TA day 19: Tapawera to Murchison
Distance 100km, Elevation Gain 1055m
Bitterly cold morning as we pedalled off up the Tadmor valley and gradually climbed through rolling farmland into forestry, topping out at the 480m Tadmor Saddle. Andy braved the cold in his summer bike top for about an hour before donning his polar fleece! After a break and some chain maintenance, it was off on the long downhill to SH6.
After 14km we hooked left up Gowan Valley Rd heading for the spectacular Lake Rotoroa. A quick stop at the Gowan Valley backpacker cafe for beautiful food and coffee had us fueled up for the climb ahead. Lake Rotoroa was stunning and clear but way to cold to brave a dip. Heading on a sharp climb brought us to Braeburn Saddle (580m) followed by a magnificent flowing downhill on gravel road through beech forest with the sun dappling the road surface, although Andy felt “flowing “ was more like nerve racking.
Regaining sealed road, the riding was easier as we ticked off the kms towards our destination of Murchison. Murchison Motel just as comfortable as when we stopped in on our return from doing West coast wilderness trail, and excellent feed again at the Cow Shed!
