Otago Day Tripper

A typical itinerary for the day tripper looks like this...

This one-day ride from Lauder to Oturehua starts with a pick-up from your accommodation in either Queenstown, Dunedin or Clyde at approx 8.00am. This should see you pedalling by about 10am, with your morning tea, stainless steel water bottle and Rail Trail passport in your panniers. Soon you'll be crossing the Manuherikia River on the trail's second longest bridge 110.6m). Then it's on through the Poolburn Gorge with its dramatic schist bluffs and two tunnels. These are very dark and even with a torch it's advisable to walk, not cycle, through them. The next treat in store is the 37m high Poolburn Viaduct - and if it's a clear day you can see forever, so make sure you've got your camera!

From here, slowly descend Raggedy Range to the Ida Valley - home to the rare NZ falcon, the Karearea. It is also boasts the Ida Burn dam, which is used as a natural skating rink in winter and, very occasionally, the call goes out for a 'bonspiel' where curling enthusiasts come from all over the district to compete on the dam.

On your way into Oturehua, you'll pass the Hayes Engineering Works, where Ernest Hayes invented and manufactured many indispensable farming tools in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The barn workshops remain pretty much unchanged since the days when the cattle stop and wire strainer came into being. After lunch, your driver will bring you here for a fascinating tour of the works and farmstead.

But you will be hungry by now, so we have included in your package a lunch at the Oturehua Tavern, where they know how to feed hungry cyclists. While your meal is being prepared, it's well worth a visit across the road to Gilchrist's, New Zealand's oldest continually operating general store - and again, it looks very much the same as it did when it first opened!

After your tour of the Hayes Engineering Works, your driver will collect you for your journey to Queenstown, Clyde or Dunedin, where you should arrive at approximately 6pm.