Otago Central Rail Trail Trust e-Newsletter

October 2009

Welcome to the October 2009 issue of the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust e-Newsletter.

Important: If you do not want email communications from the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust please click newsletter@otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz giving your name, your business name (if applicable) and full email address.

The Rail Trail For All Seasons

Central Otago has four distinct seasons. Each is stunning and not to be missed. Spring on the Rail Trail heralds the rebirth of colour with willows and poplars wearing cloaks of vivid green. During summer, the Central sun doesn't set until late evening. Leapfrogging the rich hues of autumn, winters offer clear, crisp and windless days with the reward of evenings toasting Central Otago's warm hospitality.

The Otago Central Rail Trail Trust and Rail Trail Operators' Group are working hard to get across the message that the Otago Central Rail Trail is open and accessible year round --- The Rail Trail For All Seasons! Some accommodation providers do take a break over winter months, but enough remain open to provide plenty of choice about where to stay. Sure, it can be cold. Snow even. But it's a dry invigorating cold; not wet and miserable. Another misconception is the trail is too hot and crowded in summer. Because the heat is dry there's none of that humidity the upper North Island suffers. Summer nights can be so cool you'll be glad to be sleeping under a duvet. Possibly because so many think the trail will be crowded over summer, especially during the school holidays, they rule it out; hence December and January can be the quietest months. On the flip side, autumn can be busiest. For a taste of what seasons can bring to the Rail Trail experience visit the Official Otago Central Rail Trail website home page … www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz … or click this link... http://www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz/swf/seasons.html

What's In A Name?

Built on the foundations of the Otago Central Railway, it's not just for historic reasons Otago comes before Central; it's geographically the right thing. When it was a railway, close to 100km of the line ran through Otago – from Wingatui up the Taieri Gorge and along the Strath Taieri -- before crossing into Central Otago near Tiroiti. Another reason for having Otago in front of Central, the railway line was built from Otago into Central. It may help to get a clearer picture by visiting the Official Otago Central Rail Trail homepage … www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz … then click on the Google link under the banner photos.

Cause For Celebration

Reaching 618m above sea level, the highest point of the trail, is a high point in more ways the one. A cause for celebration and a photo opportunity. Now thanks to Peter Cousins there's no mistaking the concrete plinth marking the end of climbing and the beginning of a mostly downhill pedal or walk. Having done the trail several times and noticed how the photo opportunity at the highest point plinth could easily be missed, Peter, whose Marton-based business, Promarc International Ltd, has developed a technique for manufacturing full colour plaques and signs claimed to last hundreds of years, volunteered to replace the small bronze plaque on the plinth with a good sized, eye catching 'highest point' sign. The Trust thanks Peter Cousins for a very kind gesture that will quickly become an appreciated feature on the Rail Trail.

Otago Central Rail Trail Logo

In their enthusiasm to embrace the Rail Trail, there are instances of businesses using actual or close approximations to the Official Otago Central Rail Trail logo. Regardless of whether or not the official logo has a copyright mark, qualified legal opinion says the wording, colours, typeface and design elements such as the railway crossing sign within the oval are and remain the intellectual property of the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust. Use of the logo, or any elements of the logo, depends on permission being given by the Trust. To seek approval please email intentions to Trust chairperson, Daphne Hull … dhull@es.co.nz

Thank You Mr Key

Publicity generated by the Prime Minister about the New Zealand Cycleway brought an enormous amount of focus onto the Otago Central Rail Trail, not just because it was the country's first Rail Trail but as an example of what can be achieved when committed individuals, a supportive government department in DOC and local communities get behind a project. Accommodation providers and tour operators report that media interest is translating into bookings with a great many saying they are at least one-third ahead of this time last year. This also signals to anyone intending to do the trail to book accommodation well ahead.

A Community Asset

Missing from media articles about the Rail Trail is its contribution to the social well-being of the local and extended community. Over the past couple of years Constable Jacqui Lambeth, Youth Aid Officer for Otago Rural (previously Southland), has taken some 50 young people from all walks of life on to the trail to experience for themselves a sense of achievement and self-worth that as she suggests can't be felt sitting in front of a video game. “By using the Rail Trail in this proactive way we are creating the opportunity for these kids to return home with a sense of ownership of a tremendous personal achievement,” explains Jacqui, “For them cycling the Rail Trail is more than a bike ride, it's to experience what it feels like to do something really positive.” On November 7 Jacqui and some local Central Otago youth workers will be taking a group of 18 Year 7's and 8's from Central Otago schools for a one day ride between Hyde and Daisybank, and then Auripo and Omakau.

Outcomes From The Tourism Central Otago Rail Trail Survey 2008/09

Based on interviews of people doing the Rail Trail, Tourism Central Otago several months ago released their survey findings. Amongst these were...

·         all those surveyed rated the experience 9 out of 10 and this was regardless of the weather, time of year, or direction of travel

·         expectations of all those surveyed were either met or exceeded

·         as a generalisation, the typical Rail Trailer is a person aged over 50, slightly more likely to be a woman than a man, from Auckland, Canterbury or somewhere else in the North Island, doing the trail for the first time, probably from the Clyde end and interested in mining towns and sites.

From The 'Please Help' File.

The Official Otago Central Rail Trail website gets all sorts of enquiries. More than just a few follow common themes. For example, what direction to travel the trail? Website manager Ross Lindsay, generally replies along the following lines... “Some may disagree but it really is pretty much six of one and half a dozen of the other. There are those who say that to avoid head winds the trail should be started at Clyde but, on the other hand, that can mean having to on your first day cycle or trudge up Tiger Hill, the steepest section on the trail – although the incline is never more than 1 in 50 (any steeper and steel driving wheels would not have been able to get any purchase on steel rails). If you look at a map of the trail you will see it is a 'u' shape so there's a chance that if there is wind you will get it head on somewhere on the trail. Starting from Middlemarch is an easier climb but once you reach Waipiata there is a very long and gradual uphill climb across the Maniototo. So really, there are pluses and minuses for starting at either end.”

Rail Trail Signage

Where to eat? How to get to accommodation you've booked? Answers to these are other questions about services and facilities in places on and near the Rail Trail will now be answered on smartly presented notice boards at station sites. Due for installation in December, these notice boards are the positive outcome of discussions between DOC, the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust and the Rail Trail Operators' Group. The objective is to not only give those on the Rail Trail a break from traffic and crowds but also escape from advertising along the trail's corridor.

Otago Central Rail Trail Trust PO Box 399 Alexandra 9340 Central Otago New Zealand