A Restless Vegan: NZ Day 5 - Clyde to Omakau

As I mentioned, we had cancelled our Routeburn tramp & decided to tackle the Otago Rail Trail instead. I had wanted to cycle the trail ever since I had heard about it a few months earlier. It's basically an old steam train route - when the train was stopped, they ripped up the tracks & developed a tourist cycle trail in its place. Awesome idea. Because we were short on time, and also because we didn't have bikes, we used She Bikes He Bikes to organise our trip. Steve was amazing - so professional & efficient. We were really impressed with the level of service provided for a relatively low cost.

Day 1 of the ride starts in Clyde. Here I am, all kitted up & raring to go.

This is my bike - she & I got very intimate over the next 4 days. Rather than have our bags transported each day, we opted to put our gear into panniers.

The first town we came to was Alexandra, just a few kilometres along.

There were dozens of bridge crossings like this along the trail - so picturesque.

After Alexandra, the next 'station' is Galloway. Probably around half the stations were like this - obviously not all the towns along the route are as big as Clyde or Alexandra. Many just consist of an old building, part of a platform and lots of farmland.

Looking back the way we had come - you can just see the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

As you can see, the trail is fairly flat - the gradient is only 1:50 - as much as an old steam train can handle. That makes it perfect for a leisurely cycling trip.

A closer view of those mountains.

An old car buried in the bank outside someone's home.

Rest stop.

The landscape along the whole trail is beautiful. The best thing about cycling through this region is being able to appreciate the subtle changes.

We were riding alongside rivers most of the way.

Chilling on a bridge.

Lunch was at the Chatto Creek Tavern. The other really cool thing about this trip was the friendliness of absolutely every person we met. We were warmly welcomed in every hotel, hostel, pub and cafe along the way. I have to say, something New Zealanders do VERY well is tourism.

Obviously a very bike-friendly place.

The owner has lots of animals wandering around. Who could resist this face?

Or this one :-)

A very proud chicken.

Dragging ourselves away from the cold beer at the Tavern was difficult, but we managed it. Which is good, because the trail had more beauty to throw our way.

The trail also offers the chance to do some side trips. The first we tackled was to Ophir - a old gold mining town that now has a collection of wonderfully preserved buildings. And the Daniel O'Connell bridge - built in 1880.