As mentioned in a previous post, we were using a few of our stops to prepare for our final big adventure … plus all of this “preparation” gave us the opportunity to explore more of the South Island. Having felt very rewarded on both the West Coast Wilderness Trail and on the trails around Hanmer Springs, we were excited to spend some time on the Central Otago Rail Trail.
We ended up staying in two places to cover as much of the trail as possible … our plan was to do four out-and-back rides … two from Ranfurly, New Zealand and two from Ophir. Ranfurly was an interesting town … it was a little “Wild West” in our opinion … the town bar was in our hotel … it really was small town New Zealand. The hotel was comfortable and it was a nice central location to hop right on the trail. We arrived the first day and went for a ride. It was down a long gradient (since it was an old railway) … however, that meant the ride back was UP the long gradient and, making it more difficult, right into a head wind! There were some very long, straight segments on this ride.
It was a fun first day — Deb was a little under the weather so it made the ride even longer. We woke up the next day, decided we didn’t want another long uphill grind in the other direction and decided to hit the mountain bike trails in nearby Naseby. It is a small town known for its exotic trees. We stopped and toured the tree area and then went for a bike ride on the trails … a really nice stop on our way to Ophir.
Yes, some really cool trees.
Yes, this is a giant sequoia …
You always need a picture of the map when riding! Very cool trail system …
Part of the trail followed this “Water Race” — a channel built in the late 1800s to bring water from the mountains to use in Gold Mining … a very nice locale.
There were some challenging sections through this whole area.
Fun for me and for Deb …
We even got to ride on the Muppet Motorway! haha.
It was a nice relaxing day and we finished it up with a nice drive over to our next stop. In Ophir, we stayed in an Historic Building … the old Anglican Church Nave. Here’s a couple of pictures of it …
Yes, we got some groceries for the next 3 days … because why not use this kitchen?!
It was quite the cool “apartment” in a neat little village. Most of the buildings in this town were preserved from when it was a Gold Mining Center. There are quaint cottages and places to visit … but we came to ride! haha. We did our two out and back rides here and really enjoyed the stay …. here are a couple of photos of these rides.
It was just a beautiful trail and the weather was awesome.
There were several bridges and a couple of tunnels…
Actually, we got in trouble in one of the tunnels …
You were supposed to dismount your bicycle and walk through … but I’m a cyclist! I don’t dismount unless it’s life or death … and sometimes not even then! We rode through a tunnel (and got chewed out … well … Deb got chewed out … I escaped! haha). In this next video, you can hear me say at the first that you Have to Dismount! but I still rode … sorry … not.
Another couple of interesting things on this part of the journey. This area of New Zealand is known for its Dark Sky … we took the opportunity to do a little stargazing and were rewarded with great views. Here’s a picture of the Southern Cross …can you see it?
Oh, and we also saw a hedgehog. haha.
The second interesting thing was the display of all the planets on the trail. They had a scale model of the Solar System plotted on the trail so you could ride by all the planets. The actual planet displays were all to Scale as well. The only one not finished was the artwork for the Sun. We missed one planet — Saturn, but hit all the others! (not counting Pluto). Check them out here …
I did a panorama to show the size of the sun … 360 degree photo …
In order, but not how we saw them on the rides because of our out-and-backs, there is Mercury … the hole is the planet (to “scale”).
The next one is Venus …
Then they had the Earth … and across the trail (scale distance) ….
was the Moon. Cool.
Then came Mars … again … the hole in the sign …
And this big one was Jupiter!
Then we saw Uranus … yes, I typed it. haha.
Followed by Neptune … I know, it’s spelled backwards, but I wanted the picture from that side! The only one we really missed was Saturn (and maybe Pluto … I wouldn’t say I missed it). 
We had a great time on this trail system (and in Naseby). We knew we were ready after these days of riding for our Alps2Ocean tour … On to our final adventure …
Stumbling Piper
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