Our penultimate day on the Otago Rail Trail.
Had brunch in Ranfurly at a cafe recommended by Sam, our transfer driver buddy. Simon made the mistake of asking the lady serving on the till whether the potato rosti on the menu was home made. No, she said, looking affronted, I buy them in – I haven’t got time to make them myself. It was all downhill from there. Everything was too much trouble. By the time I tried to buy a cheese roll to take away she was almost ready to throw us out. I must say there has been a strong preponderance of grumpy middle aged cows amongst women in service roles on this trip. Doesn’t seem like a happy match for anyone involved.
For morning tea we stopped for a half pint and a pie at Waipiata Hotel. In the half hour we were there, we saw a herd of cows being driven in one direction, and then some sheep being driven the other way. Fabulously authentic country activities which we fully appreciated.
It was about 33 kms of mostly flat cycling today. There was a very strong wind which was luckily at our backs for most of the day, turning into a head wind for the last few kilometres. Not sure the physics of that?
Had a number of elderly folk on ebikes whizzing past us towards the end, giving a cheery hello and a wave. I am a strong believer in ebikes – our minuscule ones notwithstanding. I consider people who are snobby about their pure, analogue bikes to be similar to those women who are proud of getting through childbirth without an epidural. Good on you, mate, if it means that much to you.
Another strange thing on the rail trail which seems completely unrelated to anything else, is the model solar system. Pluto is somewhere out around Clyde, then you pass the planets as you make your way towards Ranfurly, which has somewhat bizarrely been chosen to represent the Sun. I thought that would be the end of it, only to find Mercury again a little way out on the other side. Yes, the other sides of the planets’ orbits are represented on the way to Middlemarch.
It does demonstrate clearly just how close together the inner rocky planets are to each other and the sun, and how far away the gas giants are, which is useful if all you’ve ever seen are all the planets squashed together in the standard models shown. Also, it gives you the opportunity to shout “I can see Uranus!” which ought to be a source of much hilarity for those with a suitable sense of humour.
There is nothing in Hyde.