Biking Days 2 and 3 ~ BaBa White Sheep Have You Any Wool

BaBa White Sheep Have You Any Wool? 

Bike Day #2: From Ophir and Omakau to Oturehua (29 km)

Wednesday, Feb 28

We check out the old Ophir post office for a tour before leaving and I get my Railway pass stamped. (While John has stopped doing this, I am still collecting stamps so I can impress people with my train passport!)

We cycle through Matakanui Valley where there are many sheep and cattle farms. There used to be 70 million sheep  in New Zealand and sadly now are only 30 million. 

Originally the New Zealand government promised the sheep farmers a set price for sheep so that if the price of lamb dropped they would still make money. 

However, when the government stopped doing this 20-30 years ago many farmers went out of business.  Apparently New Zealand wool rugs are being replaced by nylon rugs and there is not as much interest in wool ~ except of course marino wool which I am wearing because it doesn’t smell. Sheep are being replaced by beef which is more lucrative but more of an environmental problem than sheep because of the methane contamination of water, soil and air. Clearly there are water wars here. I notice that John has begun speaking to the sheep with ba ~ ba sounds! 

We stop at an adorable place to pick up a picnic lunch, at a place called Lauder Stationside Café.

Lauder Cafe

I love the garden art.  Hmm the best cheese scones I have ever had.  Is there something about exercise outdoors that makes one enjoy food more?  
I stop to talk to a man whose bike is laden with a tent, sleeping bag, and stove and ask them about his trip. He says that he and his wife are biking for 2 years. I say, "wow, I'll tell my children about this idea," and he replies, " well why don't you do this? We are 57 years old and can do it so you can too!" While I like the idea that he thinks I am the same age, I am not sure I want 2 years on the road in a tent ~ my thighs are still steaming and screaming. Moreover, how could get all my clothes for 2 years on a bike? 

Gear for 2 years

From Lauder to Oturehua we cross 2 bridges and then bike through a gorge to Ida Valley. 

We then pass through 2 tunnels walking our bikes with torches and over viaducts.  

A lot of this days’ biking was also uphill and I think it will never end but then there is a wonderful downhill ride to Oturehua. 

I  lose John to the roadways and visit the Gilchrist’s General Store to ask for directions.  This unique store is packed with memorabilia and antiques such as an original telephone exchange which I once used when I worked at at Banff Springs Hotel as a college student.  Really an antique store with things I have used in my lifetime… not so antique!   We arrive at 3pm at Marchburn Country Lodge, a B&B with 2 rooms situated on the side of the trail.  Like the prior place this owner built this simple ranch house as a retirement project 6 years ago because he wanted to be nearby skiing opportunities. While he ran the B&B, prepared the breakfasts and did all the laundry, his wife still worked in Auckland. Another model for a retirement arrangement!

View from window of Marchburn Lodge

We are picked up at 4 pm by Nick and along with Julie and Stewart another couple from Christ Church who seem to be on the same bike schedule as us and we are taken for a beautiful tour of the surrounding hills where we stop at the overlook above Saint Bathans where his home is located.

St Bathans is another historic gold mining town. Currently the town consists of 10 permanent residents, having originally had 2000 during the  gold rush era.  We stop here for a craft beer in an authentic bar in the Famous Vulcan Hotel the only remaining hotel in St Bathans. 

Nick recalls playing here as a child and tells us of its curling bonspiels. When it is cold enough here for the ice to freeze over every New Zealand curler has 48 hours notice to get here for a 2-day curling bonspiel.  The Scottish have definitely brought their culture here. I would most definitely like this.

St Bathans Mine Area (Stuart's picture)

We walk down to see the emerald colored lake surrounded by white cliffs that was once a huge pit where gravel was removed for gold recovery. Apparently a few miners still do pan for and find gold. Nick comes here with his wife for picnics on the beach. 

We pass by a school house and we stop to check it out where  the teacher rules from 1872

are posted. Thankfully I was not born then! 

  

Afterwards Nick took us to his house to meet his Swiss wife and business partner Andrea for dinner. Their magical place is situated with a spectacular view of the mountains and country side.  

View from Nick's house

Nick and Andrea cooked us a great meal of barbecued lamb chops, venison burgers, and sausages of some sort of meat from Nick’s brother’s farm. It was a lively meal with discussions of New Zealand life and policies regarding their new labor coalition government led by a 37-year-old female Prime Minister who will soon be having a baby (and taking a 9 month paid leave as the government just changed this law to expand from 3 to 9 months). New Zealand seems such a polar opposite in values compared to United States regarding everything from environmental issues, to immigration and multicultural acceptance, to universal health care, to a female Prime Minister with integrity that I have fantasies of moving to this safe haven for the next phase of my life.

Bike Day #3: Oturehua up to Wedderburn Hill to Ranfurly (25 km)

Thursday March 1

On this morning we ride from Marchburn Lodge to the 2^nd steepest ascent where the highest point is 618 meters above sea level. From here we have a great downhill ride into Wedderburn (12 km) and then on to Ranfurly another 13 km. 

This is an easy cycle through farmland and mountain ranges. We have lunch lunch in another historic and picturesque town opposite the Ranfurly Railway Station. We are picked up by a retired local rancher and taken to Naseby, a nearby even more picturesque village with buildings dated back to gold rush days  but famous now for mountain biking tracks & a curling rink. Yeah a chance to curl again!  Old Doctors Residence a charming home with two lovely suites and a guest lounge is our B&B for the evening. 

Old Doctor's Residence

We were booked into 2000Ft restaurant for dinner but it was closed and meeting up with Julie and Stewart we go for dinner at a local pub restaurant, alive with cricket players and local atmosphere. Dinner of a rump of lamb shared again with Julie and Stewart who we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know make it another great evening. They invite us to visit them in Christ Church at the end of our trip and we are really tempted. 

Back in the Saddle ~ Otago Central Trail

Back in the Saddle ~ Otago Central Trail ~  Bike Day #1 (39 km)

Clyde to Alexandra to Omakau to Ophir

 Tuesday Feb 27^th

John surprised me a month ago by asking if I would take a bike trip with him after my New Zealand workshop.  This was a surprise because about 10 years ago I had a bad bike accident on Vashon Island resulting in 2 weeks in intensive care, 6 months of rehab and negative forecasting about my future language and brain recovery.  The doctors said I shouldn’t bike again for risk of hitting my head again (or drink wine) and John declared he wouldn’t bike with me again, saying that for me to bike now would be like continuing to smoke after lung cancer. While I have not biked much since then (except for on our stationary bike) I have no post traumatic stress or reluctance about biking and was happy to do this as John’s walking is limited due to back issues. Moreover, I love to exercise and be outdoors. Just in case you are wondering, my brain and language ability currently seem to be about the same level of craziness as prior to the injury or at least that is what others tell me.

At the Queenstown airport we drop our rental car and meet Nick, the dynamic and energetic owner of Luxury Rail Tours, who drives us to Clyde, an historic  and quaint town at the start of our railway line biking trip. 

Clyde was originally one of the largest towns in New Zealand with 4000 people due to the 1862 gold rush but now only has 1000 people. Nick will be transporting our luggage to each of the five B&Bs we are staying at over the next 5 days of the trail ride between Clyde and Middlemarch. The history of the train trail is that for 16 years from 1891 to 1907 laborers and engineers toiled relentlessly to build 150 kilometers of railroad track, known as the Otago Central Railway, that became the economic lifeline for central Otago at that time. The train linked Dunedin, then the country’s largest city, to the goldfields bringing essential supplies to an isolated region.  Eventually gold production declined and farming was again the region’s main industry. In 1994 a Central Rail Trust was formed to pull up the line, redeck bridges, resurface a trail and put in toilets and signage. In 2000 the completed trail was officially opened bringing many tourists and opening many hotels and restaurants and revitalizing the area. Some of the old railway stations, buildings and houses have been maintained to preserve the rail heritage.  While it took over 700,000 dollars to fix the trail, it brings in many millions each year because of the tourism and people like ourselves who want to be off the beaten track enjoying the beauty of this island.

We begin by biking 8 km from Clyde to Alexandra passing orchards and vineyards and cycling over wooden trestles. Originally Alexandra was a mining town and since then has become a center of vineyards.  

The Rail Trail is rocky and more difficult than a smooth, paved road taking us much longer and more work than we anticipated. 

Our first day we ride 39 kilometers and it takes us 5 hours.  One bike rider apparently did the whole 150 km trail in 5 hours! Since I have done very little trail biking in the last 10 years my legs are noodles, my butt incredibly sore and I wonder if I will make the entire 150 kilometer trip.  Before leaving on this trip a friend had recommended I get an e-bike but I scoffed saying this was cheating and besides I need and like the exercise!  On this first day I begin to look longingly at those bikers who whizz by me on e-bikes with smiles on their faces.  Alternatively I envy the sheep looking very relaxed.

From Alexandra we bike another 17 km to Chatto Creek where we have lunch at a cute place right beside the Rail Trail. At this point I question if I can actually complete the ride as my left leg and feet have lost all sense of feeling. Moreover, ahead is the ascending Tiger Hill, the steepest part of the trail. While it is a gentle climb of only 2%, my quads are steaming. 

John checks out our mileage on google 

Midway

We stop to stamp our trail passports

Once at the top we have a marvelous downhill ride into Omakau and then on to Ophir, a town of 25 people where we stay at a delightful place called Pitches Store, Ophir. 

Ophir Village 

Pitches Store

At this charming place with 6 rooms and a restaurant, plus a hot tub we enjoy the company of the owner Colleen Hurd and other guests. This 130-year-old historic place built originally as a general store had been completely restored 6 years earlier by Colleen and her husband as their retirement project. While Colleen runs the place her husband is still commuting to Auckland every week where they originally lived. Quite the retirement project!  We were served scones when we arrived, one of the best dinner meals I have ever had (lamb) with a great local Otago wine  and a fabulous breakfast the next morning.  Clearly they have an outstanding chef.  Okay this reward at the end the first biking day made it worth the effort!

I wonder if I could live in a town of 25 people for a retirement project?