Molesworth...To The Front Gate!

It's 100km from the Dashwood turnoff on SH 1 to Molesworth

boundary - another 46km for me to go...

(Do click on the photos to enlarge them, the scenery is magnificent)

Another one way bridge... Hope it will hold me up!

But... As ' Rosalia de Castro' said - "I see my path, but I don't

know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what

inspires me to travel it."

The whole 100km through the Awatere Valley
followed the Awatere River,

and the road followed the valley and the river...

Up and down and round about.

I stopped for coffee and dilly dallied just to soak up the

feeling of vastness and  space and silence.

The bigger mountains in the background is the Inland Kaikoura
 range dominated by Tapuae-o-Uenuku and Mt Alarm.

The road rises steeply then dips over deeply incised river gorges.

I've read that the road is easy now compared to the original

one which more or less went up the Awatere river bed and forded

the river many times. At least now there are bridges... And lots

of gates. By myself I had to get out and open the gate, get back

in my bus and drive through, get out and shut it, climb in again

and off again. I walked my 10,000 steps for the day getting

in and out time and again.

In some places the road is a bit like a goat track winding round

the sides of the hills. I'm very careful as no barriers should

I be careless enough to drive over the edge! 

Majestic mountains...

It's a long haul up the valley. I have passed other Marlborough

stations with their own resonance, Blairich, Awapiri, Jordan,

Camden, Upcot, Middlehurst and Muller, next to Molesworth.

Just me on the road!

Beautiful autumn colours. The water level in the river

is very low... So little rain for many months.

I'm nearly there...

Yes, 10km to go... Another gate to open...

Mmmm... Hope the cows are friendly...

The 'front gate' of Molesworth... I was so excited. I had made it 

this far - despite some negative predictions...

How many people over the many, many  years have been pleased 

to reach this gate... Early pioneers,  station owners, stockmen, 

musterers, rabbiters, station cooks visitors...

How many hands have patiently opened and shut it with 

thankful hearts that they are 'home'...

 

The last little bit...

And here I am... Parked in what is now the DoC camping 

ground, by the historic old Cob Cottage, the original homestead.

I have been welcomed by the ranger, invited to help myself

to as much firewood as I want and to enjoy Molesworth.

I have the place to myself, which is unusual I'm told...

And the day is ending, the moon is rising and I am in the

middle of nowhere but I'm 'at home' on Molesworth.

It was an awesome feeling, 900 meters or 3000 feet

high amongst huge mountains and vast open empty

spaces. I just sat outside and walked around absorbing

these feelings until it got dark... And the silence!

On this biggest and most famous farm/station in New Zealand.

Molesworth... The First 45km's Up The Awatere

 Well... I'm on my way... Driving through Molesworth which I am

really excited about after planning it for a long time.

 Here's the sign to turn off SH1... And the road is open.

 My bus measures exactly 7meters. I have had various comments

on driving through there from "Oh you'll do it, piece of cake!" to

"Oh no you won't get through there without getting stuck."

But I got all the information I needed and found out that

as far as the Molesworth road is concerned it is checked 

every day by the DoC rangers so I wouldn't be stranded

more than 24 hours. A puncture?  Well that would be an

expensive road side call out!

 More information... I have no idea what this 70% restriction is...

Maybe somebody can explain it... But I thought that big cattle

trucks must go through this road... So off I went...

 The first few km's of the road is sealed and winds up the Awatere

Valley and river...

 On both sides of the road are 100's of acres of grape vines

growing... Lush bunches of grapes hanging. It's nearly  harvesting 

time... But the vines are changing the face of the landscape.

 The rest of the countryside is so incredibly dry from lack of rain.

Any green comes from the autumn yellows and greens of 

the trees along the river...

 About 20km is my first stop... For coffee!

  This is a great camping or parking spot... Lots of green spaces...

 But nothing there... The little stream is all dried up. But it was

the last Internet reception for 150km's.

 Amazing cliffs, cut I suppose, by the river flow cutting its way

through an old river bed, especially when it's in flood.

 Blairich Station...

 Amazing, huge farms on the river flats...

 It was a stunning hot day... The cattle huddled in the little

bit of shade they can find.

 The last of the green grape vines... And then...

 The end of the sealed road. To this point the road had been

stretches of seal and gravel but eventually
no more seal... For 160km!

 The condition of the gravel roads was good. Very few

corrugations or rocks on the road... Just dust!

 My first ford... Which was totally dry and not an issue.

 The road had subsided on one side. 

Careful driving was needed at all times. There were steep passes

and overall the road climbed in altitude all the way.

 The countryside was stunning... The greens and browns, autumn 

colours, the river and white cliffs and the beginning of the mountains.

 I could see the road winding around the hills in front of me...

 For a long way...

 And then I saw some dust clouds in front of me... Oh oh...

Oncoming traffic. So I found a wide spot to pull over and wait.

 Big trucks towing trailers with big machinery... And

 Woosh... The world was obliterated...

 And then the second truck and I had another dust experience...

Nothing quite like it!

 Onward... There were lots of very narrow one way bridges.

 Following the river up the Awatere Valley...

 I can't get lost on this road... Nowhere else to go!

 And then a bigger bridge...

 The Hodder Bridge with the 70% restriction...

Mmm... I thought...The bridge looked bigger and stronger

than me so over I went... To the other side.

 Amazing stony river beds and not much water.

A great place to stop... After the first 54 km's!

I had made it that far.

There were a lot of wild briar rose bushes covered

in rose hips, so I picked a bag full in anticipation

of making more 'Angela's Skin Food' concoctions.