![]() Waiting at the car park with the 8 guys from Wellington the excitement was palpable. Then it was time for “BRING ON THE DOWN HILL ACTION” – Kirwans!! I had mused about this ride for a while as I flicked through various editions of the Kennett Bros MTB bible, but with a Grade 5 ranking had always thought it beyond the realms of someone who once got off her bike on a grass downhill at the Crazyman multisport event, remember that DN? ( DN Ed note – Indeed I do, such a fucking girl… I had to pretend I didn’t know you) but, Sara assured me that the hardest part was the climb (2 hours of river flats up and over roots and other obstacles and then 2 to 3 hours of technical uphill in foot deep leaf litter which made it feel like riding with flat tyres) and since we were missing that (courtesy of Alan the heli man) it would be all good! Massive style point to the chick on the Santa Cruz TRC there… Girls got GEAR So we grabbed the map and guidebook and decided to check out “Murray Creek Tracks”, just a 2km road bash from the hostel – and we could do an in and out trip to be back for lunch and then the chopper ride: So 1.30pm it was, which left us with a gaping hole in our morning. ![]() “Well it will be much cheaper if you go with the boys”, said Alan, and “I’ll do you a discount for cash (raising eyebrows…)”. 1.30?!! WTF?! What an outrageous time of day to start, after all us three girlies are all mums of young kids so our days generally start at 6am! ( DN Ed note – Yes, the early hunter catches the…)Ĭan we go earlier? we asked. But Sara got on the phone to Alan (the pilot) – Alan had a group of 8 guys from Wellington flying in at 1.30pm. We had been tossing around the idea of taking a chopper ride into Kirwans for a few weeks, but it was all subject to cost, availability and weather etc. But we managed to score two of the most beautiful days, plus there hasn’t been much rain for a month so the trails were all in primo condition). In fact a previously planned trip to The Coast had been cancelled due to bad weather. Saturday in Reefton dawned clear and warm (for those of you who don’t know the West Coast of NZ – it rains A LOT. But still, I told myself “it’s only a place to doss for the night (and keep focussing on the new bike fund!!)” ( DN Ed note – Fuck, it sounds horrendous, I would have had a lying down tantrum.) So – the place lacked a feminine touch, or the touch of a cleaner. ![]() The facilities were basic (one shower and two toilets for the whole hostel) and most beds were taken up by miners who lived there permanently (and the two old guys who spent the entire weekend sitting on the couch watching bad TV). We had gone for the cheapest gig in town (at $18 dollars a night, there was going to be plenty of cash left over for the new bike fund) and I was starting to regret it. Alright I thought, what a great spot! Anyway, as we pulled up to our accommodation, I started get an uncomfortable feeling in my gut. Compact, but still with an air of old mining town, and with some funky looking cafes (beware – looks can be deceiving). I have no memory of ever being to Reefton before, and as we pulled into the main street I was pleasantly surprised. ( DN Ed note – Solid pick mGirl, but the Santa Cruz was so ON) Post script – new bike now ordered (Pivot Mach 5.7) and will be here this week. Anyway left the shop without a new bike, But with some shiny new red grips for the Trek (which will feature in photos). So we headed out of Christchurch on Friday night, only slightly late due to my being waylaid at the bike mechanics drooling over new bling (bikes) – and attempting to determine if I should drop a ridiculous amount of money on a new weapon by riding it around the carpark and off some curbs ( DN Ed note – That is a SOLID approach to working out how to drop $10k) Yeah that’s a decent demo ride. So, without further adieu, over to Multigirl to give us the low down on the Girls Gone Wild West Coast MTB rave: This is a long post, for good reason and there is also a 90% chance I have fucked up the photo sequencing, but Its worth noting that this is our first Girl post! DN is a huge support and fan of girls, especially ones that like to get dirty. Its been a week coming, but finally Multigirl has got her guest post sorted… To be fair as the DN Legal team (not on retainer, full pro bono) she has a lot on defending us from all sorts of semi-baseless allegations, not to mention our rampant trademark infringement of on-line photo pilfering. ![]() “Why do you keep buying me popsicles DN?”ĭon’t worry, common mistake, but today we have something even better than that! Yes, its another MTB guest report, this time from the West Coast of NZ with an epic long weekend of action from South Island DN affiliate and safehouse keeper, Multigirl.
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