Day 12 – Tasman Sea, Rollers and Sandflies

We’re learning that a “sunny” forecast on the West Coast is a relative term. It generally means rain overnight, clearing around lunchtime — which is exactly what we got, along with a slightly delayed start thanks to some very tempting café food.


Somewhere along this stretch we officially left the South Pacific behind and picked up the Tasman Sea — although we didn’t actually see it until about 18 km down the road.

The first section runs between coastal dunes on the left and low forest on the right. Some of the trees are quite sculpted, probably from the prevailing south-westerly winds — which, conveniently, is also our direction of travel.

This was also the first proper flat riding we’ve seen since the Canterbury Plains. We made good time early, averaging over 22 km/h before stopping at Ship Creek.

Beautiful spot — driftwood scattered across the beach, and not much else apart from the odd bird and plenty of flies.


The next 15 km brought things back to reality with a series of short climbs over a low range, plenty of time spent in the granny gear, but with some great elevated views of the coastline.

As has been the case on this part of the journey, we continue to pass riders heading the other way, many of them completing the Tour Aotearoa. There’s always a quick, slightly cheeky glance at their bikes to see how much gear they’re carrying.

From there the road turns inland, following the northern edge of Lake Moeraki, with mostly gentle climbing through lush forest before reaching Lake Paringa campsite.


First job on arrival:

Long pants. Thick socks. Sandfly repellent.

Non-negotiable.

We arrived fairly early and spent the afternoon chatting with a motorbike mechanic from British Columbia, while also regretting not carrying a fishing rod. Apparently the lake is full of rainbow and brown trout, according to a local we met at the boat ramp.

Another good day on the West Coast.

Day Summary

Route: Haast → Lake Paringa
Distance: 53 km
Riding Time: 3 hr
Climbing: 450 m
Weather: Light rain early, clearing to fine
Best moment: First views of the Tasman Sea

Ride Links

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/22233128441
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/22219980263

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