With the hills supposedly behind us we headed out of Omarama looking forward to an easier day in the saddle. The first 13 kms were off road and around Lake Benmore to Sailors Cutting.
We had a quick break here and saw a beautifully maintained steamboat being readied for a trip on the lake. The next section of the A2O was on road and included a 3km hill (or undulation as the guides prefer to call them). The downhill was welcome before we turned off the road to head for the Benmore Dam Wall. Warren was one of only a couple who didn’t have to push their bikes some of the way up this steep pinch.
From here it was another lovely ride beside Lake Aviemore where we stopped for a picnic lunch.
Another 6km to the Aviemore Dam wall which unfortunately was closed for 2 days for maintenance (a once in 50 year event!)
This meant we had to board the bus and retrace our tracks back to the main road at Otematata and then onto Kurow. Our tour does not allow cycling on this stretch of road as it is very busy with many blind corners. I don’t think anyone was disappointed at only riding 53 kms today.
Our accommodation for tonight was the recently restored Waitaki Braids. Made of local stone, this was voted the best accomodation and the best meal, venison, for the entire trip. Our host, Kate told us 18,000 cyclists pass through Kurow every year.
After dinner we went to the pub next door to watch the Crusaders play the Highlanders in the Super Rugby (the NZ South Island equivalent of Broncos v Cowboys). Our American friends tried to make sense of the rules while tasting the local brew.