Mountains to Sea

Highlights

• UNESCO World Heritage-listed Tongariro National Park’s volcanic wonderland
• Whanganui National Park’s wild river, deep forest & remote valleys
• rich Māori & Pākeha heritage in the marae, little churches, abandoned farms, and historic flour mill & much more
• viaducts & other curious relics along Ohakune’s Old Coach Road
• iconic Bridge to Nowhere
• thrilling Whanganui River jet boat ride
• Whanganui city’s art, culture, cafes & restaurants
• sweet riding on some classic backcountry singletrack
• thrilling 1000m, 17km descent down Mt Ruapehu

The Mountains to Sea is divided into eight sections, six of which combine for a 199km route with a compulsory boat ride to bridge an unrideable section along the Whanganui River. The 32km scenic jet boat ride goes from the Mangapurua Track (Bridge to Nowhere) and Pīpīriki, the northern end of the Whanganui River Road. The total journey including the jet boat trip is 231km.

Those six sections are described below in the most popular order, from Ohakune, on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu, to Whanganui on the shores of the Tasman Sea.

The other two sections are the Fishers and Kaiwhakauka Tracks – two more challenging mountain biking rides happily linking into a multi-day Mountains to Sea journey starting at National Park Village.

The full trail is typically ridden in 4–6 days, but fit riders can whip through it in 2–3. And while the ultimate experience is to ride literally from mountains to sea, a variety of day rides can be enjoyed along its length. Local bike hire and adventure tour companies will gladly help you organise the right trip for you.
 

Ohakune Mountain Road

• 17 km
• Grade 3 / intermediate
• 1 hour

What a way to start your Mountains to Sea adventure! From Ohakune town, local shuttles will ferry you up to Turoa skifield, 1700m above sea level on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu. On a good day, you can see as far away as Mt Taranaki. (Super-fit, masochistic riders can cycle up, of course.) 

From there, it’s an exhilarating 1000m descent back to Ohakune along 17km of the sealed road; fast riders can make it down in a little over 30 minutes.

There’s a good reason to slow down, however. A series of walking tracks off the Mountain Road allow riders to savour the sights of this UNESCO World Heritage landscape, including the highest waterfall in Tongariro National Park, Waitonga Falls (1.5 hours return; 6 km from the top); Mangawhero Falls (5–10 mins return; 4km from Turoa); and the Mangawhero Forest Walk (1 hr return) and Rimu Walk (15 mins return) that start near the bottom of the Mountain Road.
 

Ohakune Old Coach Road

• 15 km
• Grade 3 / intermediate
• 2 – 4 hours

One of New Zealand’s best half-day rides, Ohakune Old Coach Road follows a historic byway, overgrown and largely forgotten until it was ‘rediscovered’ by locals in 2002. Easily accessible and suitable for riders of most ages and abilities, it traverses Tongariro National Park forest and farmland, with many epic lookouts over the volcanic plateau. Revealed along the way are many surprising and memorable sights – from spooky railway tunnels and grand viaducts to old bush camps and remnants of the original cobblestone road.

From the start point at Ohakune Rail Station, the first couple of kilometres follow Old Station Road and Marshalls Road before reaching the trailhead where a series of information panels retell Coach Road’s fascinating story.

From here, the trail then winds up along the old cobbled road into Tongariro National Park passing through an ancient forest, including giant rimu and tōtara, spiky mountain cabbage trees, various ferns and feathery toetoe.

The trail highlight is the beautifully restored 284m-long Hapuawhenua railway viaduct. From its span is a splendid view of the modern, 414m concrete viaduct that usurped the old dear in 1987.

The trail continues to reach Taonui Viaduct, half the size of Hapuawhenua, and in a state of rusty repair. It’s still an impressive sight.

The trail emerges from a patch of interesting forest, into a pretty meadow near the trail’s endpoint, at Horopito. The settlement is home to the legendary car wreckers, Horopito Motors, more famously known as ‘Smash Palace’ for its role in a cult 1981 movie of the same name. It’s great for a game of ‘name that makes and model’ with photo opportunities galore.
 

Ruatiti Road & Middle Road

• 45 km
• Grade 3 / intermediate
• 3 – 4 hours

Ruatiti Road and Middle Road link the Old Coach Road section with the start of the Mangapurua Track. It’s a long and occasionally hilly ride through a rural landscape, along with a mix of gravel and sealed road. Although pleasant enough, it is primarily ridden by people completing the whole trail and seldom on its merits alone. (Indeed, many riders prefer to catch a shuttle to the start of the Mangapurua Track.)

Overall, the ride is downhill, losing around 400m in elevation over 45km. However, some steep climbs – especially towards the end of Ruatiti Road – make it best suited to fit cyclists.

From Horopito, Middle Road is signposted 1km south along busy SH4; road-sense is required along this short section

From the turn-off, it’s approximately 14km to Ruatiti Road, which meanders beside the scenic Manganui-o-te-ao River for part of the way. Halfway along Ruatiti Road (15 km from the junction) is Ruatiti Domain, where there are toilets and lovely, but basic camping. After the Domain, the road turns to gravel for the final 15km to the start of the Mangapurua Track, on the fringe of Whanganui National Park.
 

Mangapurua Track

• 36 km
• Grade 4 / advanced
• 4 – 6 hours

TRACK CLOSED FOR WINTER. There is no access beyond (i.e. west of) the Mangapurua Trig. Please check back in again in spring once the team has worked their magic, or visit the official Mountains to Sea Cycle Trail website.

Please note: despite substantial and much-welcome trail improvements in late 2019, the Mangapurua Track is prone to damage in severe weather. At any stage, there may be fresh debris, windfalls or slips on the trail, so please check the latest conditions on the trail website.

Please note also: the Mangapurua Track is closed over the winter months – precise dates are also advised on the M2S website.

But wait, there's more! While e-bikes are permitted on the Mangapurua (and the Kaiwhakauka, too), it is essential that you have sufficient battery charge to complete this remote ride; sufficient strength to lift your ebike over obstacles; and the skill to maneuver your bike across tricky terrain and narrow bridges (panniers will make this harder, of course). Ebikes should be a mountain-bike style with a maximum power rating of 300W.

Got all that? Let's proceed!

AN ABSOLUTE TREAT for experienced mountain bikers, this journey through Whanganui National Park takes in long-abandoned farms, native forest, dramatic bluffs and deep ravines before reaching the Bridge to Nowhere, a graceful monument to early settlers’ broken dreams. The jet boat trip downriver to Pīpīriki is an invigorating way to end the ride.

Super-fit riders can finish in less than four hours but mere mortals should allow considerably longer. When dry, the Mangapurua Track can be a wonderfully flowing and reasonably easy ride. However, it’s no place for novices in the wet, when the sticky papa clay surface can turn it into a bike-busting and soul-sapping quagmire. There are also a number of tricky bluffs to navigate where riders need to dismount and push bikes.

Pick a fine day to ride if at all possible, and check-in with local operators, visitor centres or DOC for the latest conditions. As there’s virtually no cellphone coverage, it is also recommended that riders carry a PLB (personal locator beacon) or spot tracker, and let someone know their intentions.

From the trailhead at the end of Ruatiti Road, the trail climbs through farmland and regenerating native bush to the junction with the Kaiwhakauka Track (which traverses an adjacent valley and starts at the memorable Blue Duck Station). A carved tōtara pou here signifies the spirit of ngahere (the forest) and offers symbolic protection to visitors.

It’s a little more climbing to reach Mangapurua Trig where there’s an impressive and touching memorial to the WWI servicemen and their families who settled the Mangapurua and Kaiwhakauka valleys more than one hundred years ago. Reading up on this history before you ride this trail will greatly enhance your appreciation of this special place, with its gnarled old fruit trees, brick chimneys, and other relics often unnoticed except by the eagle-eyed.

Behind the monument is a one-minute scramble up to a lookout with stunning views out across the Whanganui National Park and back east towards Tongariro National Park. Conveniently, there’s a toilet here, too.

It’s downhill virtually all the way from the trig, the trail wending through the remote and rather beautiful Mangapurua Valley in which a series of old farm sites are signposted.

Just how remote and challenging this place was for the settlers is brought home by Battleship Bluff, one of the most striking features along the track. Unsurprisingly, it presented one of the greatest obstacles to early settlers who spent two years blasting a route across the mighty cliff face. Little did they know their labour would serve pleasure-seekers on bikes, several generations down the line.

The Bridge to Nowhere is the final, most powerful, and poignant monument to the broken dreams of the WWI settlers. Arching elegantly across a steep ravine, Mangapurua Stream a good 40 metres below, the bridge was completed in 1936 – by which time many settlers had already abandoned the valley. A storm six years later was the final death knell – the road into this remote place was doomed.

An iconic symbol of Whanganui National Park, today the bridge is well used by both Mangapurua Track bikers and walkers, and the thousands of people who visit on guided tours from Pīpīriki, or as part of the Whanganui River Journey, one of New Zealand’s Great Walks (that’s actually a kayaking adventure).

Just beyond the bridge is a lookout track that winds up above the Mangapurua Stream for elevated, iconic views of the bridge and surrounding bush.

From the bridge, it’s around 3km to the Mangapurua Landing on the Whanganui River, where the trail runs out and a pre-booked jet boat transfers riders and bikes downstream to Pīpīriki. Riders should keep an eye out for walkers on this popular piece of track between the bridge and Landing.
 

Mangapurua Landing—Pīpīriki

• 32 km
• Jetboat ride or kayak/canoe trip

There are two ways of getting to Pīpīriki, neither of which is on a bike! The easiest and most common is to be collected by the pre-booked jet boat for the invigorating 32km buzz down river (with bikes stowed onboard). Tour operators can also assist you in swapping the bike for a kayak or canoe, allowing you to experience part of the Whanganui Journey – the New Zealand’s Great Walks that’s actually a paddle. Camping and lodge accommodation is available for overnight stops.

However you choose to travel, the Whanganui River is a Mountains to Sea highlight, complete with verdant gorges, gushing waterfalls, tumbling rapids and tranquil stretches of deep, green water.
 

Whanganui River Road

• 67 km
• Grade 3 / intermediate
• 7–8 hours

At the tiny riverside village of Pīpīriki, riders get back in the saddle and head south along the Whanganui River Road, or catch a pre-booked shuttle back towards Ruapehu if not traveling onward to Whanganui.

Reasonably fit cyclists can ride the whole road in one day. Accommodation en route, however, allows the journey to be broken into a more leisurely two days. Note, too, that the only shop along the way is a tiny affair at Pīpīriki where ice cream and basic supplies may be available.

While not a technical ride, the fully sealed road is gently undulating and therefore involves a fair bit of climbing – approximately 600 metres over 67km, including a couple of particularly gnarly ascents near the start and finish.

The effort, however, is well worth it, not least of all for the elevated views along the river, but also for the many Māori and European heritage sites along the way. Between them, they tell quite the story of New Zealand’s early settlement, beginning with early Māori for whom the river was a primary highway.

The Whanganui River Road brochure is essential reading for those who want to dig down. It pinpoints and illuminates a series of major landmarks, including Hiruhārama (Jerusalem), a catholic church and convent built at the end of the nineteenth century. The restored Kawana Flour Mill, built-in 1854, is also notable.

Around the 40km mark is Matahiwi, a small farming community, and site of the Matahiwi Gallery & Cafe (open 9 am–4 pm Wed-Sun, October (Labour weekend) to May.

The river road ends with the fairly hefty climb over Aramoana Hill and a well-deserved 3km swoop down to the junction of SH4. It’s another 3km again to Ūpokongaro village, 12km upstream of Whanganui, and once an important ferry crossing and riverboat stop. Today, riders can rest and reflect on their River Road adventure with refreshments at the bike-friendly hotel or cafe.
 

Ūpokongaro—Tasman Sea

• 19 km
• Grade 3 / intermediate
• 1 – 2 hours

The final section of the Mountains to Sea winds beside the lower reaches of the Whanganui River and through the artful city of Whanganui before reaching the Tasman Sea.

From Ūpokongaro, the trail follows SH4 for a short distance before heading off-road beside the river. (Note that extra caution is advised along the highway section, with its speed limit of 100km/h.)

On reaching the city limits, the trail continues alongside the river on cycle paths and urban roads before crossing to the other side via the Dublin Street bridge. Ahead is a lovely riverside boardwalk section into the centre of town passing galleries and sculptures along the way.

Just past the mooring for the venerable paddle steamer Waimarie, Whanganui i-SITE a great place to discover what this vibrant city has on offer.

The trail continues on the riverside boardwalk then detours into backstreets before returning to trace the river to the Tasman Sea through an interesting mix of local industry and seaside suburbia. Follow your nose, or keep an eye out for the cycle trail signage to keep on track.

The Mountains to Sea Cycle Trail ends at North Mole, a moody, driftwood-strewn beach on the northern side of the Whanganui River breakwater.

Head back to the city along the same route or explore the bohemian suburb of Castlecliff with its cafe and galleries.

A day or so in Whanganui is a great way to bookend your journey. It’s one of New Zealand’s oldest cities, rich in heritage, arts and culture, and a satisfying selection of restaurants, cafes, bars and accommodation.
 

Source: The New Zealand Cycle Trail