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Halfway Hut to Dunstan Arm Rowing Club: 10.7km,
grade 2-3
We thought we had completed the major climb on the ride
but after halfway hut the trail climbed again, this time without
the aid of the switchbacks. Luckily once you reached the
peak, the ride was downhill again all the way to the edge
of the lake where there were plenty of places to stop and
have a swim or just picnic beside the lake. Although we were
eager to race ahead at this point, the trail was narrow in
places and it was a balancing act between letting it rip and
proceeding with caution.
The rest of the ride followed an undulating track along the
river until we reached the Dunstan Arm Rowing Club and the
Clyde Dam, NZ’s third largest hydro dam.
Dunstan Arm Rowing Club to Clyde Heritage Precinct:
3.5km, grade 1
The ride back into Clyde was along the roadside past the
lower reaches of the dam and into what is considered “old
Clyde”. It had been an incredible day, the temperature had
hit the 30’s and we had been wowed with the variety on the
trail and the views along the way. We finished the day with a
well deserved ice cold beer in the tavern next door to Bike It
Now! A perfect end to a perfect day.
The Dunstan trail offered a real variety
in both terrain and scenery and should
be on everone's to do list.
The trail can be completed in either
direction but after speaking to someone
who had biked it both ways, they
recommended starting in Cromwell
and finishing in Clyde. We found that
most of the people on the track were
biking in that direction so the chance
of running into people biking the other
way was less, however for safety sake
it is imperative to “keep left” while biking
when visibility is limited.
Above: Looking back towards Cromwell, you can see the stonework faces of the Cairnmuir slide, which was designed to protect the river
from a major land slide, which could overwhelm the Clyde Dam, a short distance downstream.
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