As this post has become quite long, I’ve added a quick navigation to jump to the various parts of the post

On Good Friday 2024 I fell off my eMTB and the results were not pretty: a ruptured left quadriceps tendon, two significant surgeries and nearly a year off from doing any meaningful bike riding. If you’re interested in that story, and some of the pics of my knee post-surgery, check out this blog post.

Whilst I had managed a couple of short overnighters in mid/late 2025 I was really hungry for a proper multi-day bikepacking adventure to ‘get back on the horse’ as the expression says and I happened to read in a magazine about a route called “Ride 35” around the East Cape of New Zealand – you can see a digital version of that article here: Ride 35 Tairāwhiti | 6-Day Bikepacking Adventure Gisborne.

I subsequently found the YouTube summary of the trip here:

With a summer of weddings culminating with a nephew’s wedding in Levin, I proposed we head over to Gisbourne afterwards (a place extended family had long encouraged us to go visit with them) and whilst my wife and kids could enjoy some time at the beach, I’d Ride the 35! Sounded like a perfect plan.

Foreshadowing: Storm Clouds On The Horizon

The Saturday before we left we attended a wedding on a scorching hot 35 degree day – it was a morning wedding with a lunch for the reception and, with the heat still heavy in the late afternoon, I thought I’d go for a final hill ride in preparation of Ride35 which I’d be starting in just over a week. It was a delightful ride around the scenic Port Hills of and Lyttleton Harbour of Christchurch:

I was focused on a steady heart rate in the heat and not pace, as the long evening drew to a close it was quite dark before I bombed it down the steep Evans Pass into the back of Sumner. Descending at 50-60kph, I hit a pothole right near the bottom and immediately felt my rear tire start to lose pressure. Running a tubleless setup, I jumped off, ready to plug the hole if the sealant didn’t do it’s job. In the dark, I spotted sealant bubbling out of a hole and stabbed a plug into it, sealing it up but the tire continued to lose pressure. I pumped it up, hoping to spot any other holes but none were visible, however sealant was bubbling out of the rim which sometimes happens when there is not enough pressure. At this point I had two options:

  1. Take the tire off and throw an inner tube in: usually a last resort as it’s messy with sealant going everywhere
  2. Call it a night and either ring my wife for a pick up (30mins from home at 9:30pm she was likely less than thrilled), or…. take the bus that was idling nearby about to head away.

I opted for the bus, and with my bike on the front it dropped me about 2kms from home and a walk in a hot, still, muggy night. I was a bit disappointed: I’d already climbed over 1500m on the ride before the puncture and I was really looking forward to the flat ride through the dark city on a warm evening, which is always a fun experience.

The Wolverine Captured: riding on the front of the bus like a trophy

The next morning I set about investigating why the tire had not sealed properly and at that point I identified a ding in the rim that was sufficient to stop the seal from working:

With two working days before we departed, I decided I’d have to live with running a tube in the rear tire for the Ride35, so I bought a new tire and innertube and installed them on the bike.

With the beauty of hindsight, this incident was the first of just many things that would go wrong on this adventure!

Day 1 – Gisbourne to Motu

  • Moving Time: 7hr 58min
  • Distance: 127km
  • Elevation: 1,493m

After a fun few days in Levin and the family wedding, we headed off in convoy to Gisbourne, via Napier. The drive was uneventful, around 6hrs in length but with a few stops along the way it was easy enough. The house we were staying in at Wainui Beach was amazing, right on the beachfront and we arrived to a windy but pleasant late afternoon:

My sister-in-law had bought me a souvenir tea towel showing the East Cape that included the Ride35 route on it as well, a fun momento for the trip ahead:

My planned route was going to be:

  • Day 1: Gisbourne to Motu
  • Day 2: Motu to Te Kaha
  • Day 3: Te Kaha to Te Araroa
  • Day 4: Te Ararora to Tokomaru Bay
  • Day 5: Tokomaru Bay to Gisbourne

The following morning I pedalled off for the start of Ride35, heading into Gisbourne from Wainui Beach with a reasonable tailwind to see me off on my way which was an encouraging start. Grey, overcast skies and fast flying clouds were scudding overhead. The forecast didn’t look amazing, but I put that to one side and was excited to be underway. In Gisbourne I paused for a photo:

After a quick skirt through the city I was down to Middle Beach and then riding along a well formed rail trail atop a flood bank alongside a river starting to head inland. Temperatures were pleasant and with some rain clouds in the distance, it seemed certain the rain jacket would get a good workout sooner or later in the day.

One of the planned highlights of Day 1 was going to be checking out Eastwoodhill Arboretum – The National Arboretum of New Zealand, the largest collection of Northern Hemisphere trees in the Southern Hemisphere, but about an hour before getting there the rain had set in and whilst I stopped for a cold drink and to say I’d visited, I was not going to spend any time walking around in the rain which was getting heavier.

The next stop was Rere Falls where I did stop for a sandwich under a tree to keep out of the heavy rain. It was hard to operate my iPhone as the screen was wet and my fingers soaked but I managed to capture a short video:

It was a pretty cool waterfall and in other weather conditions, it would have been a pleasant place to picnic, but with the rain steadily getting worse and only around halfway through the distance to be covered for the day, it was no place to loiter. It’s worth contrasting the flow in the waterfall on my visit with that in the YouTube video at the top of this post where it was barely trickling over and people were swimming at the base of it!

Only a short distance up the road was the famous Rere Rockslide – pulling off the main road and riding down into the carpark, I saw a touring group on eMTB who had come from the other direction. They were very muddy and said there was a washout on the road that could still be navigated but to take care. The rockslide itself was unrecognisable from the videos I’d seen – there was a surging torrent of brown water going through the gorge that frankly looked like a death sentence if anyone was to jump into it. Clearly all the rain had already flooded the normally sedate water flow and, with it being too wet to get my phone out, I share only you a YouTube clip of what it looks like in happier timers:

From here, the “Type 2” fun kicked in. If you’re not familiar with this concept, let me explain:

  • Type 1 Fun – an activity or experience that is fun both in the moment and when looking back on it.
  • Type 2 Fun – not especially fun in the moment, and possibly quite hard or even unpleasant at then time, but looking back there is a sense of accomplishment and/or satisfaction that youn did it
  • Type 3 Fun – neither fun in the moment OR in hindsight (these experiences are best avoided!)

The rain did not let up for the rest of the afternoon and, as I was getting higher into the hills, the clouds were lower and restricting visibility so I did not even get to enjoy any views. The washout on the road that the other cyclists talked about was not too bad: heavy rain on the right of the road had overflowed a water race and was streaming across the road to the left at about 2-3cm in depth and covering about 10m of road on an uphill section. I was able to ride through it fine.

I eventually reached the peak of the hill climb for the day and glided down (in the rain!) to the tiny town of Matawai where I found a small cafe/postal centre open and had a snack to eat – as much to get out of the rain as it was to refuel. Having biked around 110km already I was reasonably tired and was delighted to find that the final 17km was mostly downhill to the Motu Community House where I was to stay for the night.

It turned out I was the only one there that night so I quickly got the fire going and put my wet and dirty clothes though the washing machine before hanging them in front of the fire:

Having already arranged an evening meal to be delivered by one of the local residents in Motu ($30 in total for an evening meal, breakfast and packed lunch for the following day!), I was showered and ready to eat when it arrived!

Whilst I had my tent on the bike, there was nothing like being inside and warm with the rain pounding on the roof instead! It was a shame I did not get to see much of the countryside on this ride as I am sure it was beautiful. In many ways, this was a precursor of things to come!

Day 2 – Motu to Ōpōtiki

  • Moving Time: 4hr 41min
  • Distance: 57km
  • Elevation: 547m

After the provided breakfast, I packed up and wondered whether it was even worth putting the rain jacket on given how wet it was and the forecast was for rain all day!

Packed up and ready to leave Motu in the rain

The article I read about Ride 35 encouraged a big breakfast as the start of day 2 would be a slow 8km climb to the head of the Pakihi Track. Due to major slips in the area preceding my arrival, all the other roads to Ōpōtiki were closed and knowing this I was aware that the only way I could continue was to take this track. I also knew there was no cellular reception on this part of the track so had my Garmin inReach personal locator beacon with me should anything happen, but I was pretty determined to ride safely and not need it.

I took my time on the climb, partly it was steep and wet, but also there was nothing really to see so it was a case of just grind it out. Finally I emerged through the clouds to reach the top of Pakihi Track, a route that was originally built by hand to herd stock from Ōpōtiki to Gisbourne (a job that must have been incredibly challenging given the terrain).

The track was great but very wet and with a lot of slippery rocks and roots, combined with a heavily laden bike running 45mm gravel tires and steep dropoffs in places, I was in no mood to bomb down it knowing there was likely a long wait for help should anything happen! It rained steadily for the entire descent and when I tried to pull my phone out to take some pics it was hard to stop the lens from fogging up so I could not really get anything decent. Basically, think moody, cloudy, rainy remote bush and you’ve nailed it!

There was only one section around 15km in that was particularly challenging. Near the river a section had been washed away and a temporary part of the track required a steepish rock hopping section with a rope to provide balance and stability. Pulling the bike behind me, with the other hand on the rope and needing to put full pressure through my knee was a challenge but I got there in the end (no choice really!)

At the bottom of the trail I stopped to eat my filled roll and as I headed out the gravel road towards Ōpōtiki my phone, once again in cell reception, suddenly screamed with the Civil Defence Emergency alert warning of extreme weather:

Pondering the implications of this, I carried on for about 30km before reaching Ōpōtiki and pulling into a cafe for lunch. I called my wife for an update and she agreed to ring ahead to Te Kaha accommodation options who all advised her I should “shelter in place” in Ōpōtiki rather than attempting to carry on biking.

Reluctantly, I called it a day and booked a motel across the road where I enjoyed a nice shower, bed and a chance to wash and dry my soaked clothes. Watching the news that night, it was evident a very major weather event was hitting the East Cape and could very well impact the remainder of my journey.

Day 3 – Ōpōtiki to Te Kaha

  • Moving Time: 4hr 04min
  • Distance: 71km
  • Elevation: 883m

Awaking to more rain, I soon learned that Civil Defence had shut the SH35 road in both directions from Gisbourne north, and from Ōpōtiki in the direction I was headed. I hung around until just after 10am when the road north of Te Kaha where I was headed eventually reopened and I took my chance. As I headed out of town, I saw some horses grazing on the roadside – classic East Cape scenes!

The Otara River looked in flood with plenty of water flowing through it as I departed Ōpōtiki under leaden skies.

The Ride 35 initially follows a lovely coastal route alongside the Bay of Plenty with views of White Island – not that I could tell with low cloud and rain blowing through – before joining SH35 proper. There were not many vehicles on the road and I had anticipated a reasonably flat ride near the coast, but as the road cut inland in various places there were a few punchy climbs to be negotiated.

Whilst I knew this part of NZ is pretty isolated, what surprised me was just how few places there were to stop by the beachside. Once on the road, most of the access points to the beach were via private land only. Consequently, a few of my breaks for food and drink were on the roadside:

By early afternoon, the weather started to clear and blue skies emerged quickly heating up the day. By the time I arrived in Te Kaha I was ready for a cool shower and a cold drink. Checking into the campground I inquired if the water was safe to drink and being reassured:

Of course you can drink our water – we’re on council water here!

Heading to the paddock behind the general store that doubled as a camp ground, I quickly pitched my tent, threw my gear in there and headed to the shower block. Long story short, none of the showers worked and after talking to the caretaker, I ended up with a cold shower.

Talking further with the caretaker after the cold shower, he started to show me Facebook posts from Te Araroa, my destination for the following day, showing scenes of mass destruction from the flooding and confirming the road was completely washed out. He assured me, there was no way I could possibly get through and I would need to return the way I had come.

Therein lay the challenge – the Pakihi Track was one way only – you’re not allowed to bike up it and, with the other roads all closed from earlier slips, the only way to get back to Gisbourne would be via Taupo and Napier – an 8-9hr drive by car! At this point, I was basically diametrically opposite my starting location in Gisbourne and I could not go forwards and nor could I return the way I had come:

I biked from the campground a couple of kilometers back to the Te Kaha Beach Hotel to have a pizza for dinner and consider my options. It was not realistic for my wife to drive 8-9hrs one way to come get me, so I was going to need to try and meet her somewhere closer to Levin, our eventual returning point before heading to Wellington and home. Talking with her whilst I ate my pizza, i decided I could bike back the way I had come, pass through Ōpōtiki and on to Whakatane where I could camp the night, before attempting a big 170km day from Whakatane to Taupo.

Not ideal, but I had limited options.

Feeling somewhat deflated at the idea of backtracking and not completing the Ride35, I drifted off to sleep in my tent on a warm evening in Te Kaha.

Day 4 – Te Kaha to Whakatane

  • Moving Time: 7hr 05min
  • Distance: 115km
  • Elevation: 1,285m

With the sun shining, I packed down the tent and filled my 2x water bottles and water bladder in my backpack – a move that would unknowingly have dire consequences in around 48hrs time.

I saw a lot more of the scenery this time with clearer skies and it’s a beautiful part of the country for sure. Before the clouds had fully cleared I captured this photo of Otuwhare Marae under dramatic clouds:

I was able to see White Island this time too off the coast, something that had been invisible to me on the way yesterday:

I also noted that most of the roadsides naming the rivers had the word ‘river’ crossed out and replaced with the Māori word for river ‘awa’ instead:

By the time I arrived back in Ōpōtiki it was pretty hot and I stopped to refuel for lunch at Subway. I got talking to a guy there who saw my bike and he was into bikepacking too – a great way to connect for around 30mins on a shared passion. I knew it was around 50km to bike to Whakatake so I headed off along a really neat coastal track that had some stunning views and safe, off the road, cycle paths. In retrospect, this was some of the most enjoyable sections of the entire trip.

As I was approaching Ohope and the outskirts of Whakatane, I felt my rear tire start to lose some pressure and pulling over in a safe spot I started to investigate for punctures. Keep in mind that I had the damaged rim from the final ride in Christchurch before departing so I was not running tubeless, where a small puncture should have been able to seal itself. I could not see any obvious puncture and the tire was not losing air fast, but I decided to take the wheel off and see if I could find the leak and patch it. By now it was genuinely hot, around 30 degrees and having already biked 100km this was not a job I really wanted to embark on, but I reminded myself it was all part of the journey and to not rush and take my time.

After removing the inner tube and pumping it up, I could not detect any leak but it was very slowly going down. I suspected it may have been the valve so opted to replace the tube with my spare. As the outer tire was also brand new from the earlier damage it was pretty tight getting it back on the rim and I actually snapped 2 of 3 plastic tire levers during the process! With the wheel back on and riding towards Whakatane, I realised I would need to visit a bike shop to get a replacement inner tube and also some tire levers as there was no way I was going to attempt to ride the 170km to Taupo with no spare inner tube.

This realisation added some time pressure to my ride – I needed to get to a bikeshop before it closed at 5pm, otherwise I’d need to wait until 9am the following morning for it to open, making my anticipated long day on the bike even longer. Starting to rue my long lunch and chat in Ōpōtiki, and doubly rue the puncture, I leaned into completing the final section, passing through Ohope for a quick bottle of water in the heat and a check on remaining distance and time to get to the bike store: 9km and 45mins – no problems….

That was until I rounded a corner and encoutered the Otarawairere Road Climb – 1.25km with average 9.7% average gradient, peaking in places at 17%! With 110km in the legs this was not what I was mentally prepared for, but with the clock ticking inexorably towards 5pm I had no choice but to lean in with a maximum effort. Bombing down the other side of the hill and trying to navigate with Google Maps through Whakatane, a place I’d never previously visited, I made it to Whakatane Cycle Centre literally as the guy was locking the front door!

My heart sank, but the absolute champs there opened it up and happily sold me a spare inner tube and set of tire levers! A happy ending to a long hot day for sure.

Feeling the weight of relief, I slowly biked to the Riverside Holiday Park, an excellent campground and decided that if I could get a small cabin it would be best ahead of an anticipated very long following day biking to Taupo. Checked in, I headed for the showers to clean up and then wandered around the township of Whakatane enjoying some dinner and buying some food for the day ahead.

Day 5 – Whakatane to Taupo

  • Moving Time: 9hr 46min
  • Distance: 152km
  • Elevation: 1,534m

Waking early the next morning, the news headlines were filled with the tragic story of the landslide at nearby Mt Maunganui that had hit the campground and killed 6 people in the shower block:

I biked through Whakatane to the local McDonalds for a breakfast of champions with a couple of Sausage and Egg McMuffins, and then heading out to mostly lonely roads before climbing up and crossing the Matahina Dam

The day never really warmed up, hovering around 10-14 degrees Celcius with scattered rain showers blowing through and grey skies. I passed through a succession of small towns, some no more than a lonely gas station or general store: Waiohau, Galatea, Murupara.

As the kilometres clicked by, I started to feel low on energy. I could not tell if this was connected to long days on the bike, more poor weather with grey clouds and intermittent rain or just general lack of motivation given I was biking on a boring state highway through a massive forestry block and the disappointment of my original route being totally upended by bad weather. On reflection, it was all of these things…. plus one more major factor that I was not aware of in the moment.

My wife had left Gisbourne by this time and stopped in at Napier to see some friends of ours. I talked to her at the juncture of SH38 I’d been riding and SH5 that would take me to Taupo and she said she’d found accommodation in Taupo which was expensive but fortunate given they had a concert on in the small town that night. She offered to pick me up north of Taupo if I was running out of steam, but I said I’d carry on and see how I felt.

With the possibility of dinner in Taupo I pushed on into headwinds and rain, choosing not to stop and refuel at any of the small diners and pubs I did see along the road. However, my energy levels were fading fast and after speaking to my wife she came and picked me up from a rest area about 15km out of Taupo. I stripped the bags off my bike whilst waiting for her to arrive feeling annoyed and disappointed I’d not been able or willing to complete the final stretch into Taupo. As she arrived I put the bike on the roof of the car and grateful for the rest, was driven back to Taupo, thus ending the riding section of my abortive Ride 35 bikepacking trip.

Shortly after arriving at the motel I started to get ready for a shower and my wife said she was going to get some dinner for the kids. Sadly, she forgot the bike was on the roof of the car and the motel had a low carport exit she drove under… ripping the bike off the roof and destroying the bike roof rack in the process. The damage to the bike looked significant but I was honestly too tired and disappointed from the way the rest of the trip had finished up to get too worried about it.

The Aftermath

Having a soak in the shower, I was wondering how we would get the bike back to Levin the following day given all the luggage in the back of the car and no roof rack to be able to use. The following morning I disassembled the bike, removing the wheels, handlebars and pedals and managed to lay it all on top of the luggage in the rear of the car for the nearly four hour drive to Levin.

After an uneventful drive, we arrived at Levin and everything was unpacked:

By this stage I was starting to feel pretty average and the following day things all fell apart. Around dinner I started shaking uncontrollably with cold, running a fever of 39 degrees and then starting to feel nauseous before doing a few massive vomits. My wife noticed I had some spots on my legs and, concerned about the possibility of meningitis, ended up driving me to Palmerston North Hospital at around 10pm. It was not a pleasant 45min drive, but being feverish I just had to suck it up. It was chaos there, with the ED staff telling us they’d had 32 ambulances arrive between 10pm and midnight!

Being eventually triaged, I was told there was no room in the actual ED so I’d need to just sit in the waiting room whilst they waited for blood test results to come back, however they were confident I did not have meningitis thankfully. I was put on a saline drip to try and rehydrate me.

We got the all clear and left around 3am for the drive back to Levin.

All the following day I felt worse and worse and basically slept between frequent visits to the bathroom.

Scheduled to drive and take the ferry home the following day, my wife thankfully made the call to fly me home and so loaded me up with imodium and put me on a flight which thankfully, was largely uneventful whilst she drove the kids, car and damaged bike home.

Two days later, recovering at home, I got a call from the Palmerston North Hospital telling me there was some culture growing in my blood samples that they suspected was Campylobacter a particularly nasty bacterial infection. I think it was likely the result of the drinking water at the Te Kaha campground being contaminated after all the flooding and rain they’d experienced, but I could never say definitively.

After another blood test it was confirmed – campylobacter.

Final Thoughts

This really feels like the trip that wasn’t. After looking forward to it for so long, it was a pretty bitter pill to swallow that it turned so pear shaped. I’d say it rained about 70% of the riding time and having to backtrack from Te Kaha to Ōpōtiki and on to Whakatane, before eventually riding major State Highways to Taupo was the opposite of the laid back riding I’d anticipated on the legendary SH35. The East Cape is not really “on the way” to anywhere, it is very much the destination you choose to go to. To that end, it will likely be a while before I get a chance to return and try and complete the route.

However, perspective is always important: the weather bomb that hit the region ruined property, roads, businesses and literally cost some people their lives.

Here is a Facebook reel of the devastation at Te Araroa which was the next stop on my route:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1433921198226270

A news article showed the damage to the Holiday Park I was going to stay at Te Araroa – this has had to close due to the damage.

My misfortunes pale in comparison to that level of devestation and there are always silver linings: writing this 6 weeks later I am close to getting a replacement bikepacking rig courtesy of an insurance payout (hint: Salsa Fargo!)

So until next time… ride on!