Day 2. Heaphy River

Awoke to a sunny beautiful morning, perfect biking conditions. Set off at 8, heading east and up!

First stop, Lewis Hut, soon after crossing the Heaphy River. What a mission! Swing bridges are simply not made for mountain bikes, thankfully DOC is replacing of them. Of course on the next river (Lewis), I decided to "be a hero" and ride it. Fell off half way through and swamped my GoPro. Yep, less of a hero.

And then it was uphill. 2.5 hours later we'd climbed around 800 m and arrived at Mackay Hut. I was a tad tired, and grumpy, It wasn't an easy climb. Lots of roots, rocks, muds, and hops that were just that much harder with 8kg+ on racks. Lesson learned, less weight on the front.

Lunch for an hour or so and then we headed off. Saxon Hutt around 1.30, Gouland downs, 45, and then finally Perry Saddle an hour later. Ended up arriving at around 5. Easily 1200+ climbing and around 60km. Pretty tired, but happy.

But, an awesome hut, brand new. Even has solar powdered lights! And met a guy I'd met just a week ago on a ski field. Funny. Good nights sleep.

Today: 38.7km, 1200m climb, 6 hrs riding