Today’s photo of the week was taken at Taiaroa Head/Pukekura—located on the end of the Otago Peninsula.
With nearly 10,000 seabirds residing on Taiaroa Head/Pukekura—including the only mainland colony of albatross in the Southern Hemisphere—the wildlife viewing opportunities here are immense.
The area is also home to a historic lighthouse (1864) and a number of spectacular coastal walks.
Photo by Matti Masivaan | CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
By Chrissy Wickes, Ranger – Biodiversity in Te Anau
It’s that time of the year when the world turns bright orange and yellow.
My son Shannon enjoying some autumn riding near the Clutha River
A perfect occasion to put on your helmet and explore the brilliant bike trails in all their autumn glory while it lasts.
There are many trails in the Wanaka area that are golden with fallen leaves. A favourite of mine is the Upper Clutha River track, this follows the Clutha River all the way from the Wanaka lake outlet, under the Albert town bridge and on to Luggate. This track is classified as “intermediate” for mountain bikers.
The golden leaves of autumn
You can go as far as you want, lie amongst the autumn leaves, or just take a picnic and sit on the banks of the impressive Mata-Au/Clutha River. The entire track is 21.5 km long, one way.
On the other side of the river are two other great tracks; the Newcastle and Deans Bank for a slightly more challenging ride. These trails were made possible through the partnership of the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust, Bike Wanaka and DOC.
Shannon amongst the gold and red leaves of autumn
So what are you waiting for? Go plan your ride on the DOC website and find out more information about some fantastic tracks in your area.
Get out there, get amongst it!
By DOC’s Melissa Reid
About six months ago some of my Wellington friends and I decided to cycle the Otago Central Rail Trail. Coming from Dunedin, I love Central Otago and wanted to spend more time there and share the experience with my North Island friends.
The Otago Central Rail Trail follows the former Otago Central branch railway line for 150 kms, from Middlemarch to Clyde
I booked flights, bike hire and accommodation for the 12 of us to ride the trail over 4 days in March. We needed to book early—March is one of the most popular months to ride the trail as the weather is warm and settled.
I hadn’t done much cycling over the past 20 years, and I’m not particularly fit, but I had 6 months to get cycle ready. Somehow those months slipped by and by the time I started the trail I still hadn’t spent much time on a bike or got myself fit.
But I discovered that if you can ride a bike and are in OK shape you can do it! You just ride as long as you have to each day, admire the glorious ever-changing scenery, stop frequently to look at historic sites, and enjoy the delicious food and southern hospitality at cafes and pubs along the way.
It wasn’t particularly difficult and was great fun.
We started in Clyde where our bike hire company provided us with bikes and helmets. The weather was sunny and hot—we didn’t need all the merinos we packed and the long range weather forecast that predicted rain was completely wrong.
Starting the ride by the Clutha River – one hour after leaving Clyde
Leaving Alexandra—the trail gets underway and the first of many long straight roads
Our first ride was alongside the Clutha River from Clyde to Alexandra. This isn’t actually part of the trail, but is a very beautiful detour, especially in autumn. I was astonished I was actually starting the trip – my friends and family probably were too.
From Alexandra we started the first long ride. It was very hot and I was extremely pleased to arrive at the Chatto Creek Tavern where we had lunch in another lovely garden.
This was the theme of the next few days—ride and eat.
We then rode the steepest part of the trail—Tiger Hill. The views were amazing, this was one of my favourite parts of the trail although it was an effort in the now extremely hot afternoon.
Collapsed at Chatto Creek—four hours after leaving Clyde
We stayed in Lauder and had dinner at Lauder Hotel, run by former winemaker Knobby Clarke who has delicious Central Otago wines on his wine list and the obligatory blue cod and steak on the menu.
The next day we rode over the Poolburn Gorge and through two tunnels. There were also some very long straight stretches and the challenging final climb to the highest point of the trail.
However the reward was a thrilling downhill ride into Wedderburn.
We stayed at the adorable Wedderburn Cottages where each family had their own cottage and porch.
We had access to a car that evening and drove over to the historic town of St Bathans and its beautiful Blue Lake.
Blue Lake
The next morning we started our ride at the iconic Wedderburn shed, made famous by Graeme Sydney’s painting.
Wedderburn Shed
Big sky at Wedderburn
I’d hoped it would all be downhill rides from here, but there were still a few hills to climb.
Somewhere scenic above Daisybank after riding another hill
On the final night we stayed at Stanley’s Hotel in the old goldmining town of Macraes Flat (which now has an enormous modern gold mine).
Stanley’s Hotel—an old hotel with modern facilities
The last day’s ride was a quick downhill (finally) trip from Hyde to Middlemarch—and the 150 km cycle ride was over.
Bridge past Hyde
We would ride about four hours a day, and most of our party rode at different speeds, so we often wouldn’t see each other until we met again at a sightseeing spot, lunch, or the end of the day.
Ngapuna Station near the Rock and Pillar Range
I was lucky that one of my friends rode at the same pace as me (slowly), and we were usually at the back of the group—but that was fine with us, we weren’t in any rush.
You have to be here. You have to feel the deep slow surge of the hills…
Today’s photo of the week is from Long Gully near the Clutha River in Otago.
Long Gully is the site of the newly formed Mata-au Scientific Reserve. This 165 hectare block was originally used as farmland but has been retired from farming and now is managed by DOC as a scientific reserve.
There are several nationally threatened native plants here. You can also find grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, native bees, and in summer, hear the steady drum of cicadas. Ground nesting banded dotterel and pipits also breed here.
By DOC’s Andrea Crawford
Fetching gravel for the path to the penguin viewing area
Recently 40 Otago Polytechnic students from the Scarfie Army did something different during their first week back in Dunedin. As well as the usual toga parties and raves, these energetic scarfies spent two days volunteering during Orientation Week.
The volunteers worked with local rangers Lucy Hardy and Guy Brannigan on maintaining the penguin viewing area at Pilots Beach at the end of Otago Peninsula, which is home to over 100 little blue penguins. This area is managed by the Pukekura Trust which runs viewing tours at night. It is also close to the northern royal albatross colony at Taiaroa Head.
It was a sweltering day and after wheel-barrowing gravel for the footpath down to penguin viewing area, picking up trash from the beach, and weeding around natives planted by local school children, the scarfies couldn’t resist and jumped into the sea to cool off.
Clearing weeds from a little blue penguin burrow
The volunteer army also helped with some maintenance work at the fort on Taiaroa Head for the Otago Peninsula Trust, such as cleaning rust off the disappearing gun.
Other hands on work included weeding around hundreds of native plants at the Living Legends planting site at Waitati.
The students’ work will help survival of the 10,000 natives planted by the community to create a native wetland at the Orokonui Estuary. They also potted dune restoration plants for the Tomahawk Smaills Beachcare Group at their plant nursery.
Weeding around natives plants at Waitati
It is fantastic to have the Scarfie Army volunteer with DOC to help out on some important conservation projects in their local area.
Inspired to help? Our volunteer programme lists opportunities for conservation projects with the Department of Conservation. Becoming a DOC volunteer involves being supervised by, and/or working with, DOC staff.
