DAY 3 LAKE DUNSTAN TRAIL ... Cromwell to Clyde

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Cooked! Stuffed! Buggered! Rooted! Challenged, physically and mentally.

We cannot remember a time when we were so exhausted. A difficult trail in undertaken during the rising heat of the day. There was no escape. Shade was non-existent unless one hugged the side of the cliff face which we did numerous times in our exhaustion.

We coped with the first 20km from Cromwell to the “Coffee Float”, two small river craft selling coffee, icecream, burgers, muffins, cold drinks, etc, quite well. Literally metres from the Coffee Float the trail morphed into one out of a horror movie. The Cairnmuir Ladder began with steep climbing switchbacks with steep drop offs that seemed never ending. (Watch the 2min and 1min 20 sec videos) We walked most of them. It rose 130 vertical metres. There is a total of 580m of climbing between Cromwell and Clyde. Throughout the ride we had to concentrate so as not to make a mistake and tumble down the drop offs. Jane began to suffer from heat exhaustion, so the stops became frequent. We had brought along 4L of water however they had quickly disappeared. Even with our outdoor experience we were caught short. Not good.

When we were dropped off to begin the trail, another 10 to 12 other people were too. The difference was, apart from one other, all had electric bikes. We wanted to rely on mental toughness which today nearly turned out to be mental stupidity. For the final 2-3 hours we saw only one other rider, and he was going the opposite direction.

We hit Clyde and The Post Office Café to hydrate and to cool down before making our way to our accommodation. Jane immediately collapsed onto the floor and went to sleep … just like that. I had a fast jet cold shower and was ready to go again. Only kidding, I was still feeling the effects.

Even with our being challenged with every rotation of the pedal we did marvel at the engineering feat of the reinforced banks and drainage tunnels dotted along the length of the gorge as well as the “clip-on” bridges which clung to the rock bluffs and impressive rock walls. The longest suspension bridge we crossed was 30m above the lake and 86m long. In all it took us 7 hours to ride 43kms.

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Photos

Overcast greeting.

Awaiting shuttle pickup, Queenstown.

Awaiting coffee and muffin, Cromwell Heritage Precinct.

Beginning of Lake Dunstan Trail. Coat discarded within minutes.

Crossing Bannockburn River Bridge.

Carrick Winery relaxing. From here, it became difficult.

Pleasant. Jane up ahead.

Jane confidently taking the lead.

Jane.

Coffee Float.

Coffee Float.

Jane walking the Switch Backs.

Many steep switch backs.

We thought that was good riddance to the switch backs ... how wrong we were.

Lake Dunstan with the trail hugging the edges.

Seeking shade.

Jane celebrating too early ... again.