We're back in the Wanaka district for the final of our Summer
Times bike rides. This is because Wanaka has so many new
tracks I couldn't fit them into one article.
Many people strolling along the track that hugs the Wanaka
lakefront probably don't appreciate they are on the 3000km Te
Araroa trail, which winds through New Zealand from Cape
Reinga to Bluff.
The Otago Central Rail Trail is now well known around the
world, so I thought I'd better include a ride on the most
spectacular part of the trail in this summer's bike rides
series.
Heading up into the hills above Palmerston and enjoying one
of Otago's longest downhills on the way home. The "Tuffnuts"
option includes a trip to Otago's El Dorado, Macraes.
Our final ride for Summer Times 2009/10 is more an adventure
than a mere bike ride. It includes the Government Track, a
sinuous dray path hewn from the bush-covered hillside above
the Waipori Gorge in the 1800s, probably by gold-miners.
Lonely Planet says the Otago Peninsula is one of the
best places in the world for a bike ride, so I thought I'd
better include a peninsula ride in this series.
On our first Summer Times ride of 2009/10, we'll meander
through some pleasant rural country east of Balclutha before
going underground to examine the handiwork of Victorian-era
workmen.
