A trail-bike adventure in New Zealand’s south island where one day the land’s so dry fire-risks can stop you from entering forest trails, and the next – a few hundred kilometres later – you’re soaked to the bone from riding through rainforest trails with endless deep bogholes full of muddy water.

The mountains are high and very steep, and as you climb the twisting tracks carved from the sides of them the incredible views off to one side constantly take your breath away, forcing you to pull over every chance you get to sit and take it all in. If you’ve ever heard anyone rave about the sheer beauty they experienced from riding off-road in New Zealand and wondered if they were exaggerating a little, well, let me tell you, six days spent riding with John Nicholson’s NZ Adventures proved to me that our Kiwi neighbors would have to be some of the most spoiled trail riders on earth. It really is that good!

Day One – Blenheim to St Arnaud: 251kms

Blenheim is located in the north-east corner of New Zealand’s South Island, and it’s the place where the 20 riders joining the ride gathered on a Sunday afternoon the day before departure to make their last minute preparations for the six day adventure. I arrived mid-afternoon after making my way from Greymouth on the West Coast via Westport where I visited friends and took the opportunity to ride local trails. That night John Nicholson and his crew very professionally ran us through the do’s and don’ts and pointed out the importance of being mindful of the area’s we were about to ride through, which included many private properties, forests with big logging trucks around any corner, pristine native beach forests, dry high country stations to hidden alpine valleys, where at any moment we could encounter 4wd’s, sheep or cattle that pop up out of nowhere, or even other bikes coming the opposite way. Similar warnings given by any good tour operator, and always refreshing to hear before the start of a big ride.

Most of the riders, from all corners of NZ, had met one another by the time we rolled out of Blenheim on a crisp, sunny Monday morning. I was aboard a 2006 Yamaha WR450, and with the words, “Be prepared for a change in conditions” from John still firmly planted in my mind, I felt some comfort that my camera gear was secure in a waterproof case and my waterproof pants and jacket were only a quick pit-stop away. Looking back now I really had no idea what I was in for, but that first sunny day was welcomed with delight as we power-slid our bikes on shale-based tracks through the remote North Banks Forest west of Blenheim. Our route was then redirected by lead rider Dave Britten after we came to a halt due to tree felling, but this didn’t worry the group too much as before too long we were in deep concentration mode focusing on keeping it upright along a rocky trail covered in river stones that shook you to the bone. On the same ride last year, “Jamo”, from a trail riding group called “Fat Bastards Racing” was airlifted to hospital after breaking bones on this same stretch, but this time we all made it in and out without any dramas.

I quickly learned that many of the trails we were to explore didn’t link up as the mountains were so steep making it impossible to pass, but this worked out perfectly for me as I got to suss out all the good photo opportunities on the way up and nailed them on the way down. The climb up Mt Patriarch was one such example. It was like riding to the moon. Every corner offered an amazing view, which made me feel like pulling over, but I resisted because experience told me it always gets better towards the top. And it did. Nothing like I’d ever experienced before. A wild, raw, rock-littered summit that overlooked dark mountain peaks running for miles in every direction. I thought to myself, ‘So this is what it’s like standing on the moon!’

Day Two - St Arnaud to Murchison: 160kms.

Nestled in the Southern Alps and surrounded by huge mountains popular for skiing in winter is St Arnaud, a very picturesque little place that has the spectacular Lake Rotoiti only a stone throw away from the lodge we stayed in on our first night. The group was in good spirits after arriving safely from riding the route from Mt Patriarch to St Arnaud. We were all dry, warm, and ready to enjoy the first night of getting to know new friends and listening to tales from the day’s trails.  

The feeling that riding the next leg with dry gear soon evaporated late into the night when rain started falling hard on the tin roofs of our rooms. Come morning it still pelted down hard and looked very much settled in for the day. Extra layers and waterproof gear was being thrown on and no-one seemed too worried about heading out into the rapidly changed conditions. I for one was quite keen as rain-soaked rides back in Oz had been very scarce where I live. Mud rules over dust any day of the week, and I was about to experience riding wet conditions to a whole new level over the following days.

The day’s route led us over the misty Alps towards the west coast riding through private farmland with lush green hills. We passed groups of sheep in their thousands that looked like white freckles against the green landscape, and most of us, except Jamo, walked our bikes through a rapid flowing river that had unexpected holes to easily dislodge your foot leaving you off balance, and like some riders, falling back into the drink. The downhill section of the old Porika trail over the Howard Ranges leading towards the Nelson Lakes National Park was epic, as was our run through Braeburn Track to our lunch and nights stop in Murchison where we took on a celebrity guide for the afternoons riding being the local copper.

He took one look at all the bikes and when asked to join us he jumped at the chance to park the patrol car for the afternoon. This was a bonus for the group as he showed us some fun local trails that saw us riding through some of the longest, deepest 4WD tracks that were full of water from the day’s downpour. And these tracks were high up along a ridge of around 2000-feet. He hadn’t seen the tracks in this condition before, and he showed courage as he entered every stretch of water first. His CRF450X would at times sink to the top of the engine, and the bunch of us following would often wait to see if he’d make it through first. And we all did eventually, with the odd submerged rider and bike – from taking a wrong line or entering too hot – having to be helped out along the way.

The funniest moment I recall was seeing John Nicholson make an aggressive passing maneuver up the inside of our guide around a slippery corner, which sent our friendly copper flying off into the bush face first. John swears it was clean, but I was pretty close and it looked a bit racy to me. There were no fines made though, and we all arrived back into town completely drenched but with the biggest smiles on our faces so far.

Day Three And Four – Murchison To Two Days In Reefton. Total: 365km.

As the rain continued to fall the rivers continued to rise. From Murchison the plan was to cross the mighty Mackley River and complete the journey to the historic Denniston Coal Fields, but on arrival John’s intuition that it would be too high to cross safely proved correct. We enjoyed a moment on the rocky bank wondering what could have been, then hooked into more two-wheeled slide action for the 25km back along the windy fun gravel tracks to a locked gate that was opened again by local NZ Adventure 4WD guide Malcolm Langley. Mal runs tours in the area and during our two nights spent in Reefton he gave us in-depth history lessons about the places we visited. Thanks Mal.

Reefton is surrounded by massive mountain ranges and our two days based there enabled us to explore many of the challenging trails John had planned. The first was tackling the very very wet and muddy Waitahu track that had been previously well-worn-out by 4WD’s leaving deep rutted-out holes for stretches up to 50 metres. It was only a 30km in and out track, but it felt much longer, especially when you find yourself taking a bad guess at a line through a deep bog-hole and tipping the bike over in the thick brown slop, like myself and a few others did. Your gloves become soaked and covered in mud, while your boots fill with so much cold, brown water it feels like your feet are swimming as you change gears and apply the rear brake. You quickly learn it’s best to follow another rider to see how his line works out, or as one of the old trail dogs on the ride, Peter Payne, pointed out to me afterwards, “Just always look for the highline off to one side close to the bank”. Yeah, but it always doesn’t work out that way, especially when you find yourself sliding off the bank into an even deeper hole. He always managed to stay much cleaner and dryer than myself though … Sly dog!

Riding the Waitahu slop was so much fun. The wetter you became the more relaxed you felt when entering each new water hole. And not forgetting the 500-metre challenging section along the river bank that resembled a graveyard of bowling ball-like rocks that tested every rider’s balance and composure. I was one of the last out of the track after stopping to take photos and was thankful a Kiwi named Ian Boyd was waiting for me to make sure I knew the way home. I knew we were close to Reefton and as I trustingly followed him 40-odd kilometers along a main tar road I started to think to myself that it didn’t feel right. And it wasn’t! One turn left instead of right took us on an extra 80km road trip with wet riding gear, very cold, while the other riders were taking hot showers back at the motel that was only 10-minutes away from our wrong turn, sinking beers at the bar and working on their bikes for the following day. I soon learnt not to trust Kiwi’s and their directions.

Reefton Day Two – Washing gear and turning the bathroom into a dry room most nights was standard procedure. Even if your boots only stayed dry and warm for the first hour of the ride it was well worth it. The second day John led us over Reefton Saddle and down Soap Stone Hill, which was appropriately named as it was super slippery, and that was going down it. The real fun started later in the day when we had to ride back up it. There were bike flips, many smoking wheel-spins, classic spills with lots of laughs, but the highlight of the day would have to of been one of the most amazing riding experiences I’ve ever had, which was the steep decent down into Waipuna Creek and following a five-metre-wide rain forest gorge for five kilometers.

The green moss covered walls with ferns protruding either side of the gorge stood high into the sky as we cautiously navigated our way along the slippery river stones as water drifted through the channels we’d cross from bend to bend. To even think we could ride through such a place blew me away. Scenes from Lord Of The Rings appeared in my mind several times as we rode deeper along the gorge. Keeping the bike balanced and moving forward across the stones wasn’t easy with the sights that appeared around every new corner diverting your attention. Then we came to the rock tunnel sections. The first around 20-metres long and just high enough to ride through while sitting on your bike. The next two were huge, around 30-metres long by 10-metres high, and also quite a buzz to ride through. I went ahead to set-up a shot and ended up a few kilometers down a river in the wrong direction after taking in John’s directions, “After the second tunnel …”, there was only one more, but we were at the end of one tunnel when he told me, but I still think Kiwi directions are not too great! Once back on track though we all rode out away from the amazing section very exhilarated and hungry. A quick stop at a local pub to cure our stomach pains was then followed by attacking Soap Stone Hill and taking in the sights of the Big River Track and old gold mining settlement before cruising back into Reefton for another night of good food, a warm fire, and more tales.

Day 5 – Reefton To St Arnaud: 276kms

Thanks to high rivers from the rain, blocked access through farms and steep impassable mountains there was more tar road sections on this ride than John’s other tours, which bored some riders, but the scenery along the way was incredible and once we got back to the beaten track it always seemed worth riding the 60km or so of tar. And John had a gem lined up for us on this day after we stopped for lunch at Mt Ella Station, which is a large scale dairy operation out of Murchison that welcomes John and his crew at any time to ride the trails on their land. And the one we followed after lunch was a ripper. More deep muddy water holes surrounded by rain forest with tighter sections that flowed up and down over rocks and through flowing streams. There were also sections where we had to ride over 30-metres of tree roots that were slippery as ice and across large fields of Tussock grass surrounded by dark mountains that peered down at you from either side. Of course it rained again, but the warmth generated from riding kept us in comfort until we returned to the station and rugged up, made a few bike repairs, and once again hit the trail towards St Arnaud. This time we got to see the mesmerising Lake Rotoiti through the low lying grey clouds as we climbed back up the Porika track and back to the comfort of log-style cabins and an awaiting spa bath that soothed many of the riders’ now weary body’s.

Final Day – St Arnaud To Blenheim: 226kms

We had to suffer an early morning road section through battering rain, which John predicted would pass as soon as we dropped down off the Southern Alps into the west coast region, and it did, setting us up for our last incredible journey through the roller coaster trails of the Waihopia Valley and beyond. I thought I’d seen it all, but nothing prepared me for the awe-inspiring ride through private property farmland we encountered in this region.

Farm trails cut from the sides of steep mountains that trail off in the distance as you climb twisting higher and higher. I think I was the most excited – being a virgin to the area and a photographer had something to do with it – as to most of the Kiwi’s it was just another good trail ride through their home turf, nothing they probably hadn’t seen before. The photos will give you some idea of the raw beauty of the harsh, barren land, which is so different to the wet rain forest terrain of the west coast.

Another John, but last name Sinclair guided us through this stretch into Blenheim, and when we’d pull up on a ridge for a break he’d point to what seemed like the other side of the world to a distant mountain indicating where we still had to ride to. It felt nice to have a few layers of clothing removed and the sun on our backs for a change. It was super windy though along the tops of the high ridgelines, but as soon as we’d drop down of them and then climb the steepest of straight-up-to-the-sky hill climbs the sweat managed to break through. Towards the end of the climb up and down these amazing mountains close to Blenheim I started to feel a touch of sadness that the section was coming to an end. I really felt like turning around to do it all over again, just like we had on many other trails over the previous six days. But it wasn’t to be. I did however come away knowing that the next time I visit New Zealand for a trail ride I’ll be pushing hard for the chance to explore those mountain ranges for days on end. Thanks for the rare experience NZ Adventures.

Breakout Boxes

Snorkel Award ­– After dinner every night the “Snorkel Award” was given to the rider who either had the best drowning or accident while on the trail that day. King of the snorkel awards went to Mark “Rooster” Archer who won it three times out of the five nights presented. The first was for popping a mono and falling off in front of the fellas at a fuel stop, the second for drowning his bike and himself in a huge boghole, and the third for losing his way down a steep rocky hill, crashing into a fallen tree branch and then being airlifted to hospital after being picked up by 4WD. The other riders to win it were Ron Taylor for a complete submergence of his Gas Gas 300, and Deane Fleming for deciding to hang his helmet on a vine while still riding it, sending his bike off riderless with the pack. Deane was the only one brave enough to try the Sambuca shot down the snorkel option, which got the thumbs up from the lads. It was all good fun and added a sense of … “Hope I don’t get the damn Snorkel Award today” between the riders each day on the trail.

Accommodation/Meals – Our stay over at St Arnaud on the first and fifth night was the highlight as far as comfort and style goes. Very comfy wooden lodges surrounded by a rim of impressive mountains to view. The bar and restaurant was top notch, and spa and sauna a bonus after a long days ride. At all motels we stayed at we slept two to three max per room, first to the double bed scores. The meals were hearty and very tasty – soup followed by either a big roast, or sometimes fish, lamb shanks, steaks with veggies etc, plus desert, and for breaky there was always a choice of the good old eggs, bacon, sausages or cereal and fruit. Lunch was mostly in café’s, pubs, and local diners in small towns we passed through, and only once we ate a packed lunch by a flowing river, which was pretty damn good too.

Big River - Following the discovery of gold at Big River in 1880, Dray road was pushed through form Reefton. This enabled the Big River Gold Mining Co (est. 1882) to carry in and install a 10 head stamping battery for crushing quartz. A dam was built up stream in 1888 ensuring a constant supply of water along a 2km water race to drive the Pelton wheel that operated the battery. In 1897 a cyanide plant was installed, including rooms and tanks for separating the gold from the crushed quartz and refining it.

The Big River settlement was self sufficient, a Robey steam engine powered the sawmill to saw up mine props and housing requirements, the coal mine supplied fuel for the boiler and domestic use. The settlement had its own hotel, school, post office and shop, family homes and a single mans camp. A labour shortage during WWII and low gold returns saw the closure of the mine in 1942, and the desertion of the settlement.

Fat Bastards Racing – is basically four guys who like to go riding, have fun, and enjoy the social side of the sport. They all love bikes, like getting out to see the country, holding up the bar, and TBAM talked to one of the ringleaders, Murray “Jamo” Jamieson, while on tour. Here’s what Jamo had to say…

“It all came about like most things do. A night on the beers, someone called another a fat bastard, and before you know it we all became fat bastards and decided to form our own group. There are four of us Fat Bastards being myself, Garry “Gazza” Beckham, Allan “Ox” Hockley, Giles “Mint Sauce” Bailey, plus a few other blokes that ride with us when we organise our own Hare Scrambles and trail rides. We do have one other guy who helps us out, but he will never become a Fat Bastard as he only weighs in at 60kg ringing wet, and the Fat Bastards law says you have to be a minimum of 100kg, so we just call him ‘Prospect’.

Criteria to be a Fat Bastard? “Being at least 100kg is the main thing. The other is you just have to be generally an all-round good bastard. Don’t take life too seriously as our name suggests, and enjoy having fun first and foremost. We all ride KTM’s because we’re a team and we can share spare parts between us. On a trail ride our motto is to be the last to bed and the first to rise, and our day is always a race whether it is between others or just ourselves. I wouldn’t say we’re the greatest riders in the world, but we’re certainly not bad, and we’re always the first to help any other rider on the trail who has either broken down or just needs a helping hand up a snotty hill.

Future of FBR? Global! Huh huh huh. Nah, we’re just a small group of large guys having fun and FBR will go as long as it wants to. We’ll probably continue to upset guys by passing them on trails, but this is what we do, and as long as other riders just let us do what we do and they continue to do what they do, we’ll always be there to offer help to them when they get a flat tyre, fall down or breakdown. The Fat Bastards will always be there to help like I’ve shown on this tour, and if the other guys were here they’d be doing exactly the same thing. That’s what we’re about!

Last words? We’re coming to Tasmania soon so look out for the Fat Bastards!

John Nicholson – Owns and operates NZ Adventures, which he started back in 1986. He is a calm bloke most of the time and pretty chilled out for a tour operator, and here is what he had to say about the ride once we’d completed the six day adventure.

John: “This adventure trail ride we do varies in weather conditions quite substantially because we ride from the eastern side of the Southern Alps to the western side and back again. There’s a huge climate difference between both sides. The east side, Marlborough, is often very dry with summer droughts, and the land is typical high country mountains with rocky hills, tussock grass, and very barren with no trees to speak of. The western side of the divide you have temperate rain forest with very high regular rain fall. So the challenge with this adventure ride is we have been in situations where we’ve been flooded-in on the west and have had fire risk problems on the east, as we did before this ride.

The fire-risk situation in New Zealand is much tighter than it is in Australia, meaning, our threshold for fire is much lower because our ecosystem is not design around fire like Australia is with its Gums and the seeding process that works around fire. A fire in New Zealand totally devastates forests and turns them into a desert. We also have a lot of plantation pines that are of high value. Before the start of this ride we had a fire-risk in place that would have stopped us from entering the forests on the east, which makes it harder for us as we have to use more road sections to connect us to usable trails. Luckily for us though the fire-risk lifted the day before we departed, thanks to some much needed rainfall.

We put this ride together as an adventure-type ride to try and attract adventure trail riders more so than straight trail riders. The reason for this is because New Zealand trail riders are very spoilt. They have some of the best terrain in the world, but a lot of them don’t know that, and they get easily bored by the road sections. This ride has more road sections than other rides I do thanks to the very high and steep mountains that don’t have continuous dirt trails that pass over them. Once we get off road and into the trails they are mostly quite technical and follow river tracks, which make it hard for the bigger adventure bikes so it really is a ride for the smaller bikes and riders that like the adventure side of the sport and for those that don’t mind suffering the roads.

I run tours from the North Island to the South and to keep your finger on the pulse over such a big area is impossible. There’s so many local changes that take place that I don’t always know about, which is why I use guys from different area’s I pass through as part of my team to make the rides flow smoother. For this ride we had Malcolm Langley, who operates 4WD tours on the West Coast for NZ Adventures, guide us through some areas that had locked gates and the like. On the East Coast, John Sinclair from Blenheim, who runs his own tours in the area, guided us through thousands of acres of local private property farmland that he has gained access to through his relationships built over the years with the property owners. My sweep and lead riders on this ride – Dave Britten, Robbie Cricket and Mike Britton, also run their own tours in other parts of the country, and we’re all basically just good mates having a good time. They’re all very experienced and know when to step in to help when it’s needed, and this is how I like to run my network – I don’t make all the decisions, which makes these tours possible really.

Yamaha support NZ Adventures and I’d like to give them big thanks for their backing, and use of machinery for all of our tours. We put the WR250F and 450F through thousand’s of kilometers of all types of terrain and conditions throughout the season and we haven’t been let down yet. With their support and with the help of my team of guys I’ve mentioned above, it makes running these tours possible. Thanks guys!  

NZ Adventures runs tours in the summer season, and it is possible to hire a bike for international visitors by using the local Yamaha dealer buy back scheme, which you can ask John Nicholson about when enquiring about one of his upcoming tours. Check out the NZ Adventures website for all necessary information regarding rides and what gear to take at www.nzadventures.co.nz or by emailing John at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

TBAM would like to thank John and his crew for the opportunity to experience one of their incredible rides. It definitely rates high among the tours we’ve covered to date, and we’d recommend it to any rider that’s interested in exploring trails in other countries. Even for the scenery alone it’s worth making the journey at least once in your lifetime. We’d also like to personally thank Peter Payne from Yamaha for organising a 2006 WR450F, which was used more like a submarine over the six days and made it through every deep puddle without stalling or drowning. Happy days!