St James

D2 · *by D2 on Thu 11/Dec/08 12:36pm*

Has anyone ventured into St James Station yet?

oldbugger · *by **oldbugger** on Thu 11/Dec/08 9:10pm*

Been trying to get up there and do Stanley River,Edwards River loop but just cant find a free weekend at moment.Some one has tried according to DOC in Rga and found it to be extremely rough with a lot of bike carry and some very gorgey and unpassable with bike.

StevieP · *by **StevieP** on Sat 13/Dec/08 11:50am*

My Brother and I rode over Fowlers Pass down and around lake Guyon, up and over Maling Pass and back down the Rainbow road to the car. The ride was spectacular, heaps of stunning views, helped by the fact it it was a fantastic day weather wise.
We parked at the base of Fowlers Pass and rode up and over on some really nice single track (Pack Track). There are a few technical switchbacks, several stream crossings and fair amount of matagouri to negotiate on the other side of Fowlers but nothing too bad. It then opened up into wide river valley and across open pasture and then 4wd track around lake Guyon. We had lunch at Lake Guyon Hut (about 2 hrs or so into the ride).
We continued up towards the base of Maling Pass which involved two river crossing (You wouldn't want to attempt this if the river was up at all). The other option is the staying on the true left bank the whole way, but apparently this can take at least a couple hours longer to negotiate. From here we went up and over Maling Pass (hard but all rideable unless you've bonked like we had), the views again were as good as find and so different from the Clarence Valley just a few Km's west. Once at the Rainbow Road its just a fairly cruisy 8 km back down to the car. We were out 5.5 hours, not hammering but not going slow either. This would be a highly recommended loop in good weather, definitely take a topo map, heaps of food and warm clothing. Being able to do the river crossings safely is certainly the difference from this being a great day ride to it being a big epic!!

D2 · *by D2 on Sat 13/Dec/08 10:18pm*

Thanks for the great report StevieP. Hope to head that way over Xmas, New Year at some stage & that was the route & direction we thought would be best.

swtchbckr · *by **swtchbckr** on Mon 15/Dec/08 5:43pm*

yeah, that sounds AWESOME. i was told of that ride a few years back, sounded longer than 5.5 hours, but that sounds excellent...

thorg · *by **thorg** on Tue 14/Dec/10 8:05am*

DRRRRRRRRRRRREDGE!

Code: Select all: After nearly two years in development, the St James Cycle Trail was officially opened on 20 November 2010. It marks the first of the country’s Great Rides under Nga Haerenga, The New Zealand Cycle Trail, to be fully completed. Despite the miserable forecast for rain, nearly 100 supporters and mountain-biking enthusiasts turned up at the Maling Pass car park – the recommended starting point for the cycle trail – for the opening. Thirty six of these hardy souls also bought their mountain bikes and required gear to be some of the first to cycle the newly opened trail. The opening was tinged with sadness following the Pike River mine disaster the previous afternoon. Consequently our Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson was unable to attend the opening, but Canterbury Conservator Mike Cuddihy spoke on behalf of Kate. The Minister’s speech stressed the value of the partnerships between the Department, the Ministry of Tourism, the Green Party, the local community and the New Zealand Cycle Trail project which has resulted in the first fully completed cycle trail from the project. In partnership with Ngāi Tahu, the opening ceremony began with a karakia and welcome by Brett Cowan and closed with a blessing by Gina Solomon, both from Te Rūnunga o Kaikōura. Hurunui District Mayor, Winton Dalley, spoke about the local, social and economic benefits for the Hamner Springs community, followed by Green Party MP Kevin Hague on the sustainability of a network of cycleways throughout the country. Local MP Colin King finished by speaking on the wider social, environmental and economic connection in protecting and sustaining our natural assets. The formal ceremony ended with a collective ribbon cutting and keen cyclists setting off to the top of Maling Pass, or to Lake Guyon and back, with eight cyclists fully completing the trail to its end at St James Homestead. And what of the cycle trail itself? The 64km cycle trail starts and finishes on Tophouse Road, just behind the Hanmer Springs township – where one can enjoy a well-earned soak in the hot pools afterwards. The $670,000 cycle trail budget covered: 11km of new tracks to link existing 4WD and other farm tracks which were also upgraded; three new footbridges over streams; two new major bridges over the Waiau River; car parking and toilets at the three entrance points; and directional/orientation signage and track marking. The trail is graded intermediate and advanced as it traverses mountain passes, river flats, past high-country lakes, through beech forest and grassland valleys. The St James Cycle Trail currently holds, and is expected to hold onto, the rightful honour of being the most physically challenging of the 18 Great Rides currently underway or planned for the future. Experienced mountain-bikers are expected to complete the full trail in 8 -12 hours. The majority would take two days and either stay in any of the four huts accessible for mountain bikers, or camp beside the river. And the verdict? Best to leave it to an independent review – staff from the NZ by Bike website joined us at the opening and completed the trail in a staggering 6 ½ hours (needless to say they are the experts). Read their review on the following link: http://nzbybike.com/regions/canterbury/st-james-cycle-trail/ .

neels · *by **neels** on Tue 14/Dec/10 9:40am*

thorg wrote:DRRRRRRRRRRRREDGE!

Just been looking at the booklet thingy about it.

Looks oarsum

Time to start making some plans, and doing some biking so I don't die somewhere in them thar hills

kaiteri · *by **kaiteri** on Tue 14/Dec/10 1:50pm*

Here's a write-up of another route option in the St James.

http://www.nelsonmountainbikeclub.org.nz/st-james

AdamMTB · *by **AdamMTB** on Tue 14/Dec/10 1:56pm*

StevieP wrote:My Brother and I rode over Fowlers Pass down and around lake Guyon, up and over Maling Pass and back down the Rainbow road to the car. The ride was spectacular, heaps of stunning views, helped by the fact it it was a fantastic day weather wise.
We parked at the base of Fowlers Pass and rode up and over on some really nice single track (Pack Track). There are a few technical switchbacks, several stream crossings and fair amount of matagouri to negotiate on the other side of Fowlers but nothing too bad. It then opened up into wide river valley and across open pasture and then 4wd track around lake Guyon. We had lunch at Lake Guyon Hut (about 2 hrs or so into the ride).
We continued up towards the base of Maling Pass which involved two river crossing (You wouldn't want to attempt this if the river was up at all). The other option is the staying on the true left bank the whole way, but apparently this can take at least a couple hours longer to negotiate. From here we went up and over Maling Pass (hard but all rideable unless you've bonked like we had), the views again were as good as find and so different from the Clarence Valley just a few Km's west. Once at the Rainbow Road its just a fairly cruisy 8 km back down to the car. We were out 5.5 hours, not hammering but not going slow either. This would be a highly recommended loop in good weather, definitely take a topo map, heaps of food and warm clothing. Being able to do the river crossings safely is certainly the difference from this being a great day ride to it being a big epic!!

Did the same ride on the weekend but the opposite way. Only part we had to walk really was the steep section up over Fowlers. Fantastic ride, felt like a real adventure. Can't wait to go and do the longer loop. Took us 4 hours 20 at a pretty steady pace without any long breaks and was just over 45kms.

Highly recommend it.

Couple of photos

great uncle bulgaria · *by **great uncle bulgaria** on Wed 1st Feb 8:50pm*

thinking about this as 1 day trip.
the DOC time estimates seem a bit excessive, does anybody have times for the whole maling - peters pass loop?.

RHR_Rob · *by **RHR_Rob** on Wed 1st Feb 9:57pm*

Raced it at the weekend winner 3.5 hr but if you get lost and end up the henry river its more like 6!
nice day out though and Anne Hut up the Henry is very nice...