We started in Paeroa (we being me and my enabler, Megan) and headed south-ish towards the gorge. The trail was wide, flat and fast, surfaced with fine crushed rock with two obvious wheel tracks formed as a result of a lot of side-by-side chat-as-you-go cycling.
The steady and gentle climb up to the gorge was well disguised and easily manageable. I had chosen to ride my full suspension mountain bike for what I expected to be about a 45km return trip. I didn't want to be nursing a sore back on my cyclocross bike during the later stages of the day and decided the benefits of the plush ride outweighed the drawbacks of the extra 3-4 kilograms of weight, especially considering the relatively flat gradients.
We didn't muck around and kept a steady pace past the other trail users - a mixture of families, first timers and one oncoming guy who looked like he was out for a KOM, whoosSH!
The trail passed through an old tramway cutting, with the original sleepers laying partially exposed alongside the trail. The cutting was deep with rocks perched in the walls and trees teetering on the edge. Scars in the face of the walls indicated recent work by heavy machines.
The trail from Karangahake to Waikino was the same as before... a kilometre in a dimly lit tunnel, and 7 kilometres of flat river-side trail to Waikino, decorated with some bits of by-gone-era mining relic. Further on from Waikino, the trail followed the River, with a few more small undulations and short bridges across waterways. There was much less mining history on this part, with more views of the surrounding farmland.
We passed a weir on the river which required a brief stop to appreciate the engineering achievement. The trail then led us over a small swingbridge and away from the river, towards the railway line. We passed the Waihi railway station and a circle of retirees in their sun loungers, planning the next route for their caravan of mobile homes.
Our next stop was the open cast Martha Mine in the centre of Waihi. The search for gold has scarred the landscape very deeply in Waihi. There are mineshafts all over and under the town. The latest work site is a gaping hole about a kilometre long, half a kilometre wide and of indeterminate depth. As I looked down at two excavators parked near the bottom of the pit I realised the scale of what I was looking at. It wasn't until I saw a D10 excavator sitting nearby those two "tiny" diggers that my perspective was suddenly reset because those two excavators were as big as houses - massive.
We spent 45 minutes riding around the rim of the mine pit and taking in the history of the area. Seeing the abandoned houses and sections where houses once stood was amazing. Pockets of the ground had sunken and become uninhabitable after the earth below had shifted with the collapse of historic mine tunnels. Vegetable gardens and backyard features were still visible among the humps and hollows and I got a strange feeling of it not being right that people had to leave their homes.
The trip around the pit involved a fairly stiff climb, some good views, and a nice descent. We got to see one of the earth-moving trucks up close, compare wheel sizes (hot topic) and read the information panels as we went.
The steady and gentle climb up to the gorge was well disguised and easily manageable. I had chosen to ride my full suspension mountain bike for what I expected to be about a 45km return trip. I didn't want to be nursing a sore back on my cyclocross bike during the later stages of the day and decided the benefits of the plush ride outweighed the drawbacks of the extra 3-4 kilograms of weight, especially considering the relatively flat gradients.
We didn't muck around and kept a steady pace past the other trail users - a mixture of families, first timers and one oncoming guy who looked like he was out for a KOM, whoosSH!
The trail from Karangahake to Waikino was the same as before... a kilometre in a dimly lit tunnel, and 7 kilometres of flat river-side trail to Waikino, decorated with some bits of by-gone-era mining relic. Further on from Waikino, the trail followed the River, with a few more small undulations and short bridges across waterways. There was much less mining history on this part, with more views of the surrounding farmland.
We passed a weir on the river which required a brief stop to appreciate the engineering achievement. The trail then led us over a small swingbridge and away from the river, towards the railway line. We passed the Waihi railway station and a circle of retirees in their sun loungers, planning the next route for their caravan of mobile homes.
We spent 45 minutes riding around the rim of the mine pit and taking in the history of the area. Seeing the abandoned houses and sections where houses once stood was amazing. Pockets of the ground had sunken and become uninhabitable after the earth below had shifted with the collapse of historic mine tunnels. Vegetable gardens and backyard features were still visible among the humps and hollows and I got a strange feeling of it not being right that people had to leave their homes.
We stopped off at the very gothic looking Cornish Pumphouse to appreciate some more engineering achievements, before rolling down the hill in search of sushi for lunch. Joy Sushi came to our rescue and we were soon pedalling back towards the trail. A quick stop at the dairy for some sweet goodies and we set off on the return journey to Paeroa.
The slightly faster return ride ended with drizzle as we approached Paeroa. We were loaded up, changed and on the road home before the rain hit.
What a mint day.
The slightly faster return ride ended with drizzle as we approached Paeroa. We were loaded up, changed and on the road home before the rain hit.
What a mint day.
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