Otago Central Rail Trail

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Otago Central Rail Trail
CORT01.JPG
On the Otago Central Rail Trail
Length150 km [1]
Location Otago region, New Zealand
Trailheads Middlemarch
45°30′11″S170°07′33″E / 45.50293°S 170.12594°E / -45.50293; 170.12594 (Middlemarch trailhead)
Clyde
45°11′41″S169°20′08″E / 45.19476°S 169.33562°E / -45.19476; 169.33562 (Clyde trailhead)
UseWalking
Cycling
Horse riding
Elevation
Highest point618 m (2,028 ft)
Hiking details
Trail difficultyModerate
SeasonYear round
SightsOtago Central landscape, railway viaducts

The Otago Central Rail Trail is a 150-kilometre walking, cycling and horse riding track in the South Island of New Zealand. A pioneering project for New Zealand, the successful rail trail joined the New Zealand Cycle Trail umbrella organisation in 2012, having been one of the inspirations for it. [2] [3]

Contents

The trail runs in an arc between Middlemarch and Clyde, along the route of the former Otago Central Railway. The trail has become a popular tourist attraction, with 10,000–12,000 users per year as a conservative estimate, and yearly (and ongoing) user increases for 6 out of the last 7 years (as of 2011). [1] [4] The trail is also accepted as being, by a large margin, the biggest non-farming economic factor in the Maniototo-Alexandra area. [5]

History

The original railway line was completed at the turn of the 20th century, and provided a link between Central Otago and Dunedin until closure in 1990. The first 64 km from the junction with the Main South Line in Wingatui remain operational; the initial 4 km form KiwiRail's Taieri Industrial Siding and the remaining 60 km through the Taieri Gorge to Middlemarch is operated by Dunedin Railways as a tourist attraction. The New Zealand Department of Conservation recognised that the remainder of the route to Clyde had potential as a recreational facility, and bought the formation after the rails and sleepers had been salvaged.

Since, the trail has come to be recognised as an important feature of the region, highlighted for example by strong interest from numerous groups in a 2011 workshop, where 120 people attended to discuss the further future of the trail, and how to encourage users to stay in the area for longer. [1]

The success of the rail trail played an important role in ensuring the New Zealand Cycle Trail project succeeded in gaining funding, and was cited as an example of the kind of infrastructure the project is to provide by New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key. [6]

Location of the rail trail. OtagoCRTmap.jpg
Location of the rail trail.

Trail walking / cycling

Poolburn Viaduct, one of the former rail bridges re-established for the cycle trail. Poolburn Viaduct Before Poolburn Tunnel I.jpg
Poolburn Viaduct, one of the former rail bridges re-established for the cycle trail.

The trail starts at Middlemarch in the east, loops north through the spectacular countryside of the Strath Taieri and the Maniototo to end at Clyde, on the banks of the Clutha River. The return journey to Middlemarch or Dunedin can be made on foot or by bicycle over the historic Old Dunstan Road, used by the early gold miners to access Central Otago. It traverses open country with little accommodation or food between the typical stops. Users need to be self-sufficient for much of each day.

Towns in the area have, however, developed facilities for trail users, and companies have been developed to aid travellers on the trail, such as transporting luggage between destinations. Due to the increasing numbers of pubs now available on the track route, the trail has also been nicknamed the 'Ale Trail'. [7]

To enjoy the scenery, the engineering involved in building the railway and the towns and people along the way, 5–7 days should be allowed to walk the Trail or 3–5 days to cycle it. [7] The trail starts at 201 metres (660 ft) above sea level in Middlemarch and rises at its highest point to 618 metres (2,028 ft) between Ranfurly and Oturehua. On the journey it passes through three tunnels (the two Poolburn Gorge Tunnels and the Prices Creek Tunnel) and over several large viaducts. A torch (flashlight) is advised for the tunnels. The trail is well maintained and signposted. Toilets are available at several points and the contours are best described as easy, having been built to allow steam trains to climb the gentle inclines even in winter, with frost on the rails. [8]

The trail passes through or past several small towns. Mountain bikes can be rented from outlets in Middlemarch, Ranfurly, Alexandra and Clyde. Some of these cycle shops will also provide transport for riders and bikes, and will move luggage. The trail is very popular, and accommodation should be booked well in advance during busy periods such as long weekends and holidays.

The trail passes through one of the few parts of New Zealand to have a continental climate, with extremes of temperature common. Midsummer daytime temperatures frequently climb above 28 °C (82 °F), and winters can include entire days with a temperature staying below freezing point. One known issue on the trail can be the strong winds that can develop from the nearby mountain ranges under certain weather conditions, slowing riders going in the wrong direction to a crawl. [8]

On the Rail Trail CORT02.JPG
On the Rail Trail

The manager of the trail, the Otago Central Rail Trail Charitable Trust, has a website and publishes a leaflet that provides detailed information on the route, and advertisements for businesses providing services to users of the trail. There are visitor information centres in Alexandra, Cromwell, Roxburgh, Ranfurly and Dunedin. Several books on the trail and the surrounding area can be purchased at bookshops throughout New Zealand.

The Otago Central Rail Trail at Ranfurly OtagoRailtrailRanfurly.jpg
The Otago Central Rail Trail at Ranfurly

Usage / Statistics

The trail is used by 10,000–12,000 users per year as a conservative estimate (14,000 in other estimates) [2] and up to 80,000 further (mostly local) users of part sections. [4] The Poolburn Gorge section was the most popular, with around 24,000 yearly users. [1] Trail patronage is counted using electronic counters, with the numbers at four remote locations extrapolated to estimate the whole trail usage, as not all riders ride the full trail. [1]

The users of the trail have been shown as approximately 9% guided tour customers, 50% independent travellers (renting a bicycle) and 41% New Zealanders bringing their own bicycles. [9]

A business evaluation has credited the trail with supporting around 1,000 full and part-time jobs, [10] and having created 200 additional or part-time jobs. [6]

Annual maintenance and development costs for the trail have been estimated at somewhat over $316,000. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Otago Region of New Zealand

Otago is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), making it the country's second largest local government region. Its population was 245,300 in June 2020.

Middlemarch, New Zealand

Middlemarch is a small town in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range of hills in the broad Strath-Taieri valley, through which flows the middle reaches of the Taieri River. Since local government reorganisation in the late 1980s, Middlemarch and much of the Strath-Taieri has been administered as part of Dunedin city, the centre of which lies some 80 km to the southeast. Middlemarch is part of the Taieri electorate, and is currently represented in parliament by Ingrid Leary. Middlemarch has reticulated sewerage but no reticulated water supply. A description of 1903, that "[T]he summer seasons are warm, but not enervating, and the winters cold, but dry" is still true today.

Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference".

Taieri River

The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Dunedin.

Dunedin Railways

Dunedin Railways is an operator of a railway line and tourist trains based at Dunedin Railway Station in the South Island of New Zealand. The railway is a council-controlled trading organisation owned jointly by the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Excursion Train Trust.

Ranfurly, New Zealand Settlement in Otago, New Zealand

Ranfurly is a town in the Central Otago District of Otago, New Zealand. Located 110 kilometres north of Dunedin, it lies in the dry rough plain of Maniototo at a moderately high altitude close to a small tributary of the Taieri River. It operates as a service town for the local farming community. The town was formerly known as Eweburn, one of the "farmyard" names bestowed by former Otago Chief Surveyor John Turnbull Thomson on many small streams and locations in the district. The modern name honours the Fifth Earl of Ranfurly, who served as Governor of New Zealand (1897–1904) at the time of the extension of the Otago Central Railway to the area. Ranfurly is well known for its Art Deco buildings, such as its hotel and the milk bar.

Strath Taieri

Strath Taieri is a large glacial valley and river plateau in New Zealand's South Island. It is surrounded by the rugged hill ranges to the north and west of Otago Harbour. Since 1989 it has been part of the city of Dunedin. The small town of Middlemarch is located at its southern end.

Wedderburn, New Zealand

Wedderburn is a community in Central Otago, New Zealand. It is located 15 kilometres northwest of Ranfurly, and was at one time close to the centre of a thriving gold and coal mining area. The name of Wedderburn was given to the area by John Turnbull Thomson, and is one of the names in his infamous "Thomson's Barnyard", wedder being Northumbrian dialect form of the word wether, meaning a castrated sheep.

Paerau is a small settlement in inland Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is located in the Strath Taieri, the upper valley of the Taieri River, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range. "Paerau" is a Māori-language name meaning "one hundred ridges".

Port Chalmers Branch

The Port Chalmers Branch was the first railway line built in Otago, New Zealand, and linked the region's major city of Dunedin with the port in Port Chalmers. The line is still operational today.

Otago Central Railway Branch railway line in Otago, New Zealand

The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.

Hyde, New Zealand

Hyde is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, located in the Strath-Taieri. It is close to the northern end of the Rock and Pillar Range on State Highway 87 between Middlemarch and Ranfurly. Hyde is best known as the site of the Hyde railway disaster of 4 June 1943, in which 21 people were killed when an express train on the Otago Central Railway derailed at high speed in a cutting near the town. At the time, it was the worst railway accident in New Zealand's history; it has only been passed by the Tangiwai disaster of 24 December 1953, which claimed the lives of 151 people. The site of the Hyde disaster can now be walked as part of the Otago Central Rail Trail and a monument, a 2.5 m high cairn, stands as a memorial to the victims.

Waipiata is an historic place on the Otago Central Rail Trail, in Central Otago, New Zealand. Waipiata is also the name of many New Zealand coastal vessels, steamers, freighters and steamships.

Project Steam is a railway preservation society based in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is dedicated to the restoration of steam locomotives formerly operated by the New Zealand Railways Department, with its goal to restore at least one locomotive to main line operating conditions in order to operate excursions from Dunedin Railway Station. The society is currently the only one of its kind in Dunedin; the Ocean Beach Railway operates small tank locomotives but on private trackage, and the popular Taieri Gorge Limited is run solely by diesel locomotives.

Oturehua Township in Otago, New Zealand

The township of Oturehua is in the Ida Valley of the Maniototo, in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.

Cycling in New Zealand

Cycling in New Zealand, while relatively popular as a sport, is a very marginal commuting mode, with the share hovering around 1-3% in most major cities. This is due to a number of factors, principally safety fears.

Wingatui

Wingatui is a small settlement almost 15 kilometres west of Dunedin, and two kilometres east of Mosgiel. It has become a suburb of Mosgiel, but continues to maintain its own unique identity and heritage.

State Highway 87 (New Zealand) Road in New Zealand

State Highway 87 (SH 87) is a state highway in New Zealand servicing the Taieri Plains and the Strath-Taieri Valley in Otago, connecting Mosgiel to Kyeburn on the eastern flank of the Maniototo Plains.

Poolburn Gorge

The Poolburn Gorge is a gorge located in the Central Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand, 4 km east of the small settlement of Lauder. The Ida Burn flows through the 2.5 km long canyon across the Raggedy Range between the Ida Valley and the Manuherikia Valley. There are no public roads through the gorge; only the track of the former Otago Central Railway, now used as the Otago Central Rail Trail, follows the river on the southern flanks of the gorge.

The cyclone of 1929 was an unnamed tropical cyclone that struck New Zealand in mid-March 1929 causing widespread flooding and destruction.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rail trail still proving popular". Otago Daily Times . 23 May 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Pioneering Otago rail trail joins national cycleway". 2 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Key hails success of 'inspirational' rail trail". Otago Daily Times. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  4. 1 2 Parker, Tamsyn (23 March 2009). "Why Key's national bike track could be paved with gold". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Opinion: Great for the cycling public, but what about the landowner?". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  6. 1 2 Investment for the Development of the New Zealand Cycleway Project – Cabinet Paper, Ministry of Tourism, May 2009
  7. 1 2 Luke, Peter (27 October 2009). "Central's cycling mecca". The Press . Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  8. 1 2 Thompson, Wayne (30 July 2010). "Staying on track in Central Otago". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  9. ↑ Hueber, Andre (19 June 2011). "Cycleway the only way". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "Barbara Cuthbert: Key could be on the right track with cycleway". The New Zealand Herald . 10 March 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2011.

Further reading

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