Training Log Archive: Vaala

Ate ALL the food and travelled to The District.

Worrywort Katie was worried about making the 5pm cutoff (our car would get locked up for the night after that and we thought we were picking up the Tane afterwards) so we left just after 7am. It was nice and quiet and cool at this time in the morning and we raced along at high speed! M let us go off trail to look at all the sites which was pretty cool. After Oturehua we start seeing a steady stream of people on the trail which is super awesome. I was pretty hungry by our early lunch stop at Ranfurly where we attempted to eat all the food. There was also a nice walk and swim to be had by Prices tunnel before thrashing it out into a headwind and the heat all the way back to Middlemarch. We made it and M's knee is still functioning (just?).

A fairly early start compared to the last few days which was a good idea since it started getting hot pretty quick. The first bit of the gorge track is so beautiful and I didn't want to leave. This was then followed by another exciting jetboat ride where we learned some new things about the river and got to do a 360 turn thing! It was REALLY hot by this point so we cruised along and into Alex for all cold drinks before suffering in the heat to Chatto Creek for cold cider and waffle fries. Stayed here for ages trying to escape the heat before the final, hot stretch to Omakau. It was too hot to put up the tent until close to 9pm (we hid in the kitchen instead)!

After a cold night the sun was out in force again. We headed back along the Clutha Gold to Roxburgh as it just got hotter and hotter. Pretty cruisey riding and there were heaps of people about on the trail which was awesome. Arrived in Roxburgh with plenty of time for lazing and feasting and washing. AND M is letting us take the jetboat again tomorrow!!

Finally we have a suitable plan!! Anyway, today we headed along the Clutha Gold trail to Lawrence in the drizzle. It was actually quite cold which was, to be honest, a relief. There was a beautiful section in the middle along the river and we had a nice little walk out to see a bridge at Horseshoe Bend. From Beaumont the track left the river and headed up "Big Hill" (haha) and through a tunnel which is much longer than it first appears (about 430 metres I think). Although you can see the other side you can't actually see anything else for a very long period in the middle and if you're the stoker like me you can't actually see anything at all.

We got to Lawrence where we were apparently spotted by Tane before biking up and over the biggest hill of the day...to the campground.

After a late start trying to come up with a suitable plan for M's knee we were still undecided but had at least got a plan for the day. Rocked up to the info centre to book a last minute jetboat ride...leaving us 1 1/2 hours to get there along the beautiful Roxburgh Gorge track. Such awesome views followed by an awesome boat trip during which the sun, which had been hiding behind some clouds, came out in force. The 2nd half of the gorge trail was far too hot for Katies but it was stunning. From the dam we joined the Clutha Gold trail which was more shaded but not nearly as pretty. Arrived in Roxburgh in time to to get our bike fixed up at the local chemist/bike shop. We then proceeded to get lost trying to bike back to the campground via the track.

I think I've fallen in love with Roxburgh.

From Loganburn Dam along the tops then down the steep descent into the 'town' below then whizzed along easy roads until the start of the big Poolburn climb. We tried to hide in tiny shadows of rocks to shelter from the sun but it didn't help much. It was then a hard, relentless climb and we were pretty much out of water by the top. M's knee was not in good shape by this point but we did find delicious, cold water in the ford. Lazed around at the Poolburn Dam for lunch, in which time the sun cranked up a notch. It was then a delightfully dusty down hill then along the flats and over what felt like a monster hill (all 60 vertical metres of it although the descent was a lot bigger) to Galloway. It was then a short grovel in the heat along the rail trail to Alex where we drunk all the cold drinks I'd dreamed about earlier (i.e. I tried to drink 1 and couldn't even get through it all in one go!).