Otago Central Rail Trail

The disused railway from Clyde to Middlemarch is managed by DOC and offers a few days of gentle cycling. The well graded track may not be technical but the scenery is great, there are loads of great tunnels and bridges and no traffic at all.

Day 1 Alexandra to Ranfurly (87.6km)

The barren landscape of central Otago

Having a break at Omakau

There was no doubt that the wind direction was going to be key on this ride. With no real hills, few twists and turns and little shelter from the barren Central Otago landscape I was always going to get blasted. It was great relief that I made my way out of Alexandra to find that I was being pushed along by a tailwind.

The twisting gentle climb out of Chatto Creek gave me a taste of what a headwind would be like - not pleasant. At Lauder I stopped at the cafe; a van converted to look like a train and serve expressos. The ladies who run it were very friendly, even though I failed to fix there gas powered coffee machine.

Next up was Poolburn Gorge, probably the most interesting part of the trail with a couple of tunnels and some trestle bridges and viaducts.

As I approached Oturehua I pased a large family who were taking 5 days to cycle the trail. Their youngest child was 8 and they were doing well. After visiting the historic village stores I continued around Rough Ridge to the highest point of the trail. Up until now I had been very steadily climbing all day. The gradient had seemed slight but once I started descending, especially with the ever stronger tailwind, I really started to pick up speed.

The original plan had been to stay at Wedderburn. However I arrived there before 3 and reluctant to waste such a helpful breeze I carried on to Ranfurly. Here I had the hostel to myself and spent a quiet evening in this strange art deco town.

Day 2 Ranfurly to Pukerangi (83.6km)

One of the several tunnels on the trail

Pukerangi station

Yesterday's tailwind hadn't abated and I was soon blasting along picking off more senior cyclists. Turns out quite a few other bikers had stayed in Ranfurly but they had all stayed in the hotel. I think I made the right choice as they all complained about creaking floorboards and slamming doors and had a poor night's sleep.

A few more tunnels this morning and I passed a couple of large groups battling in the other direction. Before long Middlemarch, at the end of the line, appeared on the horizon. However this section of the line is dead straight and flat so it took a while to get there.

My original plan had been to return to Alexandra via the Dunstan Trail, a 140km old mining track through the mountains. An ever deteriorating weather forecast lead me to change my mind. Normally not one to be shy of a spot of weather, the forecast icy southerlies and snow were not the conditions to be camping out in these remote mountains where people get lost every year. It was still a tough call to make as I had been looking forward to, and planning, this ride for a long time.

Plan B was rapidly put into action. I continued a further 20km or so on dirt roads to Pukerangi. The increasing winds and blackening sky warned me of the storm to come. From Pukerangi I jumped on the Taieri Gorge railway to Dunedin. After enjoying this scenic, tourist ride I spent a day in New Zealand's most Scottish city before getting a bus back to Alexandra. From the bus I could see the fresh snow that had fallen on the Dunstan mountains. Maybe I made the right decision after all.

Posted: 20/01/07

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