Cycling the rail trail in Central Otago is the ultimate experience, but driving the road route will deliver stunning sights and experiences to please the senses, and short schedules.
I spent three days, accompanied by my wife, covering the interesting places on State Highways 85 and 87 from Clyde up to Ranfurly and over to Middlemarch and back to Dunedin. At almost every point of the journey we were seeing the stations where the railway passed, now the stopping points for cyclists doing the trail.
By road our route took us from Queenstown to Clyde then through to Middlemarch. These two towns are the start/finish points of the railtrail, though cyclists commonly start in Clyde and head to Middlemarch to have the wind at their backs, something even e-bikers, now the majority of travellers, appreciate. By car none of this is an issue.
The rail trail starts at the bike shop in Clyde on the main street in the town’s historic area. We had coffee at Dunstan House sitting out-side in as I surveyed the rugged bare hills overshadowing the town and the Clyde Dam just beyond.
