Otago Central Rail Trail

I don't know why it is called that. It is in Central Otago so you would think it would be called Central Otago Rail Trail.

However, we are in Alexandra, 8 kms from one end of the 157 kms trail in Clyde. Tomorrow morning we shall drive to Middlemarch, at the other end, leave our car there, and start walking back.

We have split the walk into 5 stages and booked the accommodation accordingly. As you can see, there should be an average of 31 and a bit kms per day, but because of the accommodations not being quite obliging enough situated, Friday will see us walking 42 kms, or the full marathon distance. I have walked this only once before, during VBW, on the first day in England, with Septimus. In fact we walked 43 kms that day, with the disadvantage that we did not know it was coming. Another disadvantage was that it was very, very hot. Here it will also possibly be very hot as in the summer this is the hottest and driest part of New Zealand. Except on Thursday, apparently, when it is scheduled to rain over the whole country, so we are unlikely to escape.

Gay has never walked that distance before, although she has regularly, in New Zealand, including this very morning, walked 25 kms.

Our baggage will be moved on each day by a service which restricts the weight of each bag. That, and the fact that the baggage will frequently be unattended, mean that I will not be taking the laptop with me. So any blog postings, photographs, et cetera, will have to come after the event.

We are really looking forward to the next few days as the Rail Trail passes through some wonderful scenery.