The Alps 2 Ocean (A2O) cycleway goes through two of our farms and like a lot of locals we’d biked bits of it.
But it took an email thread with former flat mates and friends from university during lockdown to turn thoughts of one day doing the whole 301 kilometre journey from Mount Cook to the Pacific Ocean into action.
One of our party had only learned to cycle as an adult and wasn’t confident about some of the rougher stretches and all of us thought the idea of a van on call should the weather be inclement, anyone suffer an accident or just need a break, was a good idea.
We used Lakeland Explorer and I have no hesitation in recommending them. We couldn’t have asked for more from Jill who organised our accommodation, meals, hot pools in Omarama, wine tasting in Kurow, bike hire and a few running repairs; provided tips on safe cycling and lots of information on points of interest, and couldn’t have done more to make the trip both enjoyable and safe.
Jill met us in Oamaru on Monday with a trailer with bikes for the seven of us who were hiring them and room for the bikes of the other three who had their own.
Nine of us opted for e-bikes, one chose pedal power.
The weather at Mount Cook was threatening rain so Jill suggested we bike from Sailors Cutting to Omarama so the bulk of us who weren’t used to e-bikes could familiarise ourselves with them.
We spent the night at The Hermitage, woke to an almost cloudless day and after breakfast Jill took us to the start of the trail.
The first few kilometres were an easy ride to the airport where we, and our bikes, were helicoptered across the river.
The next 11 kilometre stage was pretty bumpy, crossing land that is often flooded.
The best views were behind us.
The last stretch to Braemar Station where we were to spend the night was an fairly easy ride down an unsealed road.
Our hosts provided steak, salmon and salad ingredients for dinner and left us to cook.
They also provided a selection of food for breakfast and a packed lunch the next day.
We had chosen to shorten our trip by biking the 80 kilometres from Braemar Station to Ohau in a single day rather than stopping at Twizel for the night. Jill told us the first 20 kilometres was a continuation of the unsealed road we’d finished the previous day’s stage on and offered to drive us to the Tekapo B power station. We decided 60 kilometres was enough for the day and accepted.
Again the best views were behind us.
A well groomed trail led us from Lake Pukaki behind us to Twizel for lunch.
The next stretch took us along a road beside the the hydro canal before getting back onto the trail that led to Lake Ohau.
Accommodation that night was Lake Ohau Lodge.
The fire which destroyed many of the homes in the village was only a couple of weeks before our trip and there had been doubts about whether we’d be able to ride up the hill behind the lodge.
However, the trail opened that day.
I hadn’t been looking forward to the climb but while the going was rough in parts, the incline was reasonably gentle.
The fire damage was sobering.
Advice from more experienced riders to use more power helped and I was pleasantly surprised to reach the summit with relative ease.
The track down from the summit was steep in parts and so bumpy that had we been cocktails we’d have been both shaken and stirred.
Our lunch stop was at the historic Qailburn woolshed.
The final stretch for the day was flat and the only challenge was dodging dive-bombing magpies.
We spent the night in Omarama where we had the option of relaxing in the hot tubs.
The first stretch next morning was an easy ride on the trail to Sailors Cutting. The trail now continues around Lake Benmore but that stretch wasn’t open when we were there in 2020 and we had to ride over the Otematata Saddle and up the road to the Benmore Dam.
The next stretch was on the road on the north of Lake Aviemore and over the Aviemore Dam then back on the trail to Kurow where we enjoyed wine tasting at the Vintner’s Drop before dinner.
The next day was the shortest, and we stoped for a long morning coffee break at River T before taking the trail along the Waitaki River, largely obscured by willows, to Duntroon.
Jill suggested we make the final day easier by carrying on to Elephant Rocks and that’s where we had lunch before returning to Duntroon for the night.
The last day had a couple of climbs and again I was grateful that I was on an e-bike.
Part of the trail goes where a railway line used to be and takes cyclists through Raki’s tunnel.
A short distance after that the trail skirts along our runoff block before it gets to Windsor.
The trail then passes through farm land, past the historic Elderslie stables.
Again some of the best views are behind and its worth stopping to look back.
We stopped at Fort Enfield for lunch after which the trail goes through another of our blocks, to Weston then into Oamaru, through the gardens, across a park, along the main street for a short distance, into the historic precinct to the harbour.
A band was playing outside Scott’s Brewery giving us a musical accompaniement to the last few hudnred metres.
Seven days, 301 kilometres and lots of laughs later, we were back where we started.
The scenery had been varied, the trail well maintained and even though I hadn’t taken my training as seriously as I ought to have, thanks to the e-bike never more than I was fit for.
The one using pedal power is a machine, the rest of us were happy to have battery assistance. As one friend said, it made the difference between a good trip and a great one.
You can do the trip independently but there are several companies offering packages which can include transport from airports.
Some start and finish with accommodation in Twizel, I’d recommend ones that start and finish in Oamaru with enough time to explore the town.
Posted by homepaddock 
Homepaddock 