Day 6 – Omarama to Kurow – A2O

Near the start of this section of the trail

We were told that the Wrinkly Ram Café made the best coffee, so we backtracked a kilometre or so to the Café.  We met the Aussie couple there who were having breakfast and a coffee as well.  The coffee did live up to its reputation - not as good as Wellington coffee but not bad.  The food was very good and we got our lunch from the café to eat  later.

Lake Benmore in the distance

The weather started off a little overcast but very warm. The trail was off road which was good as there was a lot of traffic on the road.  I guess people were returning home from the Christmas break as there were lots of utes towing trailers of one sort or another.  After cresting a hill a few kilometres from  Omarama, Lake Benmore could be seen and the trail descended to a lakeside ride which was very nice.  The wind began to get up and the heat seemed to be turned up a notch.  After about 13 kilometres at Sailors Cutting we had to join the road which felt very dangerous.  We had a five kilometre climb with the last two kilometres being quite steep. There was

The trail alongside Lake Benmore

no verge to speak of so we had to trust that the following traffic would either slow down or move over to the right to pass with a decent distance. Most did, but we both felt there were a number people in big cars towing things that did not get over far enough or cut in too quickly.  It was a nice fast ride down to Otematata where we reached speeds of over 60km/h.  Just before we turned off to Benmore dam there was a little coffee place in a small caravan where we stopped for a fix of caffeine and B a Tim Tam slice – yum!  It was a nice shady spot and a welcome relief from the heat. 

Almost at the top!

Our next challenge was the ride up to the top of Benmore dam.  The brochure said that the 800 metre climb to the top was very steep and suggested that you might choose to walk rather than ride.  I was however determined to ride the whole way up.  I almost did but had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath.  My legs were ok, but I just ran out of breath.  Fortunately, it didn’t take long to recover.  It was the one time an e-bike would have been great.

Coffee and relief from the heat

The outlook from the top of the dam was spectacular with views down the valley and to Lake Aviemore.

The wind had really come up so we had an exhilarating ride down the other side.  We rode for about ten kilometres until we found a nice spot to have our lunch beside the lake.  The lakeside was full of campers, taking every available bit of clear land close to the lake.  Most people seemed to be New Zealanders as there were very few campervans. 

Toilets before the big cllmb

Further on we came across larger campsites that seemed to be more organised but there were fewer people probably because they could not be on the waters edge.  Some of the people there had their campsite set up like home with a fence, portable toilet, solar panel and so on.  It would not surprise me if they had their Sky Box as well.  Of course, associated with the site was either a ute or SUV, plus a boat or some other noisy water craft.

Penstock used at Benmore

We followed a relatively quiet road on the northern side of the lake.  For the most part we had a very warm and strong nor’wester behind us making cycling quite manageable. The dry heat required a large intake of water.  We found out when we arrived in Kurow that it had reached around 32 degrees

After riding over Lake Aviemore we had to join the road for a bit which again felt dangerous with cars passing far too close to us, but then I spied a bit of an off - road trail which clearly was newly opened.  It kept us off the road for quite a while until we got to the Waitaki dam.  Then it was back on the road again for several kilometres.  A part of the track was open so we crossed the highway and proceeded to climb again.  Whilst not a welcome event at the end of a long hot day, it was good to be off the road again.  The track took us down into Kurow. 

The steeo bit but the photo doesn't show how steep

Our accommodation at Corriedale Cabin was meant to be 2.5 kilometres out of town.  We missed the cycle track, but the road was much quieter so we cycled for the 2.5km. Our accommodation was not to be seen however.  We went another kilometre but still no Cabin.  We then cycled back, slowly, into the wind and B asked a chap mowing a lawn if he knew where it was.  Remarkably we had stopped right in front of it. 

Lunch spot

The cabin was a converted container and very cute. 

Our host picked us up along with two women (Beth from Hawkes Bay and Kim from Auckland who we had encountered at Lake Ohau Lodge) and deposited us at the Kurow Hotel (a truly country hotel) for dinner.  We found a nice place to sit in the dining room but then Kim and Beth decided to sit in the Public Bar because it was cooler.  Neither B nor I wanted to be next to the pokie machines so we stayed put.  Ian and Gillian from Auckland then appeared so we had a lovely evening talking with them over our meal.  We were then taken back to our cabin by the hotelier who talked passionately about the trail.  He said that they were working to get as much of the trail as possible off the main highway in particular taking the trail around Lake Benmore to the top of the dam rather than having to be on the main road and then climb that steep 800 metres.

Home away from home

Total Distance ridden: 73.5 km, cycling time 3h40, elapsed time about 6 hours.  

Cute church at Kurow