T2T

Route Overview

General Overview

The T2T Exploration Route departs Temuka and loops back to Temuka on a 331 km route made up of interesting gravel backroads. This route is a fun option as a full single day ride for those of you who like to ride at a reasonable pace. For the more relaxed paced rider or those who enjoy regularly stopping at lookouts and taking photographs, this route can be ridden over two days.

Start/Finish Point

While this Exploration Route can be started at any point along the way, it has been structured to start and end in Temuka.

Terrain includes

While some tarmac is necessary to link up all the gravel roads, the majority of this Exploration Route is made up of Grade 1 and Grade 2 gravel roads.

There is one Grade 3 section that runs along the beach and a scenic lagoon. This section is made up of loose beach stone and can be a challenge on larger bikes. If you would prefer to bypass this section and keep the entire route to a maximum of Grade 2, then you can download the Leg 1 Grade 2 route in the Downloads area which bypasses the beach section.

Spread throughout the route are around half a dozen small fords however at normal flow rates they have very low water levels to cross so do not pose any great challenge.

Distance

331 km.

Max Fuel Leg

172 km.

Ride Time

This Exploration Route is made up of two legs and can be ridden in two ways:

Option 1 (Two days) : This route can be ridden over two days for a relaxed paced ride at around 4 hours conservative seat time for Leg 1 and around 4 hours conservative seat time for Leg 2.

Option 2 (Single day) : Combining both Leg 1 and Leg 2 provides a full day of riding with a conservative seat time of around 8 hours.

Accommodation

If you choose to ride the Exploration Route over two days, there are a few accommodation options inducing camping, cabins, motels or a B&B. More details are on accommodation are provided in the Leg 1 route notes.

Access Permission

All roads within this Exploration Route are publicly accessible so access permission is not required.

Access Limitations

This Exploration Route is recommended for fine weather. While it is possible to ride this route all year round, it is common for snow to occur around winter and close some of the high altitude roads. If there has been recent heavy rain then a few days should be waited before setting off as the normally small and shallow fords can become deep, rushy and potentially unfordable around times of heavy rain.

Preparation and Safety

While this is not considered a technical route it does include a few semi-remote areas so it is recommended to ride this as a group with typical adventure riding equipment including bike tools, spares and a PLB or emergency beacon.