OFF THE RAILS

Thursday, December 24, 2009 5:30 PM

Idalis:

With so much beauty surrounding us here in New Zealand, it's been really hard to stick to a plan. Kevin and I may set out with an itinerary for the day, but with Fern as our trusty companion, we keep finding diversions that attract our attention. We have set out with our road atlas on many mornings, focused on a particular destination. But we inadvertently find something along the road that captures our attention, and off we go, off the beaten track in a completely different direction! It's been wonderful to travel this way, with our own transportation, no set plans, not sure what awaits us around the corner.

Otago Central Rail Trail, Central Otago, South Island

It all started with a boring book. While here in New Zealand, I read a book called “Long White Cloud Ride” by Josie Dew, who cycled around both the North and South Islands for nine months! Although not a riveting read, it got me thinking . . .

That's how we ended up cycling part of the Otago Central Rail Trail. Stretching from Dunedin to Clyde, the original Otago Central Railway (started in 1907) linked small towns with the big city of Dunedin. When it became obsolete in the early 1990's, the 150 kilometer stretch was permanently closed, the rails were ripped up, and the trail resurfaced. It's a cycler's dream, with beautiful scenery, old rail bridges, tunnels, and viaducts, not to mention probably the only flat surface in all of New Zealand!

It's a journey that takes four days, but we opted to do part of it, from the little village of Oturehua to Clyde, a total of 71 kilometers over two days. We rented bikes from Trail Journeys, packed enough food to feed an army, and hoped it wouldn't rain!

Feel the burn! The first day has us going uphill. I thought this was supposed to be a flat trail! Despite the initial fire in our calves, the scenery is spectacular: stone cuttings jutting out of the landscape, sheep, and sheer winds. We crossed the Poolburn Viaduct and through two dark schist stone tunnels that were carved by hand by the early rail builders. Once crossing the first tunnel Kevin couldn't help but exclaim, “That tunnel's a piece of schist! After 33 kilometers of biking that day, boy were we tired! We stayed in a cute tiny cabin at the Omakau Domain Board Camping Ground. We cooked our dinner (it's amazing how good tuna fish tastes after a long day!), had some well-deserved beers, and spent the rest of the evening talking to two Kiwis who are possum hunters.

Ouch! The next morning, our bums are so sore! How did that lady in my book do this for nine months??? Thankfully, most of the ride is blessedly downhill. Wheeeeee! The scenery, again, is beautiful. We go through the tiny town of Ophir (population: 50) and pass the Manuherikia River and Chatto Creek. We traverse Tucker Hill, where it's said miners only ever found enough gold to pay for their tucker (food). We pass orchards and vineyards, finally coming into the town of Clyde in the afternoon. Hallelujah! With sore bums and legs, we finish our journey, happy we did it, but also happy that it's done!



















Dunedin . . . eventually

Our next plan is to go to the city of Dunedin, but once again, we get side-tracked and end up stopping en-route at Shag Harbour, named after the birds that frequent the area (I know what you were thinking!) We walk up to a cliff edge, peer down, and get our first sight of some very loud fur seals! What a surprise detour! Along the same wildlife trail we spot our first reclusive hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin). Okay, we didn't see it up close and we had to borrow binoculars from the nice elderly Kiwi couple next to us on the lookout, but, we saw a penguin! We find a great little spot on the beach to park Fern at, so we camp for the night at Shag Harbour. A yummy dinner and a beautiful sunset round out an already great day.

The next day, we make another pit stop (in the opposite direction of Dunedin) to see the famous Moeraki Boulders, a collection of large spherical boulders that sit on a lovely stretch of beach. The boulders, which resemble giant discarded marbles, were created millions of years ago by extreme volcanic pressure. They've even found a dinosaur fossil in one of them! The Maori say the boulders are packages delivered by the god of the sea, containing food and other precious gifts.




Okay, now we'll go to Dunedin, which turns out to be a great city to recharge our batteries for a few days, and have that much-needed shower! We walked up Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It has a gradient of 1 in 1.286 (19 degrees). I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I know that I'm glad we're not there in February for the annual “Gutbuster Race”, when over 1000 athletes run to the top of Baldwin Street and back. All this steep walking has us hungry, so we head over to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens for a picnic. We visit the Otago Museum and on the way home watch the ducks at Woodhaugh Gardens bob for plants under the water.






While in Dunedin, we take a day trip to the Otago Peninsula where we hope to see royal albatross. No such luck, but Kevin does almost step on a seal he doesn't see! We follow a short trail to the impressive Chasm and Lover's Leap. With up to 100 kilometer winds fighting us the whole way, we now understand why the lovers were forced to leap! We even got in a bit of culture, as we went to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, which had an impressive photo exhibit about disturbing curiosities and unknowns in the U.S., from radioactive waste containment to labial plastic surgery. Pretty scary stuff!



















Getting to Te Anau . . . in a roundabout way!



We'll get to Te Anau (the South Island's biggest lake) eventually, but we decide to take the long way on the Southern Scenic Highway, which takes in the Catlins, a region filled with lush farmland, rugged bays, and native forests. We stop for lunch at Porpoise Bay, which Kevin picks out. As we're munching on our salads, we see Hector's dolphins and, OMG, three Orca whales!!! We almost choke on our lettuce, we can't believe our eyes! It turns out this is part of their migratory route, and seeing them is very rare. At Curio Bay is a petrified forest, with fossilized Jurrasic-age trees. We take Fern all the way down a gravel road to Slope Point, the southernmost point in mainland New Zealand. We end the evening in Curio Bay and camp right on the beach, next to the sand dunes and cows.

The next day, as we make our way to Te Anau, we stop at the wee town of Clifden to see it's historic suspension bridge and to go underground into the Clifden Caves. Gulp! Kevin convinces me to enter the bowels of this dark, underground cave, promising no bats and no freezing water. We put on our head lamps and venture in. Stalactites and stalagmites are jutting out of the limestone, and we even get to see some glow worms when we turn off our torches. After an hour underground, we emerge on the other side. Thankfully, there were no bats and only a little bit of very freezing water!




















So, we've finally made it to Te Anau. It's beautiful, but more on that later. From here, it's 120 kilometers to Milford Sound, a further 2 ½ hour drive north. But Lord knows, it'll take us a lot longer than that!




P.S. From Kevin, Idalis, Santa, and his reindeer: We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!