It starts off at the Omakau Domain but don’t drive the gravel road that looks as if it goes into the domain. I did and it became a funny skinny, high-up thing. There were nice scenic views but strange steep sides dropping to the ground. That night, reminiscing with friends, I clicked I’d accidentally driven a section of rail trail. Hand over open mouth. Worse, apparently driving on the rail trail is illegal. Start your walk opposite the domain.
This initial bit is rail trail too. Gravelled flat road injects you straight into poplar-treed Central Otago flatlands.
In the distance is a 5ha wetland, human-made over the past three years. Artificial ponds were converted to help sediment flow and improve water quality. Biodiversity also reaps the benefits. So do visitors, as the wetland can be overlooked from a new 30m walkway, opened on April 11.
Backtrack to the bridge and head up the hill. Sneak a peak behind you. Open upland is bordered by long ropes of mountain, topped by wall-to-wall sky.
Craggy rocks. Poplars and willows. Crackly dryness. Autumn stillness. Bingo.
Today’s taster walk of Central Otago must-haves could only have been dreamed of a few decades ago. Don’t you love the modern movement of permitting public access to such loveliness?
