NASEBY TO PAERAU VIA GORGE ROAD

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Today we were to have a go at our first real 4WD off road trip, we had chosen Gorge Road, a short route over high level farm land from Hamilton's to Daisybank near Hyde, these three places were already familiar to us as we had cycled though Hyde and Daisybank when we completed the Otago Central Rail Trail in 2005. Hamilton's is also the birth place of several of my relations including that of my Great Grandmother Ethel Gertrude Roberts who was born there in 1870 during the height of the gold rush years, her father Charles Francombe Roberts was a gold miner and spent many of his years in the Naseby district,all that remains of Hamilton's now is the Cemetery and the scars on the side of the Rock & Pillar Mountains where the sluicing for gold occurred.

Gorge Road about 20 km's long is a paper road only, it seems to get very little use theses days as most of the time it was grassy, but with lots of gates as we crossed farm boundaries. It was a great spot to get the hang of the off road driving again. We descended from the farmland down to Daisybank to cross the Otago Central Rail Trail to find a group of cyclists sheltering under a tree, it had been very warm and we felt for them, on their bikes on such a hot day

From Daisybank we traveled on towards Hyde another gold ming area with very little left to show for it except for the old Central Hotel, which has been lovingly restored back to it's former glory and turned into accommodation and a food stop for the Rail Trailer's, we had stayed here before when we cycled the rail trail a couple of years ago. A sandwich and a drink and we were on our way again to find the start of the Old Dunstan Rd at Clarke's Junction, This section of the Old Dunsatn road is the easiest and is about 49 km's in length

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Photos

Old Dunstan Road No 1
At this altitude about 1000m the only vegetation is the Mountain Tussock Grsss, The rock outcrops are amazing