Otago Rail Trail Day 3 & 4

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE:  Some folks have missed the fact that there are links on left side panel to our photo albums.  I have moved them up to the top so that they are more easily seen.  To view an album, just click on the link that you want and it will take you to a separate page with the pictures. I have labeled some where necessary, some are self-explanatory, and others are just to ooh and ahh at.  I usually post a new album with each new posting.

One More Note:  We would like to let our cycling friends know that although we could not be with you for Bob's memorial, we were certainly there in spirit.  We spent lots of time during our ride yesterday, talking about him and remembering him.  He definitely was one of the good ones.  He will be greatly missed.

Moving on.....

Day Three - Wedderburn to Hyde - 46km

Taking advantage of our free wifi, we spent the morning skyping friends and calling folks back in the States.  We can use our voip softphone to call the States free of charge.  Talked to my brother and Geoff's parents.  Skyped our friend Lucy, but the sun was just too brilliant, we couldn't show her the beautiful scenery we were looking at.  Everyone was excited to hear from us and it was wonderful hearing familiar voices.  Please keep those comments and emails coming.

As we were heading out of Wedderburn, we ran into a couple of 30 somethings from New York, actually not too far from Flushing, my hometown.  They have just immigrated to New Zealand and were traveling around before settling down. We had a great chat and discovered that they have a blog going as well.  We exchanged information and we will check in on them when we get a connection again.  It's a very brave thing they are doing and we wish them a lot of luck.

Back on the trail, the wind at our backs and downhill all the way.  We were in Ranfurly before we knew it.  Ranfurly seemed like one of the biggest towns we have been through in a while.  We had a coffee and poked around the antique shops. The road to Hyde offered more stunning vistas with a beautiful gorge view.  We walked down to the river and tried looking for fish, went through the last tunnel, and over several more bridges.  We rode into Hyde at around 4ish and checked into the Otago Central Hotel.  This is the only thing in town.  It is an old hotel with lots of character.  We tramped up the hill to the old Hyde School where they served a buffet dinner.  We hooked up with 2 couples we had met down in Wedderburn the night before.  They are all from the North Island. We had some great conversation exchanging information on our different countries and cultures.  One more day on the trail - it is going very fast.

Day Four - Hyde to Middlemarch - 29km

Tried as we might, we just could not go slow enough to make this bike trip last forever.  We were scheduled to meet the bus back to Clyde at 5pm.  This meant that we had lots of time in Middlemarch with not much to do.  Even with leaving the hotel as late as we possibly could and practically coasting down to Middlemarch, we arrived a little after noon.  Didn't take too many photos.  There hardly seems a point to it - there is just no capturing what we are seeing.  You will just have to do this ride yourself!  Some nice woman on a horse met us at the Middlemarch gate, took our picture, and even offered her house if we wanted a shower.  So nice. We stamped our last station in our passport books and met up with the folks we had dinner with last night.  We still had no idea what to do in this tiny town for 4 hours. Then miracle of miracles, Dick, the owner of the bike rental we used, was crusining down the street.  He offered to take us back to Ranfurly and if we hung out there for about an hour he would drive us back to Clyde.  Fantastic - we jumped in the van, had lunch in Ranfurly, and was dropped off at our car by 4pm.  Things worked out again.

Railed It! Trailed It! Nailed It!

Linda and Reg, our hosts, have invited us for dinner tonight.  As we left for the bike trip, she said "I'll put a steak on the barbie for you when you return." We all had a great dinner and we look forward to another adventure tomorrow.

Next time ... Manipouri