Otago Rail Trail Day 1 & 2

Day One: Clyde to Omakau - 41km

Met up with Janet from the Ranfurly Bike Hire, at the head of the trail in Clyde in the pouring rain. We got our gear all set and got our rail trail passports. These are souvenir booklets that you stamp at each station - part of the money goes back to the upkeep of the trail. We took Janet's recommendation of taking the river road to Clyde instead of the trail - just 4 kilometers more. Going back through Clyde, we went over the bridge and up over a steep hill. After a few kms, we realized that we weren't seeing any river. Great start! Turned back into the wind and the rain and finally found the river trail. This was a gravel, dirt, and rock construction with lots of twists and turns and hills. For a non-mountain biker, like myself, it bordered on the verge of mountain biking. Our hybrids did a fine job of negotiating the terrain and I soon got the hang of it all. Lots of pretty scenery to see going up and down hills. The rain eventually stopped as we got to Alexandra. By the time we finished lunch, the sun was out in full force. We hooked up with the rail trail here, where the road was flatter but still consisted of dirt and gravel. Lots of bouncing, fortunately the bikes are very comfortable. We passed through the old train stations stamping our passport.

At Chatto Creek, we pulled into the Tavern built in 1896, and had our afternoon cafe. Meanwhile, the sky darkened, the winds picked up, and we had approximately another hour to go. "Forty minutes up and 20 going down", said the waitress. Starting out, the wind was at our backs and we were getting pushed up. Of course, that didn't last long - the road curved, the wind was straight at us and it started raining again. I so wanted to call a taxi, but we were out in the middle of absolutely nowhere! It was just us and the sheep. Watching the sky go from blue to gray made for some very interesting imagery. The last 5km were all downhill and of course the sun decided to come back out for a short time. We arrived at our B&B, the Omakau Accommodation, at around 5:30. We have our own little cottage which is very charming. We also get to do a free wash! Tonight we have made a dinner reservation at the Omakau Commercial Hotel. This is basically the only place in town. All of these towns are just so quaint. They were built during the gold mining era, but now their main lively hood is the rail trail. It is truly like going back in time.

Geoff is thrilled he doesn't have to drive for a couple of days. He has been doing great, except he keeps turning on the windshield wiper instead of the turn signal. This pisses him off to no end :)

Day Two - Omakau to Wedderburn - 45km

Blue skies and bright sunshine! Our first scenic tour was to cycle to Ophir, a small gold mining town, with the buildings still pretty much preserved. It is just a 4km loop outside of Omakau. We ran into our tandem couple from BC, Lil and Dave, who very much remind us of another tandem couple we know. Lil is actually from Newfoundland and her maiden name is Sullivan - could be a long lost cousin. Coming back down through Omakau we hooked up with the rail trail. The weather could not have been nicer. It felt so great to be out of the car and into the fresh air. Outside of the views, the smells are awesome - there is eucalyptus, thyme, and lots of lavender. The only sounds you here is the baahhing coming from behind every hill. I will try to capture some of it on video. I did take a panoramic video of Ida Valley today. It was just too much for for one shot.

Going over bridges, through tunnels, and even a sheep crossing, made the day one of the most memorable ones in our lives. At one point, we actually had tears in our eyes. It is just so overwhelming - not only to be here, but to be biking here is extraordinary. We crossed the 45 degree south latitude, which made a great shot with Geoff's Latitude 45 degree Nord bike shirt that he got on our Montreal bike trip this fall. We also hit the highest part of the trail today. So it should be all downhill from here. Tonight our lodgings are another cottage in Wedderburn - nothing here but us and the sheep. There is a tavern down the hill where we just had dinner. We finally tried the Whitebait, which everyone has been pushing since we got here. Not much to our liking. We really have to stop trying the seafood. Although last night the fish and chips made with blue cod were good. We are very satisfied with sharing a meal, so our costs have been reduced substantially. It also helps when we don't like something.  At least we didn't order two portions of it!  Much to our surprise, they have wifi out here in the middle of nowhere so I will be able to post the last two days.  Beautiful sky tonight.  Pleasant dreams.

Next up.... Rail trail part 2