Day 49

Cromwell to Omakau 65km

It was a gorgeous day today. The wind howled throughout the night but it was calm and the sun was out in the morning. The 20km of highway to Clyde was not too bad in terms of trucks and buses. I stopped for lunch in the village and actually ran into Kurt and Tia! I haven't seen them since Wanganui on the north island over a month ago. They had just finished the rail trail form Dunedin and were heading to mount Cook. Other than seeing this dedicated Dutch couple again the best part of the day was leaving the highway and starting down the rail trail. This gravel track sits atop the foundation of the old railway that served as the main transport during the goldrush of the late 19th and early 20th century. Now instead of trains it contains a procession of cyclists and a plethora of pubs to server them. It has been great to cycle along without constantly looking in my rear view mirror for the next sheep truck to buffet me about with a stinky backdraft. The trail is over 180km all the way to Middlemarch. I look forward to two days of quite cycling with no cars, trucks or buses. After Middlemarch I'll take the train to Dunedin, my final destination.

Omakau is a lovely little town. Not much here really but an old hotel. I spent the evening there and the place was packed with locals watching the Highlanders get beat by the Blues. I've watched a few rugby games while in NZ and it is fun to enjoy the game with a bunch of enthusiastic fans, even if they have to watch the home town team get beat. The other nicely appointed building in town is the domain camp site, well equipped with a nice kitchen and showers. The Kiwis really take their vacationing seriously.