Alexandra

After our short adventures in Mount Cook, the four of us (Lisa, Rene, Elizabeth and I) headed off to the town of Alexandra in Central Otago for a few days. Our reason for going to this town was a recommendation from our friends John and Diane in Wanaka, and it also was the starting point of the Central Otago Rail Trail, a trail in which we had plans to ride. Surrounded by semi-arid rocky badlands, the town is nestled in the forested Clutha River valley, providing stunning contrast, and a ton of biking opportunities.

We set up camp at a campground in town, where we almost had the entire place to ourselves, including a weird prison like kitchen/bathroom complex. Lisa and her parents relaxed, while I decided to go for a bike ride up out of the valley to a rocky outcrop on which a giant town clock sat. I was pleased to see that behind the clock was a set of trails weaving between giant rocks to the valley floor, presumably built for bikers, which were not on my mountain bike trail app. I picked one on a whim and it turned out to be awesome. As soon as the sun went down it got real cold!

The next day we rented a couple E-bikes for the parents, and bike ride “the best” section of the 150km long Otago Rail Trail, an old railway line which once serviced the gold rush, and has since been turned into a multiuse pathway. Rene and Elizabeth got to experience a kiwi level of trust, when the bike rental company (a farmer on his own farm) refused the taking of one of money, or their passports, or any form of identification. They were surprised, but amused. The section runs 17 km from the small town of Omakau over a range of weathered rocky hills to the Auripo Valley.

The slow climb up into the range was very enjoyable, as it passed agricultural land, wetlands, and boulder fields, then went through a series of tunnels and over several historic viaducts, all while surrounded by snowy mountain ranges. The parents were having a blast on the E-bikes, and Lisa and I had to convince them that we had in fact, reached the 17km turn around point. We ripped back down the trail, took a quick stop at a cafe along the trail, and eventually made it back to the vehicle. Lisa and I did get to try the E-bikes, and admittedly, found them much more fun then our own stupid push bikes.

Before returning the bikes to the rental farm, we decided to head up the road to St. Bathan’s which is practically a ghost town aside from a few local farmers, and a functioning bar called the Vulcan Hotel. The bar and its name (my birthplace) were really the reasons for our side trip. The bar was basically a smaller version of the Vulcan Hotel in Vulcan Alberta; country music, pool table, a surly bunch in cowboy hats lining the bar, same, same. We learned it’s name came from the owner of the bar previously occupying the property, who upon retiring, refused to sell it or leave it to someone else, and instead burned it to the ground and tried to collect tax money. The owner of the succeeding bar named it after the roman god of fire for obvious reasons. The town also sat adjacent to a picturesque lake named the Blue Lake. The Four of us wandered around the lake taking pictures and enjoying the blue sky, before finally succumbing to the need for cold beer next to a hot raging fire (in a fire place) in the Vulcan Hotel.

The next day, Lisa and I got back our bikes and rode a few trails off of flat top hill, a protected area just 10 km south of the city while Rene and Elizabeth checked out Alexandra. Our trail selection was recommended to us from our Christchurch friends Sarah and Jenny, which included climbing a trail called purple haze to the top of the hill, riding down, then up The Sphinx Track, and returning to our car on Black and Blue. The area was devoid of trees and had some really awesome rock features which, were incorporated into the bike tracks. The top of the hill provided great views of the crystal-blue Clutha below, the mars-like rocky hills beyond, and the snowy Old Man Range immediately to our west. The trails were very well built, and made great use of rocky landscape. Lisa and I placed Alexandra, largely because of its bike trails and proximity to the mountains, and ocean, in our top 5 places to live in NZ. We also both placed the Sphinx track in our top 5 bike tracks in NZ, so that was cool.Weiterlesen