On Sunday, the first three of nine trail groups will begin their journey and head to the Roxburgh Racecourse on horses, in wagons, and on foot as part of the Goldfields Cavalcade, which this year is called Take Me To The Teviot.
It is the 24th year of the annual trek, which is run by the Otago Goldfields Heritage Trust as a gold rush era re-enactment in which trail groups start in different locations and travel over farmland and high country to descend on the final destination.
The racecourse will be booming on February 20 because the cavalcade finish line will also be the site of the Mt Benger A&P Show and the Roxburgh Rotary Classic Car Show.
Cavalcade organiser Terry Davis said journeyers would be met at the end with a ‘‘fantastic day of activities''.
‘‘If you've never been to a cavalcade parade, this is the one to go to. There will be so much going on.''
About a third of the cavalcaders were from Central Otago and about half from Canterbury and Southland, he said.
‘‘People travel here for it to see a landscape which is unique in New Zealand, probably in the world.''
Fire risk was always a concern due to the dry weather, he said.‘‘A bit of rain wouldn't hurt, but we've never started a fire in the cavalcade's history.''
By combining with other events, organisers were able to share costs, he said.
Cavalcade organisers were investigating Omakau as next year's stopping point and would try to align it with a race meeting.
About 450 people signed up, which was ‘‘slightly down'' on last year, he said.
‘‘The vast majority are returning. We don't advertise very hard because some of the trails are quite difficult and we like to let experienced riders bring friends along.''
Mt Benger A&P president Dick Michelle said the show usually attracted about 1000 people but this year he expected that to boom to between 4000 and 5000.
‘‘It will be a showcase that will give the valley a higher profile.''
Three-time cavalcader Fiona Bailey, of Earnscleugh, said she was ‘‘very excited'' about the journey.
She will leave from Moa Flat on Sunday with other riders, including her husband, Colin, who is riding the cavalcade for the first time.
‘‘He's a fairly new rider, but if you have the horses, you've got to ride them.''
-by Jono Edwards
