The Old Ghost Road Mountain Biking New Zealand

Mountain biking The Old Ghost Road, the South Island, New Zealand.
PLANNING & PREPARATION https://tinyurl.com/y9m3nkmw
ROUTE DESCRIPTION https://tinyurl.com/ycynaxd8

It is a 2-3 day bikepacking great ride, and also an excellent tramping or walking trail. For my trip I took my time - four days - so I could make this film…and also because I’m no fit or expert biker.

The Old Ghost Road is an 85km single track mountain bike trail and walking path in the upper South Island of New Zealand. It begins at Lyell - near the town of Murchison - and it ends on the West Coast at the small settlement of Seddonville. The Old Ghost Road traverses mountains, deep river gorges, dense forest and rough backcountry. It is remote, exposed, with alpine sections above the treeline. On a clear day, there are incredible views in every direction. The steep, jagged rocks and golden tussocky peaks are spectacular. 

The Old Ghost Road is so named because segments of the trail were former gold mining towns, now abandoned to nature. On the first day, as you ride up the hill from Lyell, there are fragments of these previous settlements. They include schools, hotels and communities that sprung up around the gold rush of the late 1800s. While there isn’t much left to see of these towns (a few walls, metal implements, a graveyard), it is fascinating to think that what is now a wilderness area was once well populated. 

Because I wanted to take my time - taking photos, filming and exploring along the way - I decided to spend three nights (three and a half days) in the huts on the trail. There was also the small matter of not being fit or young. I could do with losing a few pounds too. 
Most people do the ride in two nights (two and a half days) and some masochists in one night (two days). A story was circulating among riders on the trail about a guy who rode to there and back in a day...apparently stopping at the Seddonvile general store and pub to buy a muesli bar. 

Had I not been messing about with cameras along the way, I think I could have managed it in three days. But then, what’s the rush? I still enjoyed the buzz of zipping through the downhill sections, but then also had time to scout the alluring side paths, rivers and hills.