the right choice for
me. Not least because I lack the technical skill and
fitness for such a gruelling adventure, but also because
this unique wilderness area demands savouring. In the
words of Marion Boatwright, the American immigrant,
explaining his motivation for dedicating over a decade of
his life to making the OGR a reality - “……this is world
class country…….. it’s like your seriously hot sister, but
because she is your sister you can’t see how gorgeous
she really is.”
Lynn, Mira, Charlotte and Duncan chose
to ride all 85km in one day
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