The Otago Rail Trail has long been on my bucket list, and it took the global pandemic for me to actually finally get to do something about it. Actually that’s not entirely true, it was more of a case of the stars aligning and the opportunity to do it with a group of long term friends – a lot of the time I travel on my own, but this opportunity meant that I could also spend sustained quality time with friends which was an added bonus.
We were lucky to have a tour organiser extraordinaire in the form of Nicki who worked closely with HeBikesSheBikes to put everything together – not an easy task when you are trying to deal with 10 people, although eventually our group ended up being 8 in number due to injury.
We started off in Wellington, with all of us on the same flight to Queenstown where we were met by 2 vans and driven to Clyde, to be assigned our bikes and equipment – including helmets and pannier bags.
We stayed our first night in Clyde – with four of us staying at the Lord Clyde, while the rest of us were accommodated at Olivers. I was lucky enough to stay in a room that had previously been a stable and looked out on the gorgeous garden. We ate at Olivers Restaurant that night, and both the food and wine (featuring Central Otago wines) was sublime. Breakfast the next morning was pretty special too, providing us with the sustenance needed for our first day’s cycling.
At the start of the Rail Trail there is a decision to be made – to take the original route that is fairly straight and follows the original train tracks, or to take the trail that follows the river. I took the original route along with Rob, while the others took the river route, with the plan being for the two groups to meet at Industry Lane Eatery in Alexandra for coffee. We set off from the railway station along the streets of the town for, what I didn’t realise at the time, the actual start of the rail trail. We did the traditional pose in front of the sign at the start and then we were off.
The 8 km ride from Clyde to Alexandra was as described straight and flat, and proved a good way for Rob to get familiar with her e-bike. The scenery was interesting but nowhere as dramatic as we would experience during the rest of the trip. Rob and I got to Industry Lane Eatery well before the others and were pleased to find there was quality coffee to be had.
Once we headed out of Alexandra we headed via Galloway to Chatto Creek and the scenery was more the rugged rocky terrain I expected, but we also experienced flat farmland and we could have swum in the river we crossed over at Manuherika. Our aim, however, was to get through the 17 km to Chatto Creek for lunch, as we felt we had dawdled a little too long enjoying our coffee at Alexandra, which meant we didn’t take up this opportunity.
What I loved about the Otago Rail Trail was the way you would seemingly be in the middle of nowhere- and yet come across a pub or cafe that served amazing food just when you needed it. Such was the case with the Chatto Creek pub, which was our first lunch stop on the ride, where we sat in the sun enjoying the beautiful garden as well as the great food. New Zealand had gone into level 2 lockdown on the night before we left – which meant that you had to have table service, and practice social distancing – something we hadn’t had to do for several months. The places we stopped at were taking this very seriously even though we were a long way from the community outbreak in Auckland (Auckland was in level 3 lockdown which meant people were mostly confined to home, so we felt lucky to be on this trip).
The next stretch saw us heading 12 km to Omakau, which encompasses the steepest part of the trail, and something that had been worrying me, as I thought I might not have done enough hill riding when I was training for the trail, worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with those on e-bikes. I need not have worried – while it was a hill it was easily managed and it was a case of we were over it before I realised. The views were, as for the rest of the trail, amazing.
From Omakau we took a couple of kilometre detour off the trail to Ophir where we were staying at Pitches Store Lodge. I was really glad to be staying here – its a really pretty old mining town with many of its old buildings intact. It is well worth taking the longer route back to Omakau so you can ride across the Daniel O’Connell bridge.
The next morning dawned with the bluest of skies, but with an early morning autumnal chill that meant the merino layers I had bought with me were definitely required. However by the time we got to Omakau, it warmed up and the layers could be removed. This section of the trail was flat and you looked across lush fields of green to the hills beyond. Seven kilometres later we found ourselves at Lauder where at the Lauder Station Side cafe, we sat in the sun and once again enjoyed quality coffee.
The next section of the trail from Lauder to Oturehua was for me some of the best riding and the worst, but not for the reasons you would expect. From Lauder the trail winds gradually up, crossing the Manuherika Bridge built in 1902, which is both the second longest, as well as being one of two curved bridges on the trail. From there the trail heads into the Poolburn gorge where we encountered our first tunnels, and then the magnificent Poolburn viaduct. This was the good, awe-inspiring part.
The next part of the trail should have been easy for me, it was a fast downhill section and I found myself going a lot faster than I had previously ridden without much effort. While I was going faster, the cyclists among us took off, enjoying the speed they were able to go at. After a few kilometres of this, the road surface got a lot rougher with larger stones rather than finer gravel. Going at the speed I was going, on the rougher surface it gradually got to me, and in particular my backside! Then the road flattened out requiring more pedalling to keep the speed up. I also don’t think I had eaten enough that morning, and I was also becoming hangry too. I was having to dig deep. Eventually I realised I was carrying sustenance for this very reason, so pulled over to refuel, which meant I was better placed to get myself through to Oturehua where we had lunch at the Oturehua Tavern, and an ice cream from the very cute Gilchrist’s General Store.
After lunch I found my cycling mojo had returned, which was lucky because this section was a gradual climb up to the highest point of the trail. From the top it was a really easy downhill ride with views across the Maniototo plain. This was also our first encounter with the scale model of the solar system. Essentially the solar system has been shrunk a million to one and laid out on the Manitoto plain with Ranfurly as the sun at the centre. Heading down the hill to Wedderburn you come across a scale ‘model’ of Saturn, and we would come across more of these ‘planets’ as we crossed the plain the next day. Today, however, we were being picked up at Wedderburn and taken off the trail to overnight in Naseby and the opportunity to try curling.
Naseby turned out to be such a cute little town, and like Ophir, it was great to get to spend some time exploring. We were lucky enough to sit in the sun, and enjoy a drink or 2 at the Royal Hotel, and then to enjoy a delicious meal afterwards. I was really impressed with the food everywhere on the trail, and the food at the Royal Hotel was right up with the best NZ has to offer. The next morning we walked down to the Curling rink for a lesson, and a chance to try this intriguing game, which we all really enjoyed. We were then driven back to Wedderburn to be united with our bikes, and a steady downhill ride (although this is mostly down hill, it wasn’t without a manageable climb or two) to Ranfurly for our first coffee for the day.
Whereas Naseby is Victorian in character, Ranfurly definitely has an Art Deco vibe to it. We could have eaten at the E-Central Cafe where we had our coffee, as it had lots of delicious looking cabinet treats, but we had our hearts set on the Waipiata pies we had heard so much about, and so we set off on a 7.5km cycle to Waipiata.
By now we were in the middle of the Manitoto plain, with its surrounding hills looking magnificent in the distance – it was an easy ride to Waipiata, although by now it was getting quite hot, so a beer at the Waipiata tavern with one of those pies seemed like a good idea. And those pies? They were every bit as good as the hype suggested they would be.
From Waipiata we had 10.5 kilometres until we reached Kokonga where we were due to stay the night. It was hot, however, and the guide book did say you could swim in the river just beyond Waipiata, so some of our party beat paths through the undergrowth and managed to find a decent enough space to swim in. Not me though – the thought of having to get back into hot sweaty cycling gear afterwards when a shower wasn’t too far away, was too much. The trail from here to Kokonga was delightful, as the plains unfolded ahead of us and those ever present hills in the distance provided a great backdrop.
We stayed our last night at Kokonga Lodge which was a real treat. When we arrived we were served drinks on a deck overlooking an ever changing view of the valley below us. It was quite simply mesmerising, and this was followed by yet another delicious meal, washed down once again by some glorious Central Otago wine. Then to top off what was already a pretty special last evening there was the most sublime sunset to behold. This was truly one very special place.
And so we found ourselves on the last day of our trip, with a goal of reaching Middlemarch 42 km away by 3 pm where we were to be picked up by van and transported to Dunedin airport. The section of the trail between Kokonga and Hyde involved a steady climb, an interesting bridge, a tunnel and a viaduct – in short it had pretty much everything. The reward of making it to Hyde was a pretty good coffee cart, for our morning coffee and then the Hyde railway station which has a museum, which is worth taking the time to look around.
From Hyde the trail stretched out following the range above the edge of the plain, heading steadily and relentlessly towards Middlemarch and the end of our trip. We actually reached Middlemarch in plenty of time so were able to have a bit of an explore, and one more delicious lunch this time at the Kissing Gate cafe, before heading back to the railway station where our van awaited.
Sometimes when you tick off a bucket list item, it can be underwhelming and not live up to its hype. That was never going to be the case for me with the Otago Rail Trail, because I was blown away by the whole thing, from when I first got on my bike at Clyde until I handed it back at Middlemarch. I was constantly looking around and thinking how lucky I was to be doing this magnificent trip.
There are many reasons why you should do the Otago Rail Trail, beyond the magnificent scenery, which is probably the number one reason why you should do it. The trail suits people of all abilities and with the option of e-bikes being available, it is accessible to the not so fit as well. The whole experience is so well set up -with various levels of accommodation to suit any budget, but what makes it extra special is the friendliness of the people who never failed to make us welcome and took pride in providing the best service they could.
LIVING LIFE ON MY OWN TERMS 
Thank you Karin, now I have a beautiful record of that fabulous time on the Rail Trail.
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It was a pretty special week 👍
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