27 April to 2 May 2023

Leader: Dave Cox

This trip involved one day on the Dunstan Trial followed by four days on the Otago Rail Trail and was timed to coincide with the splendid autumn colours of central Otago.

To keep your balance, you must keep moving. This is true of cycling, skiing, mountaineering and life in general. It was a lesson one or two of us relearned on the Dunstan Trail.

After a foggy beginning, day one of our trip turned into a perfect cycling day: sunny and crisp, with almost no wind. The day began with a detailed briefing from Trail Journeys who then deposited us in Cromwell. Watching early morning fog lifting over the lake and hills was magical, and fortunately the first leg, to the beautiful Carrick vineyard (a scenic spot to break for morning tea) was easygoing.

Beyond that the journey became more challenging. In some places we needed nerves of steel to keep moving as the trail became narrow and steep with hairpin bends.

Overall, this was a stunning ride of about 42 kilometres back to Clyde which took around six hours.

The following day was our first day of the Otago Rail Trail. It dawned cold and misty for our ride from Clyde to Omakau. Given that most hands and faces were a little numb, we decided to stop in Alexandra for an early morning coffee after only 6 kilometers. A lunch break at Chatto Creek then was a “must” to build up our strength for Tiger Hill.

After that we had a very leisurely journey in the sunshine, scrumping apples from wild trees that had probably grown from discarded apple cores of passengers on past rail journeys. We arrived in Omakau early afternoon and detoured to explore historic Ophir before checking into our accommodation and heading to the hotel for a well-earned drink and meal.

For the ferroequinologists among us (a lovely old word we decided to use in place of ‘trainspotters’) the second day of the Rail Trail, from Omakau to Wedderburn, was possibly the most interesting. This section is full of gorges, tunnels and bridges and includes the spectacular Poolburn Viaduct which is 37 metres above the river.

There was an option to visit the historic Hayes Historic Engineering Works. For those who were not engineering minded the old homestead there was interesting from a social history point of view. How did the homemakers of the day manage to keep their homes attractive, orderly, and spotless without the use of modern appliances?

From a cycling perspective the highlight of this day was reached during the final few kilometres. After passing through the highest point of the trail, 618 metres there was a long, gentle, glide downhill to Wedderburn which, we all agreed, was a perfect way to end the day.

The third section, from Wedderburn to Waipiata, was planned as a short day of 29 kilometres. Some trip members decided to extend the day by taking an on-road detour to explore Naseby, while some spent time in the railway museum and ‘curiosity shoppe’ at Ranfurly.

Our fourth and final day, from Waipiata to Middlemarch, was long at 52 kilometres but without a head wind we were able to make good progress and enjoy the journey.

It was interesting to pass the old Hyde Hotel which is now permanently closed and beginning to look a little derelict but still picturesque in a faded glory sort of way (like some of us).

There was a sense of achievement, and some relief, in arriving at Middlemarch at the end of the trip and appreciating that we had cycled around 152 kilometres, over four days, in near perfect weather with almost no rain.

At the end of a long day of cycling one looks forward to a hearty meal, possibly accompanied with a glass of something pleasant, local and red. The consensus of the group was that the Post Office in Clyde offered the nicest meal, at good value, of the whole trip, with the Omakau Hotel and the Waipiata Country Hotel tied for second place.

Apple crumble seemed to be a standard dessert, sometimes with variations on the theme (such as apple and rhubarb) and served with (or sometimes, sadly, without) custard, cream, or ice-cream. We became experts, debating the merits of the different versions. The consensus was that you cannot beat a pure apple version with the ‘proper’ topping (as opposed to a sprinkling of rolled oats).

Overall, this was a gorgeous trip with stunning scenery and in great company. Thanks to everybody for helping to make this a very enjoyable trip.

Those on the trip were:

Dave Cox, Susan Robertson, Brandon and Elizabeth Holman, Pam and John Glover, Steph Turner, Rob Adams

Currently there is no photo album for this trip.