Picking up from our last post, here are our experiences with the Otago Rail Trail for days 3 and 4
Day 3 – Ken
Day 3 was by far the prettiest day. Although cool, the sky was crystal blue all day.
Our first stop was a kilometer down the line from where we stayed at an old gold mine. The Golden Progress Mine was a working mine a short detour off of the trail. Although taken over by time, the site has the remains of three boilers that were used to power the mine and drive the Poppet Head.
(Click on the Arrows at the Sides to See Additional Pictures)
What is a Poppet Head? It is the framework above a mining shaft that supports the winding mechanism, and this one is the only remaining one in valley. At its peak, the Golden Progress Mine employed up to 25 men who were taken 46 metres below ground tunnels to dig out the quartz containing the gold. The only other remaining structure on the site is a small stone building.
With that, we were off again. Ever so gently the trail turns south, and as it does, you begin to experience the pull of the planets. Ok, you always feel the pull of the planets, however in this case Otago Central Rail Trail Trust working with a number of other organizations has set up a part of the trail as an “Interplanetary Cycling Trail”.
Using the town of Ranfurly as the Sun, the Trail Trust has placed the 9 planets along the trail. While we didn’t really notice the planets earlier in the ride, just north of the town of Wedderburn, we noticed Saturn, and just south of Wedderburn, we crossed the orbit of Jupiter. The most interesting of the small displays was just outside of Ranfurly where they had a shadow board of the Earth and Moon.
Ranfurly is one of the larger towns on the trail, and the last place to purchase any snacks or drinks for the remainder of the ride. We stopped for coffee and had gigantic cinnamon rolls at one of the bakeries then trundled over to the supermarket, or, more accurately, the large convenience store. Knowing that we probably wouldn’t need much we picked up a bag of chips and some ginger beer. Phyllis doesn’t really care for ginger beer, however there wasn’t a lot of choice for drinks.
Ranfurly also has an iconic art deco style building right in the middle of the town. Although we didn’t go into the building, in its heyday it was a bustling place serving hungry train passengers as they passed through town. Right across from the old café is a stature of John Turnbull Thomson, the chief surveyor of Otago from 1856-73 and the first surveyor general of New Zealand from 1876-79.,
The one stop on the trail we missed, accidentally-on-purpose, was Waipiata. According to our hostess from the previous night’s B&B, Waipiata’s main claim to fame is its pie shop. Because of our great breakfast at the B&B we were nowhere near being hungry, and that seemed to be the only reason to stop. We took a look at the Ganger Hut and were on our way to Kokonga, which was our stop for the night.
Booking our ride and accommodation early paid off well at the Kokonga Lodge as we ended up with the largest room in the place and an amazing view of the countryside. After a little dip in the pool (mine barely a step in and out), naps were the next course of action. Our dinner companions were again the transplant surgeon and his wife, two older couples from Australia – one who operates daycare centres, and four other Aussies who were riding the trail from Middlemarch to Clyde, or the opposite direction to us.
The conversation was lively over the ham dinner (and scrumptious Pavlova), and when it was done everyone piled into the TV room. We didn’t stay for long as there was an Australia versus New Zealand cricket game on TV, and quite frankly we didn’t have a clue what was happening. So, off to our room we went to read until it was time for sleep.
Day 4 – Phyllis
It was darn chilly on Day 4. The previous day had started cool, but within an hour and a half I was hiding out in a Ganger’s Hut stripping off the under armour and leggings. For this day I was using my rain coat as a wind break. We had met a retired gentleman from the American diplomatic services and his daughter the day before. When we passed them on Thursday, they were bundled up for a winter day.
We were riding faster today, perhaps because it was the end of the ride, but more plausibly because it was mostly downhill or flat. The high lights for the day were another tunnel and viaduct and three more stations. The last 13.5 kms were an all-out sprint to get to Middlemarch station.
The one station to note was at Hyde. It was the control station for the railroad. There was an intricate system set up to control which train had the right of way on the track using whistle signals and cards that had to be moved from one bright red metal box to another. This was the best trail side museum of the whole ride.
(Click on the Arrows at the Sides to See Additional Pictures)
There was, however, one instance where a train left the tracks and resulted in 21 fatalities.
At the end of the trail at the Middlemarch station, the cycling companies had a cute photo op area set up to commemorate the end of the line. Some enterprising person changes the date on the fence every day. There was always another rider coming in to help take your picture.
While waiting for transport back to the bike shop in Clyde, most riders stop for coffee and a snack at the Kissing Gate Café. This was also a chance to share some final conversations with the people we met along the way.
We completed 166 km, with a few side trips, over the four days. That’s not much more than the Grand Fondos Ken has done, nonetheless, our knees were a bit worn out and our bottoms appreciated being off the bikes.
The Otago Trail is 20+ years old. Most of the businesses along the way exist to support the trail. The organization, attention to details, knowledge and friendliness of all the proprietors was excellent.
