66% 4wd Track
33% Sealed Road
Description
This track is just over 20km north of Kaikoura on highway 1 and starts from a large lay-by with a large DOC sign for the Half Moon Bay Track.
The track starts by immediately crossing the train line and climbing all the way up to 500m over the course of the first 4km. The track is fairly smooth with grassy and rocky sections, and a steady/steep gradient.
The descent from the top of the first pass is quite rutted and increasingly muddy but very rideable. The descent ends at a small stream crossing at about 250m. The next climb is very steep and rocky to begin with before becoming steady and grassy as it leaves the trees. On reaching the top of the climb look out for the descent heading down on the left, this is easily missed.
It is almost all downhill from here apart from a couple of small climbs. The track is a little loose in places but not as rutted as the previous descent. Overall it is a fast and fun way down. From the Okiwi bay carpark at the bottom a short, fairly flat 7km ride takes you along the coast, past numerous seals, back to the start.