#Omarama to Otematata

[jontycrane]

Alps to Ocean Trail - Omarama to Otematata

The shortest and possibly the most scenic day cycling the A2O Trail, with 37km almost all off-road heading around the shores of beautiful Lake Benmore. Heading out of Omarama the trail passes attractive fields, framed by the Chain Hills in the distance. The track drops down toward the edge of the lake, an enjoyable downhill section. Pumpkin Point was a great place for panoramic views of Lake…

[ahallatt]

Living in New Zealand: Alps2Ocean on an Ordinary Bike: Day 4: Omarama to Otematata

By this point in the trip I had learned that it was a good idea to let the big groups of electric bikers past me at some point. Before we got to Lake Benmore I took my first tea break and let them ride on by.

The newest, trickiest and most fun part of the A2O trail is the section between Sailors Cutting and Lake Benmore dam. Unfortunately, I got stuck behind one very wobbly rider who was not confident enough on her electric bike to stop to let me go past, even though there were plenty of passing points. So I stopped for an extra long tea break at the next peak that had stunning views over the lake.

Then it was a fun, winding ride around. The track is at least 1.5 m wide and there is fencing along the steepest drop offs so I was never afraid. And I'm a real scaredy-cat.

After my spectacular skinny-dip it was a bit of a climb to the top where you could look over Lake Benmore dam and down over Otematata. I stopped for lunch at the top.

After I freewheeled down to the town I stopped for a last swim in the lake below. Swam out to a raft with a white heron on it. I meant to leave it alone but it flew away so that I could go and dive from it. And an apple tree beside it had sweet little apples to follow my flask of tea and chocolate.

It was worth stopping a lot this day, because there isn't much to Otematata apart from a friendly pub. We stayed in one of the apartments behind for $110.

Forgot to put down my times, but it wasn’t too much.

[4wheels2freedom-blog1]

Day 7, Easter Friday. Once again woke up to a wet tent and damp sleeping bag. It was fresh, the coldest morning so far. Phalanges frozen (fingers & toes) from the word go and packing up camp was tough. We decide to take the road towards Omarama and not continue on the @alps2ocean trail. The weather outlook for the weekend wasn’t good and the weight and setup we have isn’t ideal for the mountainous terrain so we took the road. We covered the 30 km into Omarama in an hour and a half. Stocked up on food and headed southeast rejoining the A2O trail. We snaked along Lake Benmore, joined the road again and tackled Ahuriris pass. We sailed down hill towards Otematata where we had stoped for lunch and a few cold beers. The A2O trail went inland from Otematata, but we decided to stick to the road and jump back on it after Lake Aviemore. The trail was compacted gravel for a lot of the the way and we followed it into Kurow where we pitched our tent. We met a couple that were touring in a camper, they offered us beers and we spoke with them for a while. A great way to end the day (at Kurow Holiday Park)

[exposingillusions]

It’s not often you get excited about a drive but I was relishing the opportunity to travel the scenic Mount Cook Road once again as we made our way out of Aoraki / Mount Cook and down the east coast. But as usual low lying clouds insisted on hampering my plans, though Lake Pukaki was looking particularly stunning and the sky was an insane colour.

#gallery-0-13 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-13 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-13 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-13 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Freshly shorn today

Lake Pukaki

Actual colours!

  We travelled through Twizel, which didn’t seem worth a stop, to Omarama (if you’re headed to Queenstown turn off here via the reportedly beautiful Lindis Pass) and toyed with but decided against visiting the Clay Cliffs. The road travels on through the Waitaki Valley which is particularly pretty.

Lake Benmore near Otematata

  Fields of yellow, everywhere

  We lunched in Duntroon where we discovered the delight that is New Zealand bakeries and their delicious range of interesting treats before exploring nearby Elephant Rocks, a collection of large limestone rocks in the middle of nowhere where not another soul was to be seen (well, except for some curious cows and skittish lambs). I love to photograph surreal landscapes and so these kinds of stops are always a must for me, although Castle Hill along Arthur’s Pass provides a similar experience if you can’t manage both. The rocks themselves were created because this whole area was once under the sea and now they act as a nesting place for local birds. You may recognise the area as Aslan’s camp from the Chronicles of Narnia films. The rocks are housed on private land but are free to visit and have basic toilet facilities if required.

#gallery-0-14 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-14 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-14 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-14 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

#gallery-0-15 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-15 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 100%; } #gallery-0-15 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-15 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Can you spot the sheep?

  Afterwards we made our first petrol stop and nearly had a heart attack over the price of petrol at $1.87 per litre, about .60c more expensive than Australia! And this is apparently cheap. What the hell New Zealand?!

Our stop for the evening was Oamaru which is a little like stepping back in time and then travelling to the future because this town has a bizarre obsession with all things Steampunk! Take a wander through the ye olde Victorian district with its fabulous old buildings and then visit the massive Steampunk HQ, full of rusty treasures, where you’ll delight in the infinity room.

#gallery-0-16 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-16 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-16 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-16 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Infinity Room

Us

The lights are all skulls!

Oamaru Victorian Precinct

Sign in shop window, guess it’s a bit like Black Books

  Oamaru is also famous for its colonies of blue and yellow eyed penguins but due to the wild, windy weather (the worst the town had seen in weeks apparently – just my luck!) we decided to forgo a night out in the elements for a quick glimpse as they waddled home from the sea. You can take day tours of the blue penguin colony (put Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony into your GPS or follow the signs) but for some inexplicable reason this wasn’t offered to us when we visited. Maybe next time penguins.

We stayed at: ASURE Ambassador Motor Lodge, Oamaru, totally worth it just for their excellent drier which ACTUALLY dried our clothes within 30 mins (gasp) and was free! Also, free muffins (yay).

We stopped at: Elephant Rocks, Duntroon and Oamaru including the Victorian District, Steampunk HQ and the Blue Penguin Colony

We wore in Spring: Being a windy day a puffer jacket with hood was ideal plus layers including thermals. We were told it was unseasonably cold and overcast though.

Distance: Between Aoraki / Mount Cook Village and Oamaru is approx. 2.5 hours, not including scenic stops.

2 Weeks in New Zealand’s South Island. Day 4 : Mount Cook to Oamaru It’s not often you get excited about a drive but I was relishing the opportunity to travel the scenic Mount Cook Road once again as we made our way out of Aoraki / Mount Cook and down the east coast.