Hurunui Bikerafting brevet-beginners trip, by Deane Parker
A bike and a packraft have allowed me to pull off some cool short routes and that has come from fewer longer routes. None of which actually needed the boat for access more to join some dots or paddle a river during a bike tour or even just to change up the sore legs to shoulder workouts.
I am by far, not the first to try bikerafting, I have however made it a niche in my passion for video storytelling. A couple of years ago I made a film about Shailer Hart and his quirky collection of ultra bikepacking organised rides and ever since Shailer has prodded me into collaborating on a brevet style bikerafting event.
Over the winter of 2021 Shailer and I talked extensively of a route in the Lake Sumner Forest Park. We set dates for November. Coming out of NZ’s second lockdown and our biggest city locked out from travelling we ended up with a local crew of mostly first time packrafters, my adventure companion, Muel and Helen from a previous film of her journey into packrafting. Link here 'Helen's Journey'- Bikerafting 101
The trip route morphed as the consistency of the group came together. I wanted to create a journey that gave a feel for the independence and enjoyment that the extra effort of carrying packrafting gear on a bike offers, without too much pain and suffering.
As usual the anxiety of; can I carry it all on my bike sets in, a paddle, buoyancy aid etc all have to find a place to be safe from damage and not be cumbersome and impeding to the ride. The first few kilometres are unfamiliar and as Zoe says ‘you have to find the balance’, well said from the smallest member of the team riding an XS full suspension bike. Zoe did so well with her determination and grit that got her through the toughest section of singletrack fully loaded.
Group confidence was gained by the time we reached the Department of Conservation hut. Stan, another first timer said “I never knew how to combine biking and paddling so I gave it a shot”. After snacks and claiming bunks for the night we stripped off the bikes and rode on to the infamous Hurunui hot springs. I always enjoy natural hot springs and this spot was a new one for me. The water was hot and the sandflies vicious so we didn’t dally long before setting off back to the hut for the evening.
We had an awesome spot to gear up the next morning which was great as we spent heaps of time familiarising the first timers with the boat and the technique for strapping the bike down. Helen is well versed in the process now and her creaky knees make hiking painful so for her, “it's the best combo…bike in raft out”. Lots of briefing and paddle drills later we set off down the upper Hurunui. The river conditions were ideal for getting to grips with manoeuvring a laden packraft.
This trip proved the versatility of using packrafts to explore lesser known and paddled water ways. Whilst I’m sure at sometime in history the upper Hurunui has been paddled a few times, it seriously would have only been a few and what an amazing setting to pass on the mantle to starting out bikerafting enthusiasts than an incredibly spectacular landscape.
We finished off paddling downwind across Lake Sumner and up a natural canal into another Lake, Loch Katrine. Smiles, beers and potato chips were shared back at the trailhead. A group of inspired adventurers musing over the next bikerafting route.
