We waited a couple days in Middlemarch for tropical storm Gita to pass through the New Zealand (NZ) South Island. The local cafe had venison kiwi pie, and this made Pete happy. (NZ lingo shown in italics throughout this blog.)
The cafe, named the Kissing Gate, was a warm and cozy place to hang out while it rained.
We also checked out the Middlemarch Museum. We liked their quilt from WWII that was on display.
As we walked through the tiny town, population of 300 people, Pete couldn’t resist striking a proud pose with Peter the sheep.
Day 9 - Middlemarch to Oturehua, 85 km with 853 meters of elevation gain
And after the storm had passed, we were able to ride again. Here we are in front of the Annadale B&B where we stayed for two nights.
Our morning cycling routine included texting Pete’s sister Denise as we set off. Denise was our trusted bike angel who kept track of us as we rode and made sure we arrived at our next hotel. Ta, Niecey, we love you! (Translation: Thank you.)
We started riding on the Otago Central Rail Trail around 8:30 am. There were some clouds and it was cold but we had layers to keep us warm. Kristina is wearing her pink flouro windbreaker to keep her warm rather than for visibility.
We saw Australasian magpies on the telephone wires, and finally got a photo of these birds we’ve seen all over NZ, although the light wasn't too good. (NZ is pronounced en zed.)
It was a cracker of a day and we were chuffed that it had stopped raining. (Translations: great; happy.)
Along the route was an art installation of the planets, the Otago Central Interplanetary Cycle Trail. The scale was 100 million to 1, so 1 centimeter was 1,000 kilometers. One of the most distant planets was Uranus.
We liked the rocky scenery along the Otago Central Rail Trail.
The Rail Trail opened in 2011. Its 68 bridges from the Otago Central Railway were converted to cycling and walking-friendly bridges.
This was the view we saw from the bridge.
We stopped at the Otago Central Hotel in Hyde for self-service coffee.
They had stamps for some of the old railroad stations on the route: Hyde, Tiroiti, Ngapuna, Rock & Pillar and Kokonga.
We rode through one tunnel during our first day. It was 150 meters long and, although we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, it was quite dark when we were in the middle.
On this bridge some of the original railroad tracks were still visible.
The surface of the trail was dirt and gravel, and most of the track was in very good condition.
Road crossings like this one were infrequent and well-marked.
The next planet we rode past was Saturn, with its 30+ rings shown as seven groups of rings.
The mountains in Central Otago are largely flat-topped mountains. We kept reminding ourselves that it was summer down under when we saw the fresh snow from Cyclone Gita on the mountain tops.
We stopped to take photos of sculptures like this beaut, a work of imagination and railway iron.
There were some information signs along the trail. This one explained that this area had been a lake many thousands of years ago.
Waipiata Man, also made of railway iron, was our host welcoming us to Waipiata where we stopped for lunch.
Inside the Waipiata Country Hotel we enjoyed a lunch of kiwi pies served with mash and veg. (Translation: mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.)
The pastry on their pulled pork pie was flakey and good.
We asked about the Magpie Alley Talley Board and learned that a few months ago nesting magpies had been terrorizing cyclists. The tallied points against the victims were when magpies diving bombed them, and the points against the magpies involved shotguns.
This card shows the Otago Rail Trail route. We rode it from Middlemarch on the lower right up to Oturehua the first day, with Waipiata about halfway between the two.
After eating too much kiwi pie, we rode past Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.
It was a really beautiful ride. You can see dairy cows behind us.
Central Otago felt expansive, almost like the Big Sky Country of Montana. Locals call this area Central.
We never got tired of watching the sheep.
Mars was just a wee planet, about 1/10th the size of our earth.
As the Otago Central Rail Trail was being created, they had the foresight to save some of the railway buildings so that cyclists could use them as rest stops.
After cleaning up we went for dinner. Kristina was happy to have a salad with salmon, a lighter meal compared to the heavy kiwi pie lunch.
Day 10 - Oturehua to Cromwell, 92 km with 716 meters
The next morning was mostly clear and a bit warmer. We passed these sheep who were trotting out to the pasture. We reckoned it was kiwi rush hour.
We liked this stretch of trail that wound through rocky schist.
As we were coming through this tunnel we could see other cyclists. It's estimated about 15,000 people ride the whole trail each year, and 80,000 people ride or walk part of it.
This time it was our turn to wait as a few cyclists crossed the bridge over the Manuherikia River.
It was fine, as we got a chance to watch this white-faced heron.
We stopped at a cute cafe in Lauder that had this cool dragonfly sculpture.
In Omakau we cycled past this railway storage barn.
The day warmed up nicely and we enjoyed our time riding.
We rarely get to ride side by side, so we were especially glad we'd chosen to ride the Otago Central Rail Trail.
The rocky outcrops had such interesting shapes.
NZ doesn’t have any native mammals except bats, but humans introduced deer toward the end of the 19th century. Since then the deer have been rounded up and are now on deer farms.
We had heard that the fruit on trees full to the gunwales are free for the taking, so Kristina stopped for some apples. (Translation: originally a nautical term, it means something is fully loaded.)
We saw quite a few apple and pear trees, which likely were planted by a train passenger tossing a core out the window.
The trail ended after 152 km in Clyde.
We made a brief lunch stop in Clyde. We noticed these cheese rolls, a kiwi treat, in the cafe display case, but we didn't order them.
Instead Kristina ordered the triple salad combo when she heard it included beets.
We finished our day of riding along the Clutha River on the highway to Cromwell.
We were happy that our evening's accommodation was exceptionally spacious and nice.
Out front was this charming bull sculpture.
Our hosts told us that the Mexican restaurant in Cromwell was tasty, so we went for tacos.
Cromwell has an extreme temperature range, which is well-suited to fruit trees and wine grapes. It would have been hard to miss the giant pear, peach, apple and apricot sculptures. Our hosts told us that several years ago bugs were added to the sculptures as a prank.
The next day we picked up a rental car. Unfortunately we didn’t get the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine van.
We stopped to check out the view at Lindis Pass.
Day ride on the Alps to Ocean Trail - Lake Ohau Track, 35 km with 283 meters
The clouds looked threatening as we set off on the Alps to Ocean Trail.
We rode along Lake Ohau, a glacial lake with beautiful turquoise water from glacial runoff.
Behind Pete the mountain also shows evidence of previous glaciers with moraines.
The track was fairly narrow and there were quite a few mountain bikers on it, so we stopped often to let them pass.
The wind picked up, forming small whitecaps on the lake and making it harder to ride.
The scenery was great and we felt happy to be riding without the weight of our panniers.
After we finished our ride, we stopped for lunch at the Lake Ohau Lodge. Pete had a grilled ham sandwich with salad and Kristina had carrot ginger soup. It was here that we learned ohau in Māori means wind.
They were really friendly at the lodge and gave us a ski sticker for Lake Ohau. In the winter they have a ski field here.
Then we drove to Lake Tekapo to spend the night.
Lake Tekapo was also formed by glaciers and is fed by glacial run off.
Day ride on the Alps to Ocean Trail - Lake Pukaki, 32 km with 310 meters
It was sunny as we started riding along Lake Pukaki.
It was a wide gravel road.
And it was easy for us to ride side by side.
We stopped often to look at the views of the snow-capped Southern Alps across Lake Pukaki.
In the distance is Mt Cook, the tallest mountain in NZ at 3,724 meters.
There wasn't much vehicle traffic on the road, but we appreciated the sign to share the road.
The Alps to Oceans (A2O) sign had broken off at its post so Kristina picked it up for this photo.
Pete is near the Tasman River, which connects into Lake Pukaki.
We didn't get that close to Mt Cook, which is near the starting point of the Alps to Oceans Trail, but we enjoyed the views we did get.
As we rode back, we reflected on how much we've bloody enjoyed riding in NZ! In 15 days we rode 865 km with 8,200 meters of elevation gain.
We went for lunch at the Fairlie Bakehouse. Of course we tried their pies.
It had worked well for us to hire our bikes and panniers from Natural High, an NZ company based out of Christchurch. As we returned everything, we spotted Natural High's warning sign about the gravel driveway.
Then we went to visit our friends Geoff and Julie, whom we had met in Burma on a cycling trip in 2013. This is their house in Leeston.
Geoff is wearing gumboots, which were perfect for hiking around their land.
He showed us around their property, including pastures that they lease to a neighboring dairy farmer.
The jersey cows were very curious about us and followed us as we walked.
Their house has been in Geoff's family for over 100 years.
It was damaged in the 2011 earthquake but it has since been repaired and is in beautiful shape.
It was delightful to spend time with Julie and Geoff. We all made dinner together.
The next day Julie took us to her oldest son George's office. George runs Shakti Mats, which are for acupressure and self-massage.
This is the back of George's van.
Then we spent some time in Christchurch. We started with breakfast at Park Ranger: açaí granola bowl, frittata, kiwi pie and coffee.
Although the earthquake was six years ago and the wreckage has been cleaned up, a number of the historical buildings like the ChristChurch Cathedral haven't been rebuilt yet.
We visited the Cardboard Cathedral that opened in 2012 because we were intrigued by its impermanent building materials, including eight shipping containers that help form the walls.
The architect Shigeru Ban, who was awarded the Prisker Prize in 2014, is known for his innovative use of material and his dedication to humanitarian efforts around the world.
The architect wanted the 96 cardboard tubes to be structural elements, so they were reinforced with laminated wood beams. The two-inch gaps between the tubes allow light to filter inside.
And here's the inside view of the stained glass. Looking up we felt so appreciative for the six weeks we had spent exploring NZ!
Next we'll travel in Australia with Kristina's folks.
