It was raining when I woke up, so it was an easy decision to sleep in some more. It was my birthday after all. I don’t think I was up and about much before 9am and the rain was never too far away.
I spoke to some more people at the campsite and headed off to Clyde for a second birthday breakfast.
Clyde is a nice town, so I chose the most likely looking coffee shop, went in, and ordered their big breakfast. I never do that and I don’t know why I did it, especially, as recently I’ve gone off the taste of bacon. At least the coffee was excellent.
It was still very overcast when I left at nearly 12pm. I felt like the day was never going to really get moving.
The Otago Central Rail Trail starts just outside Clyde and I expected to get some drinking water at the trailhead. The only water tap available was marked do-not-drink. So I set off to the next stop at Alexandra just 8kms away.
If there was a turn along the way, I didn’t notice it. I began to hope that this trail wasn’t going to be as boring as it started. (Future John reports that it was every bit as boring except for the hills and tunnels just north of Lauder).
In Alexandra, I had to pay for tap water at a coffee Shop, so I was very happy after that, but significantly, there was a left turn and a nice bridge before the interminable straight trail resumed.
I started failing fast (boredom or tiredness or both) and stopped at the Chatto Creek pub for a beer and a bowl of chips. Very very nice, but that same trail was still waiting for me as soon as I’d finished. There were more turns soon after which kept me awake though.
By the time I got to Omakau, I’d had enough, and decided to live it up and stay at the local pub for the night. This was a good move as dinner was superb, and the hosts, typically friendly.