We set off to Cycle Journeys this morning to rent bikes for the day. A smile by me because an ebike was available. Cycle Journeys now have quite a large operation in Twizel and it seems to be running a very good, helpful business. After some advice on a route to take near Twizel we set off on a cloudy and coolish morning. We took the route used by the A2O trail through to the canals and then hung a right instead of a left and biked out along the Pukaki Canal. The canals have roads on both sides but we took the sealed side towards Lake Pukaki. The roads are elevated above the farmland which stretches across the whole McKenzie Basin in one large tussock filled basin. Irrigation has now been introduced so patches are now green and not tawny gold. In the background are hills, ranges and the Southern Alps.
Turning back along the canal we cycled on the near side of the Ohau Canal towards Lake Ruataniwha, known for rowing championships. Unfortunately, even though you can cycle to Ohau, the road does not go there. You have a long traffic route instead. We cycled to the end
This lovely lake is a recreation area for Twizel but its better known for holding rowing championships.
of the canals where it reached the Ohau A Power Station. From there we dropped down off the canals to the Lake Ruataniwha Park for rowing, camping, walking, picnicking and other water sports. Its a lovely area and a huge asset to the town - especially as it was created without permission originally.
From the lake area we bumped our way back to Twizel on a rocky trail alongside the main road where we dropped off our bikes at Cycle Journeys after 32 kms of cycling. At this time of day there seemed to be a lot of activity with cyclists arriving or getting ready for the next leg of their journey. We stopped for a drink at Poppies and then drove to Ohau Village to see what effect the fires had had.
Driving off the terraces down to Lake Ohau has to be one of the most stunning views in this country. The Lake stretches out into the distance with steep hills on either side and the Southern Alps in the distance at the far end. Just gorgeous.
The lake stretches back towards the Southern Alps with Mt Sefton and Mt Cook in the background on a clear day.
a few homes unaffected but many had been burnt out and removed. All around stood burnt trees from the lake front and back up into the hills behind. Its amazing how some homes were relatively unscathed whilst others had disappeared. Having seen the result of fires along Lake Pukaki yesterday, this is obviously a big problem down here when its tinder dry and there are so many wilding pines.
On the way back we stopped in at Mt Cook Salmon and bought lovely fresh salmon for dinner. At this location you can choose to either catch your own from the many breeding ponds or buy some. It looked like a lot of fun.
Even though our day started cloudy as usual, as usual again, the cloud burnt off and we had a lovely sunny calm afternoon. My gosh (and other words), how I LOVE this place of NO wind!!
