Rail Trail Tales

After Oamaru, I based myself in Dunedin – a vibrant university city swarming with students from all over the world! I couchsurfed for my first two nights in a house with five of the aforementioned students - three Kiwi guys and two American gals. This crazy family brought me straight back into memories of college living, complete with messy university housing, cheap evening entertainment at a local stand-up comedy venue, and a late night out at the university bar. Let the good times roll!

As a result of staying with these cool cats, I was offered free use of a mountain bike for my venture on the Otago Central Rail Trail! In fact, the Rail Trail is one of the top “101 Must Dos for Kiwis” so I was more than eager to begin! The 300+ kilometer ride from Middlemarch to Clyde back to Middlemarch was my watered down substitute to my original idea of a South Island bike tour.

From Dunedin to Middlemarch, I took the train along the scenic Taieri Gorge with my new-found Pennsylvanian friend Lauren. From Middlemarch, I bid Lauren farewell and set out on my bum-numbing six day ride. Wahoo!! :-D

And bum-numbing it was. Not to mention unforeseen challenges such dive-bombing magpies and the mighty & unrelenting headwinds. Those tuxedo clad birds are nothing less than the spawn of the devil... There I'd be, cruising along the graveled trail with mountains and rolling farmland on both sides, the sheep and cows pausing in their constant state of mastication to stare wide-eyed at this imposing cyclist, when SWOOSH! The wings of a magpie come within inches of my head, and my heartbeat skyrockets with a rush of adrenaline to propel me as quickly as possible away from THAT DAMN BIRD.

But even the demon magpies and the remarkable headwind (sometimes I felt as though I were cycling in slow motion - Bay Watch meets Tour de France!) wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. The peaceful scenery among the Central Otago region was a lovely accompaniment to the constant crunching sounds of slippery gravel under the grind of my spinning wheels. I averaged between 55-60 kilometers per day, staying the night at Holiday Parks or hostels and treating myself to scrumptious dinners in the evening.

When all was said and cycled, I took the train back to Dunedin – this time catching some Zzz's instead of enjoying the scenic vista – and was happily reunited with my friend Lauren! The next day, I joined Lauren, along with two other backpackers, Daniel and Angela, to explore the Otago Peninsula – an area well-known for the world's only mainland royal albatross colony, yellow-eyed penguins, massive sea lions, and WIND. The four of us decided to brave Sandfly Bay – a beach named not for the nasty biting sandfly but instead for the wind-bludgeoning* sand that literally pelts the poor bodies of anyone silly enough to cross the treacherous bay. And, well, we were silly enough. We spent our afternoon dodging lazy sea lions and trying to stay upright against the wind while attempting (without much success, might I add) to keep the sand from flying up our nose and out our ears. It was challenging, satisfying, and gritty fun!

Halloween was rather uneventful as the Kiwis don't much celebrate the holiday with the same gusto as Americans. Instead, I went out for sushi (Ooo! Dead fish...spooky!) and joined my friends for a suspenseful movie to mark the occasion. Happy belated Halloween!

* Phrase borrowed without permission from Lauren Sicher :-) Cheers! xx