There were 6 of us on the trip to do the timber trail. It was approximately a 5 hour drive to Ongarue.
We met at the Wellington railway station and left at 4pm on Friday. We arrived at Bennet Rd campsite at 10pm and camped there using our own tents. It was not too cold overnight, which was great.
What a glorious morning at the campsite!
Saturday was 40km ride from Pureora to Piropiro. A shuttle took us on a lengthy transfer to Pureora where the timber trail begins.
Some people also climbed up to Mt Pureora which was along the trail.
After 20km of riding, we reached Bog In Bridge which was a great spot for lunch in the sunshine.
Saturday night, we glamped at the awesome Epic campsite which had tents setup so we didn’t have to carry much gear. The campsite had a friendly atmosphere having a firepit and it was already going when we arrived. We toasted marshmallows on the fire after dinner.
It was a very cold night with frost on the bikes, so we appreciated the hot water bottles provided.
Sunday was 45km riding from Piropiro to Ongarue, which was longer than the ride on Sat but it was slightly easier due to some downhills.
There was a tunnel on the old tram route used to transport timber.
We arrived at Bennet Rd campsite at about 3pm.
There were a few sandy tracks and short climbs where bike pushing was the only option, but for most of the track the gravel was substantial enough to pedal. The timber trail had some breathtaking scenery and we had amazing weather so it was a good weekend.