Alpine Odyssey Aotearoa – P(ea) for Preparation

Words & Photos: Huw Kingston

It was hot, I was hot. My legs ached, still trying to get into the rhythm of the long journey ahead. Sweat and dust formed a paste on my arms, my legs, my face. Then down I went, face down. Taking a corner too fast, the pea gravel brought me undone. A Western Australia delicacy, the name says it all. There’s an art and a tyre to ride this ball bearing like surface, and my pea green naivety offered neither the creative flow nor the rubber for the task.

I rolled onto my back, felt the now even thicker paste on my face, coagulated with a bit of blood, and lay laughing up at the sun, bike and jack-knifed trailer beside me.

It was 2001 and I was a few hundred kilometres south of Perth. It was the early days of a 6,000 kilometre riding, walking and paddling journey to Adelaide on the 5th leg of my City2City project. Seven journeys linking each of Australia’s state capitals by the most interesting and challenging human powered routes: 25,000 kilometres of desert, mountain, river and ocean.

24 years later I was back on the pea gravel south of Perth. This time a 5-day outing on part of the brilliant Munda Biddi, a 1000 kilometre trail, running from the outskirts of Perth to the city of Albany, down by the Southern Ocean. The Munda Biddi, not in existence when I was last here, was surprising me with all its goodness – scenery and singletrack, bakeries and bikepacking. Myself and Liam, a good mate from Perth, were tackling the section between Northcliffe to near Collie, from the towering timbers of karri and jarrah and green hues, to drier ‘end of summer’ browner country further north.

A travel writing award, sponsored by Tourism Australia, had got me over to WA, an award for a story on Alpine Odyssey, a 50 day ski and foot winter traverse of the Australian Alps. Training for an upcoming journey in the winter of 2025 was my excuse for this ride.

On 25 June my good Kiwi mate Laurence Mote and I will set off on Alpine Odyssey Aotearoa, a 90 day, 4000 kilometre traverse of New Zealand. A journey where our mountain bikes will allow us to access all 24 Kiwi ski fields en route, a journey by bike, foot, ski and yacht. Beyond having a bloody good adventure, Laurence and I are aiming to raise $75,000 for climate adaptation projects in the South Pacific, specifically in Vanuatu. Our neighbours here are right at the frontline of the climate emergency, as rising sea levels and ever more frequent and intense storms and cyclones hammer their shores.

If that 2001 journey had been my first towing a trailer, to allow enough water to be carried in the later desert sections of my route to Adelaide, in 2025 Laurence and I are hauling Quest Trailers, a NZ made single wheel trailer, that will hold much of our gear – our Black Diamond skis on a specially added rack, our Nemo camp gear, Scarpa ski boots and more inside the trailer box. With full winter equipment required as we head deeper into winter and further through the South Island, our bikes themselves will be kitted out with the full range of Osprey bikepacking bags, and our bodies from these fine folks at Ground Effect, great supporters of ours over many years. It will be a tough winter trip for sure.

Before starting our Easter jaunt on the Munda Biddi, a few days were spent in Denmark, where we showed solidarity with our Greenland friends against the rapacious lunacy of that North American narcissist. My wife Wendy then dropped Liam and I at Northcliffe and soon we were among the tall timbers and twisting singletrack. Like any long, purposely created bikepacking journey, the Munda Biddi has a mix of everything including gravel roads, forest trails and a bit of sealed stuff. But I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of singletrack. Never too technical but enough to make gravel bike grinders think twice about their choice of steed.

Given the Easter holiday weekend, extending further into Anzac Day, we expected the trail to be much busier than it was. Over the 5 days we met perhaps a dozen other riders; from France, UK, US, NZ and even Australia. We mixed it up with a bit of bush camping as well as staying at a couple of the purpose built shelters, twelve of which extend along the route. These have sleeping platforms with an open breezeway, tables, toilets and tank water. Occasional towns – on our section Pemberton, Manjimup, Nannup and Donnybrook – offer alternative accommodation options, supplies and flavoured milk, a personal addiction.

Conscious that Laurence was training hard back across the moat in NZ, in the cool of a South Island autumn, it was good for me to get some kilometres in legs and lungs. His surname Mote means ‘speck of dust’ and there is little doubt I’ll see that speck of dust ahead in the distance for much of Alpine Odyssey Aotearoa.

But Laurence Mote, a man hugely proud of his Māori heritage, former NZ representative mountain biker and former Ground Effect crew, has quite a story to tell.

Laurence is actually legally blind after an anaphylactic shock from a bee sting 12 years ago that nearly killed him. After going into cardiac arrest and coming out of a coma unable to walk, talk or see, Laurence, through immense drive, strength and family support, brought himself back. He is still twice the skier and rider I am, although I’m using the pathetic excuse he’s a decade younger.

As Liam and I rode further north, the loamy, grippy soil gave way to that loose pea gravel. But I was ready this time, an additional quarter of a century of mountain biking experience helping, along with now tubeless Michelin tyres.

The day we finished our ride, two days before Anzac Day, coincided with the 10th anniversary of my kayaking back into Anzac Cove at the end of my year-long circumnavigation of the Mediterranean Sea. That journey was my first partnership with Save the Children, raising funds and awareness for the children impacted by the desperate crisis of the Syrian civil war. Wars continue raging of course across the globe, in Ukraine, Gaza, Congo and elsewhere.

Layered over everything of course is the impact of climate change, children as always the most innocent of victims. Our fundraising plans are to build Vanuatu’s first climate resilient shipping container classrooms, ensuring children don’t miss out on education in the face of climate emergencies. An unprecedented 3 cyclones in 2023 destroyed so much in this beautiful island nation, and still much remains to be rebuilt. We certainly appreciate all donations and you can even ‘buy’ each of the ski fields we will be visiting during Alpine Odyssey Aotearoa. All details at www.AlpineOdysseyAotearoa.nz.

Just recently Laurence picked up the Quest bike trailers we are using. One is green, the other gold. He is convinced that I was behind such Aussie biased colour choices when he might prefer they were all black. But of course I had no hand in that.

I do rather relish though our plan to be led out by Ellesse Andrews, Laurence’s niece and triple Olympic track cycling gold medallist, on the Cambridge velodrome along our route. Those green and gold trailers chasing her down, no doubt miserably, in New Zealand skin suit and helmet.

But which side of the Tasman will win the Bledisloe cup of fundraising?

https://alpine-odyssey-save-the-children.raiselysite.com

Huw and Laurence are hugely grateful for all those supporting their journey including Osprey, Ground Effect, Nemo Equipment, Adventure South, Scarpa, Black Diamond, ATK Bindings, Smith Optics, North Wave, Michelin and Quest.