Day 8: Athol

Perfection. That pretty much sums up today. Well to be honest the garlic steak was a little tough and it was overwhelmed with raw garlic but otherwise. 

I jest of course. 

We woke up in a cold, foggy Waikaia. 6 degrees when we set off so several degrees below freezing once we added windchill. The cold was exaggerated by the fact that the prick of a tumble dryer didn’t work and so we had damp clothes from last nights washing efforts. Summer or I guess early Autumn in Southland! It’s been a theme this year. Helmet visors instantly fogged so we rode up into the beech forest north of Waikaia with freezing eyeballs and snot streaming. Suddenly we rode into glorious bluebird skies with virtually no wind, eventually climbing up above the tree line onto the tops of the Old Man Range. It’s a fabulous track with rocky steps, ruts and   lots of lines to be chosen around little features. To the west we could see the Remarkable ranges, the east had the Dunstan ranges and the distant Maniotato that we crossed yesterday. We intersected the Old Woman track which was a new trail for us and climbed to over 1700m where only lichen seems to grow. Coffee had with a 360 degree view that went on forever. Eventually we descended to Duffers saddle on the Nevis Road, just south of Cromwell and Bannockburn and of course Lake Dunstan stretching into the distance. The trail was a rocky, bermy delight. 

Onto the gravel Nevis Road and it’s 25 creek crossings to give a little interest and frisson of danger, each with its own puzzle to solve, some quick and easy, others needing a little thought. 

At the head of the the valley one climbs onto the Hector mountains and as if it hadn’t been enough already, possibly my favourite view in New Zealand is revealed. Looking across the green Mataura river plains to the Eyre Mountains and in the distance the soaring peaks of fjordland. To the North the Southern arm of lake Wakatipu. 

All to soon we were down in the valley and after a quick diversion for fuel we reached our overnight stop in Athol. Dave Lear, who has many talents, including master of finding the best accommodation, outdid himself and somehow has us in a luxury lodge that is well above our station. 

None of the photos today even remotely do justice. 

Tomorrow we continue our flirtatious relationship with Southland heading deeper into the Eyre mountains to the headwaters of the Mataura river before eventually saying goodbye as we head north into the rock, dust and golden history of central Otago.