Day 10: Twizel over Omarama Saddle

We went to bed last night with a plan to finish two more sections of the Alps to Ocean trail, and we woke up to rather heavy rain washing away our plans. Because the trail is varied surfaces including gravel and dirt we decided against doing it and instead opted for a straight shot from Twizel to Omarama on State Highway 8.

As we were getting ready to go for the day, in full rain gear, the rain started to stop and blue skies started to peek through. We have learned enough about NZ weather to not take anything for granted. Sure enough as we headed out it started raining again at a whooping 6C. Brrr.

State Highway 8 proved pleasant enough with little traffic. We paused for a bit in the rain at the Ohau Power Station B which had a nice sign explaining how the various lakes in the region are tied together to generate power. We kept on pedaling making relatively good time as the rain stopped and the skies mostly cleared. Being on smooth pavement and a general slight downhill got us the 30km in to Omarama rather in time for lunch.

We paused for lunch at The Wrinkly Rams, or something like that. The made to order food was rather expensive but they had pre-made sandwiches and treats that were much more reasonably priced. We also hopped on their WIFI to download some maps to Pam’s phone.

After lunch we decided to push on to what we knew would be a hard section of the ride. Matt had read about this possible route over the hills behind Omarama that connected nicely with another part of the ride we were interested in. Unfortunately there was relatively little information about the ride over Omarama Saddle.

It started off well with several km of paved roads and a tailwind, followed by freshly graveled road that was not much fun to ride. Then we finally ended up at the start of the ride, we were confronted by two options an East or a West route. Matt had researched the west route more and we opted for that. It started by going through fields of sheep and cows and fording tiny creeks.

Then things got serious fast, like really serious. We got to the uphill climb only to find that the morning’s rain had turned in to slick sticky mud. Nevermind that the grade was above 15% based on Matt’s cyclometer. Pam got off and started walking her bike up, Matt made an effort to ride up that lasted all of 100 meters and then joined Pam.

Unfortunately this was one of those adventures that you embark upon where once you have started you can’t really quit. We knew roughly how far the top was, but neither of us were prepared for the incredibly steep grade and pushing our bikes for several kilometers. The incline was so steep that we were barely averaging 3km per hour while moving, and that wasn’t counting that billion rest breaks we took.

Finally we reached the top, oh no just kidding, it was only 2/3rds of the way up, we just couldn’t see the rest of the climb. Luckily at that point the grading was reduced to more humane levels and we could almost average 5kmh pushing the bikes. And then we did reach the top, snow patches on the ground, and views that were among the most beautiful we have ever seen.

We may have gotten a little too excited on the prospect of going downhill, because we started riding the bikes down, until we quickly realized that we were going to be holding the brakes the entire time and going very slow. Going down a 12-15% grade of dirt and rock road is not a menial task.

Finally we reached the first “hut” which, in this case, is a small building with table, countertops, and 8 bunk beds. “Top Hut” as it is named is actually 2km and 275m down from the top. But in our eyes this was paradise, a place to rest and call it a night. We paid our $5/person fee in the drop box and set about to making it home for the night.

Needless to say it is our recommendation to that if you are touring you avoid the Omarama Saddle like the plague, instead take Lindis Pass to Cromwell. But on the flip side the views were spectacular and we made it. Tomorrow is more downhill navigation until we get back to civilization proper.

The stats might be messed up/screwy as the bike computers didn’t exactly appreciate us pushing the bicycles, Matt’s kept shutting off due to low speed.

Distance: 62.96km

Time: 6:04

Climbed: 1.010m

Max Speed 43.8kmh

Average Speed 10.35kmh

 View from near the top of Omarama Saddle

Tailbay of a dam, look at that water color!

New Zealand... just beautiful

Pam riding towards the Omarama Saddle on Broken Hut Road

This little lamb is the only one on the entire island that followed us instead of running away

Picture of Top Hut 2km from Omarama Saddle