The Big Finish Line Party is the brainchild of Andy Chalmers. A bikepacking event that doesn’t have a start, only a finish.
I had limited annual leave so it would be a short trip for me, time enough to catch the evening Ferry from Wellington to Picton in Te Wai Pounaumu, (the South Island) and get in 2 and a half days riding before the finish, then catching up with my family who live in Marlborough. The link Track parallel to Queen Charlotte Drive was my starting point, with the Nydia and Archers Tracks being the ultimate destinations for the day, time allowing.
I asked around and people seemed to think that the Nydia Track, despite being a Black Diamond Trail, was rideable in the opposite direction, which I was intending to do. I had no idea how far I was going to get, but I had a new tent and there were plenty of opportunities to camp in the Marlborough sounds. I was riding by myself so had to be very careful from a safety point of view.
The Nydia track was beautiful. It would have been a lovely place to hike, or run. But rideable segments were less than I had hoped for. Waterfalls crossed the track in many places and required 100% concentration to cross. Despite this I lost my footing, and almost lost my bike on one of them. A good reason to remember to carry your personal locator beacon on your body.
Archers track was more fun, following the coastline closely with a lot less tree-fall on the track. I saw a doe disappearing up the bank at one point and nearly hit a mother goat and her kid as they launched off the bank to my side. I rolled into Elaine Bay at around 7pm and set up my new Big Agnes tent at the DOC camping site. There was a long-drop toilet and hand basin nearby so pretty civilized. I was immediately visited by a very inquisitive Weka and as I started to nod off was startled by a strange noise. Sure enough, in the morning I noticed pig-rooting sign all around my camp site. Thankfully not fresh.
The climb out of Elaine bay was on the seal but still very steep. A similar climb out of Okiwi Bay followed with more seal, then a diversion to get off the main road onto a nice quiet gravel B-road. The mussel pies and and hot chips at the Brick Oven café in Rai Valley beckoned, and as I parked up a nasty cold squall raced through. Timing is everything. I stocked up for my next segment which was to be the Waikakah o Track via Pelorus, Havelock, Linkwater and Cullensville.
I got to the start of the Waikakaho track at around 1:30 pm. The sign said 5 hours walk. Usually track times are a lot less than they state on signage. I figured, I have a bike obviously I will be a lot faster. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s an old narrow gold mining track, like many, hacked out of the side of the hill. Initially there were some rideable bits but there was a lot of elevation to cover, and walking turned out to be just as quick as riding.
It got colder and darker and eventually I came out on a crazy little clearing. Apparently an old mining hut site and probably the only place you could pitch a tent on the whole ride. What I thought was rain turned out to be light snow so I kept moving. A quick look at my app had me still a long way from the finish with no idea on what the upcoming terrain would be like. I eventually found the track exit from the clearing and came across the shell of a Powelliphant a, the giant snail that can live up to 20 years.
The terrain just seemed to get gnarlier with a fair bit of tree-fall across the track. I realised I wasn't going to break any records with all my bikepacking gear on, and had to stop a lot for micro-breaks, observing all the wild pig-rooting sign. What were they hunting, snails? Eventually snippets of rideable track appeared off and on, and before too long I could tell I was descending a bit. I overshot the track and came across an abandoned mine shaft, back-tracked and tried to carefully enjoy the rooty descent.
I rarely bikepack by myself so had to be very careful not to spear off the track and end up down a bank, it's not like anyone was going to rescue me if I did something dumb. Coming across an old homestead site told me I was getting closer to the trail's end. The final descent was mostly wet clay, but surprisingly I had no offs. It was a wet cold drag all the way out of the valley, but I was happy to be out of the bush. My original plan was to camp at Whites bay on the Beach, and do the loop there on my final day, but I was wet and cold and couldnt see myself warming up much, even if I did get the feeling back in my cold hands. I rung my brother to see if I could crash at his place the night. Sorted. Remember there are no rules, well just one - dont be late.
Obviously I had a luxurious sleep in the next day and decided on a new route. I was done with hikeabiking. A nice 76 km gravel loop of the Taylor and Redwood passes seemed like a much better option. I had barely started when a random guy catches up and says, "Hi there Jeff, I work at the Council with your brother". I think we had met once before at the start of the 2012 Kiwi Brevet, small world. He was my personal escort for the next few hours and showed me a few local short-cuts. It was great to have someone to chat to after riding solo for two days. Of course, the best was yet to come. We were all to meet at the Dodson Street beer garden, 5pm - don't be late.
This is where you find out who else was doing the ride, and like any other decent event in New Zealand, there are always a couple of top 5 Tour Divide riders there. Not that it matters, it's not a race. There is a lot of catching up with familiar faces and talking about who went where, with who, and where they stayed. It's a great concept, and it works well. It really takes the pressure off. One group's members split off in different directions on multiple occasions depending on wellness, fitness or fatigue - some of them had been riding since the Monday.
The Big Finish Line Party concept could be the best thing to encourage newbies into bikepacking since the 6 hour stand-down periods that were introduced when Simon Kennett brought bikepacking to NZ in 2010. There has to be a reason for its popularity across the ages and genders in NZ, and knowing that you don't have to indulge in sleep deprivation is a definite plus.
A brief AGM was held to choose the location of the next Big Finish Line Party in 2024.
Watch this space. (Better pix here)
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