In a bid to counter the boredom while driving frequently between Twizel and Oamaru, Twizel man Rick Ramsay started thinking about cycle trails.
Then he cycled the Otago Central Rail Trail not long before Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a series of national cycleways.
It all clicked, and the Alps to Ocean cycleway from Mt Cook to Oamaru was born.
This week, the Government granted $2.75 million towards building the trail, which could be open late next year.
Its proponents believe it has the potential to become among the best in New Zealand.
A little over a year ago, Mr Ramsay - salmon farm manager, a director of Pukaki Airport and former Mackenzie district councillor - called a meeting in Twizel to discuss the idea of a trail from the mountains to the sea.
The Waitaki Development Board and Mackenzie Tourism Board, both funded by their respective district councils, were already looking at cycleways in their areas, but the idea of linking a 312km route through both regions took hold.
Mr Ramsay said he frequently travelled between homes in Twizel and Oamaru and was familiar with the spectacular contrasting scenery along the route, from the semi-arid Mackenzie Basin to the irrigated Waitaki Plains, and the Waitaki hydro-electricity storage lakes.
"To relieve the boredom of the trip, I'd often go through the Waiareka Valley," he said, and rejoin the state highway at Duntroon.
In April last year he rode the rail trail through Central Otago and, after Mr Key's proposal for a national series of cycleways, thought, "Why not one from the mountains to the sea?"
He said it had great potential to boost the small communities along the way, passing through distinct landscapes with a "wow factor" that would set it apart from other proposals.
However, the key has been the enthusiasm of those involved, including the communities and private property owners along the route.
Mr Ramsay's idea was for the Waitaki and Mackenzie districts to formulate a joint proposal for Government funding, each board working in their own district.
The proposal had to also involve some major players in the two districts, including Meridian Energy Ltd, the Department of Conservation, Land Information NZ and Ngai Tahu.
Even at that first meeting in June last year, the route was pretty well established; the cycleway would start at Mt Cook, divert at Twizel through the Ohau Village, come out at Omarama and continue down State Highway 83 to Otematata.
It would cross the Benmore dam and go down the north side of Lake Aviemore and back across the Aviemore dam to Kurow. Some of the route will follow the Waitaki River along a former hydro-electricity investigation road to Duntroon, and then turn up the Maerewhenua River to Elephant Rocks and down the Waiareka Valley to finish at the Oamaru Harbour.
Already, small sections of the trail exist, including the last 1.3km from Oamaru's historic area to the Penguin Colony at the harbour, opened by Mr Key when he was in Oamaru in May.
Landowners, both Crown and private, came on board to allow the Alps to Ocean cycleway to pass through their properties.
The result of that first meeting in June was the establishment of a co-ordinating committee, under Mr Ramsay's chairmanship, to pursue the idea, develop the cycleway and apply for funding from the Government.
That came to fruition on Tuesday when funding was granted.
Though business pressures forced him to stand down last October, he has continued to be involved.
Mr Ramsay said the Alps to Ocean trail offered diversity that could be matched by few others.
The contrasts in landscape and heritage of the region were unique.
These included the hydro-electricity projects in the Waitaki Valley, Ngai Tahu's strong ties with the region, European settlement, agricultural history and irrigation, and even modern developments such as the new irrigation schemes and the proposed Holcim cement plant.
Many tourist attractions - the Vanished World fossil trail, for example - already existed to link into the trail.
Some seasonal attractions, such as the Ohau Snowfields, had the potential to become year-round draws.
Communities along the cycleway were ideally placed to provide support, and to benefit. The commercial potential of the cycleway could be demonstrated by the Otago Central trail. More than 12,000 people do the complete trail each year, and spend an average of between $120 and $170 a night.
