I’ve just completed the West Coast Wilderness bike ride from Greymouth to Ross on New Zealand’s West Coast. We covered about 140 kilometres over four days, through some of New Zealand’s magnificent rain forests.

The rain forests we rode through are some of the best I’ve seen in New Zealand.

We started our journey in Christchurch and were driven in a mini bus to Greymouth. We wanted a seamless, no hassle bike ride so engaged the services of Tuatara Tours, who got us from A to B, sorted our accommodation, meals and e-bikes, gave us daily briefings and generally looked after our well-being.

Here’s a map of our trail from Greymouth to Ross. Follow the orange line to see the 140 kilometres we rode.

Arriving into Greymouth on day one, we rode to Kumara. Greymouth is on the coast so we followed the ocean for about 20 kilometres, until we reached the Taramakau Rail Bridge, where we headed inland towards Kumara.

The stony beach we traversed extends as far as the eye can see. It’s a bleak landscape, with a cold and steely undertone. The West Coast surf  beaches are renowned for their rips and undertows giving them a mystical and frightening feel.

After leaving the coast we headed inland, eventually making our way to Kumara, staying at the Theatre Royal Hotel. The Theatre Royal Hotel is the West Coast’s only fully restored gold miner’s hotel and was once a world-renowned theatre.

Gold was first discovered on the West Coast in 1864. Miners in their thousands arrived from all over the world to seek their fortunes. However, it wasn’t until a decade after the gold rush started, the gold mining fever hit Kumara.

In a very short period the bush was cleared and a busy town sprang to life. It featured 41 licensed hotels, a hospital, courthouse, police station and its own newspaper, The Kumara Times. Banks, churches. bootmakers, bakers and a Catholic and a Protestant school soon appeared.

The Theatre Royal Hotel is a charming historic gold rush hotel with six themed ensuited rooms. Our room was named  ‘King Dick,’ after our longest serving Premier, Richard Seddon. He was from Kumara and served New Zealand from the late 1800s till his death in 1906. Each room is a blend of Victorian decor, antique furnishings, with modern amenities. There are also a number of replica cottages on the property.

The next morning we headed from Kumara toward to Milltown through moody, pristine rain forests. The low hanging cloud over dense bush epitomizes the West Coast’s wilderness. As we rode through the forest the sun penetrated the tree top foliage highlighting the textures and colours of the undergrowth.

Typical West Coast landscape.

We finished our day at the Arahura River, and drove to the outskirts of Hokitika, for our night at the Station Inn. Modern, clean and tidy, the accommodation was faultless, with an adjoining restaurant and bar.

Up early the next day, we restarted our journey at the Arahura River. We biked through rich dairy country and onto Lake Kaniere, described as “the most beautiful lake in New Zealand.” It was formed by glacial erosion in the last ice age and while it is only two kilometres by eight kilometres, its depth surpasses 190 metres in places.

We stopped for lunch at some idyllic spots.

Remains of the gold mining near Kumara.

The last section of the days ride was along the coast into Hokitika. The beach was littered with driftwood or ‘slash.’ However, the creativity of the locals has turned the somewhat desolate, messy foreshore, into a living art installation. All shapes and sizes of drift wood, tall and small, large and wide have been used to create structures on the beach.

Hokitika Beach.

Art installations on Hokitika Beach made by the locals.

It’s not possible to be in Hokitika without seeing the gorge, so we drove 30 minutes up the valley road. Natural forces from ice and water and have helped create this visual beauty. Fine rock sediment from the glacier has added to its brilliance, turning the water a magnificent turquoise hue. The water, contrasted against the stark white limestone cliffs and the lush green rainforest, creates a spectacular vista.

The mighty Hokitika Gorge.

As the sun was low in the sky we embarked on an Eco Adventure Boat Cruise, on the waterways leading into Lake Mahinapua, just south of Hokitika. The tranquility and the bird song were magical and we were lucky enough to see one of the rare White heron, Kotuku, feeding on whitebait.

Our eco adventure up the wetlands to Lake Mahinapua.

We were very lucky to see a rare White Heron, Kotuku.

We set off from Hokitika on our final day, heading to Ross. The day stared with an easy coastal ride past Lake Mahinapua, where had explored the wetlands the previous  evening. We enjoyed more native bush and ended the day with a ride along the disused railway. We finished in Ross, another small West Coast town known for its gold mining, forestry and farming.

We chose to travel from Greymouth, back to Christchurch on the Tranz Alpine train. It’s one of the world’s great train journeys, covering 223 kilometres and taking just under 5 hours.

We joined the Tranz Alpine back to Christchurch.

The train traveled through the ‘Great Divide’ the indomitable spine of mountains that partitions New Zealand’s South Island. The trip is spectacular in every way from from the gorges, river valleys, on-board hospitality and open carriage where you can truely connect to the environment.

My cycling buddies, Deb and Jenni on the train back to Christchurch.

So back in Christchurch our trip ended. I feel I have connected with the West Coast, visited some great small towns, experienced the best of our native forests and traveled coast to coast on the Tranz Alpine-it’s easily doable, so do it.