We have free wifi! Actually, the entire town of Franz Joseph has free wifi. It's actually the first time in our trip that we have free, unlimited wifi. How luxurious. Here's a series of posts Neil wrote offline and can finally post! When I left off we were last in Ranfurly following the Otago Central Rail Trail.
Ranfurly to Omakau
From Ranfurly we continued on the Otago Central Rail Trail.
We were slowly climbing, largely following the Teiari River. We took at lunch
break at a hamlet called Wedderburn 4km from the peak. Here there was a cute
hut with supplies, shelter etc. All on an honourary basis. I think when it is
manned it serves as a registration location for the local cabins. After a food
pause (and discussion with a fellow bike tourer who has a similarly equipped
bike), we continued to the peak (618m). All downhill from here!
On the downhill we were able to progress at a quicker pace.
We stopped at Oturehua including the Golden Progress Mine (an abandoned mine where
some equipment is still present), Gilchrist General Store (est. 1906 some
current merchandise, a lot of legacy displays), and Hayes Engineering. Hayes
Engineering was especially neat as it was essentially a machine shop / small
factory frozen in time from the Victorian Era, including belt drives, pulleys,
etc, all initially run from a windmill. After Hayes we continued on the trail
and camped in Omakau. (total 62.9 km).
Arriving in Wedderburn
Hut of goodies
Golden Progress Mine Site
Belt drive to lathe at Hayes Engineering
Outdoor curling site. You can see the warming hut across the burn.
Omakau to Alexandra
From Omakau we initially left to see the quaint hamlet of
Ophir. Ophir originally the service town for the miners but was bypassed by the
railroad and Omakau grew. Ophir is only 2km from Omakau though so they both
persisted. Ophir currently has cute historic buildings plus an original design
suspension bridge.
From Ophir we continued on the trail, stopping for lunch at
Chatto Creek (1 hotel/pub, 1 farm house, nothing else). ~7km from Alexandra we
came upon an unmanned stand selling mixed fruit bags from the nearby orchard.
Of course we bought some! While we were devouring our find, the owner of the
orchard came out. She was from Europe originally but had lived in the region
for ~46 years. She remembered the steam train passing by and used to ride it to
/ from town. She now puts out the fruit for cyclists at the suggestion of her
grandchildren.
We arrived in Alexandra that evening and settled in for the
night. (36.9km)
Alexandra
In Alexandra we took a rest day to explore. Alexandra is the
largest of the settlements in Central Otago with a population of ~6000. It had
full services including 2 bike shops, and a grocery store (our first true
grocery store since Dunedin). Alexandra was notable for being at the joining of
the Clutha and Manuherikia Rivers. We were tempted by the Roxburgh Gorge Trail, but unfortunately it's incomplete, requiring a 20km boat ride for the middle section due to failure to obtain permission from the land owners.
Alexandra old and new bridges
Alexandra to Cromwell
For this leg we left the rail trail in favour of the river
trail. The river trail was slower going (many little up and downs) but much
prettier! We took a lunch break in Clyde, the official end of the rail trail.
Clyde to Cromwell we rode on the road. Not much fun as there
were a number of vehicles and minimal shoulders.
Notable for this region is the Clyde dam – a massive
engineering project to generate hydroelectiricity. In the process of creating it,
the original Cromwell townsite was flooded. Cromwell was originally high above
two rivers. Now it’s a lake front town. Several buildings from the original
townsite were moved and are now set up in a cute museum / café / art gallery
area by the lake. The old hall that is now mostly under the water level was an
especially strange sight. Cromwell today is a fruit growing / wine making
region.
After much debate and gathering facts, we opted
to bus from Cromwell to Queenstown due to the narrow busy road that we’d
otherwise have to take. (37.8 km)
Clyde Dam
Old Cromwell town hall
