Rail Trail

We had a few spare days after the weddings in Hawkes Bay and Christmas at home so we managed to lure Jenny and Laurence down for ride on the rail trail. We picked them up from the airport and by the time we had lunch we were running a bit late to be able to do all of what we planned for day one so we threw the bikes on the back of the truck, skipped the flat boring bit and started at Hyde.



After about and hour's riding, the clouds rolled in and it bucketed down. By the time we got to Ranfurly we were soaked so we took the quickest route on the road to get to Naseby. That night was New Year's Eve, and Jenny's birthday so we went out for dinner and even paid a cover charge to get into one of the pubs but it wasn't worth it. It was a freezing night and by the time the bagpipes started playing to bring in the New Year, we were in bed.

Day 2 was a much better day and it was our longest ride, from Naseby to Ophir.



Art on the wall at a cafe where we had lunch, all the stops of the rail trail.



Poolburn Gorge, tunnels and viaducts











Ophir swing bridge



We had a day to relax in Wanaka at the end of the riding and peter and Robyn came up as well. Unfortunately the weather was bad but we did get a morning when it wasn't raining and made the most of it with a walk up Mt Iron.



A quick stop at St Bathans and the Blue Lake on the drive home