You had to ride quite a bit differently than usual. The rack and your 8–12kg back pack (depending on how feral your were) meant the back end rode a lot heavier, this meant you really had to weight the front to maintain cornering traction. It was awesome, making you feel like you were racing and railing a slack DH bike committing aggressively to the front end in corners and leaning hard swapping back and forth in the turns. There was a delayed response as the weight would swap over in tight ‘S’ turns, and every now and then you would fly off a drop forgetful of your load, and your ass and backpack would hit your sleeping bag as you were trying to get all the way back and you would be punted forward again landing sketchy with your helmet covering your eyes when your tall pack responded by knocking your helmet forward, but with some modifications and adjustments to fit and positioning you would get the hang of it and it was damn fun and pretty fast with all the extra weight behind you. Again the scenery was stunning, especially riding through the Mackay Downs where you ride past boulder fields that resembled jumbles of giant Moa eggs.

We pulled into the Heaphy Hut late that afternoon, welcomed with a pink full ‘Super–Moon’ hanging over the ocean, framed by Nikau palms. We were on the wild west coast and the weather was perfect. Not a breath of wind or a drop of rain. This is unheard of on the west coast, where the trees are permanently bent out of shape due to the wind. The hut was packed; we shared it with 22 other overly excited mountain bikers and a few outnumbered trampers, so it had a completely different feel to the previous night where we had the hut to ourselves. Another amazing evening was had, accompanied by lots of loud mountain bike chatter, exchanges of alcohol that had to be savoured due to the lack thereof, and of course packets and packets of delicious calorie and sodium laden dehydrated food.

Over the course of the past two days, the scenery was so varied. We passed through dense jungles and ferns, onto open tussock grass plains and then back into crazy Nikau palm jungles with massive Rata trees and vines as big and tall as skyscraper buildings. You cannot describe the scenery to anyone. It is so dramatic and vast and it feels like it should still be connected to Gondwanaland and that you could bump into giant Moa bird around every corner. The riding surface is just as varied and amazing if you are a connoisseur of dirt like I am.

On the final morning we had 24km to cycle along the coast to the end of the trail and to where we would get picked up in Kohaihai, we all assumed that it would just be a flat pedal back to the car. We had no idea of just how beautiful, scenic and technically fun the next 24km would be. We followed a flowy singletrack that snaked right next to the ocean and through the thickest palm forests for miles on end. Bliss. I have never ridden on such a spectacular singletrack. Singletrack that would be a sin to miss if you weren’t open minded enough to earn your descents on rack and backpack laden bikes. If you were just visiting NZ for its gondola and shuttle fed bike parks and trail centres you would be sorely missing out. There are many more backcountry routes like this one to overnight–in, and endless trails to take you to these huts. I have a feeling that my bike rack is going to get plenty of use out here where wilderness is still wilderness. I felt like those bike tourers that I would see on the roads, I felt that sense of freedom that comes with being self sufficient, that feeling of accomplishment, a content feeling of not really needing anything else in life but what you have with you on your bike. I liked it and I want more. Open your eyes, maps and minds and get out there with your mates. Adventure may very well exist on your own doorstep and not just on the other side of the world. Kia–Ora.