Otaga Central Rail Trail - Easter Break Week 1

What happens to towns along a recently closed rail road route? 

These towns sprang up during the gold rush years of late 1800’s.  They bustled with people, taverns and shops.  A railway was constructed to get food and equipment to these shanty towns.  With a short lived gold rush, farming became the livelihood for people who stayed in the area.  From the early 1900s to 1980 (not that long ago – the year I graduated high school!) the railroad brought life to these towns.  (Well not life as I know it…these are very SMALL rural towns).  As road transport became more economical, the government subsidized rail transport.  Finally, in 1990 the rail line closed, lines rusted and stations were abandoned.  Kiwi characteristics include not letting anything go to waste,  a can do attitude and determination.   So, I’m not surprised that within a few years of looking at an abandoned railroad, the idea was born to transform the rail route to a bicycle route using information from the Rails to Trails movement in the US and Canada.

DOC now owns the 150 km rail trail corridor and provided project management for the transformation from a railroad to a bike route.  Sixty eight bridges were redecked, safety issues were addressed on the bridges, at the tunnels and at road crossings.   Although transforming the rail road corridor to a bike corridor was challenging, I think what was more challenging was creating a network of lodging, restaurants and supplies for bicyclists cycling the trail.  Lots of visionary hardworking kiwis have pulled together what must be one of the nicest, family-friendly, enjoyable experiences a person who likes to bike can enjoy.  The trail is managed by DOC, the support services are all privately operated. 

Greg, Lea and I rode for 4 days and 3 nights along 150 km of trail, crossing awesome incredible railroad bridges, through beautiful tunnels and enjoying gorgeous countryside including river gorges and rolling, mountainous farmland.  We stayed in lovely, unique and comfortable lodging and ate some great fill me up food.   We enjoyed it as much as everyone said we would.   Many people coordinate the trip themselves, including shuttles and camping or lodging but we booked the trip through a bike shop.  We rented bikes from them and they coordinated all our lodging, meals and shuttles.  All we had to do was follow directions, pedal and enjoy!   Every person we met on the trail had big smiles on their faces, including us!

We rode from the city of Dunedin to the start of the rail trail, Middlemarch on a restored trail through beautiful gorges on the Taieri Gorge Railway

The Trail

DOC sign at start of trail

Cuter sign at start of trail - The bikes we rented were sweet! Nice sitting position for viewing the scenery, big pannier bags, cushy seats.

And we are off.  Turns out 80% of the people ride the trail in the opposite direction from us.  We rode into the prevailing winds often, but that was fine.  It just meant more exercise which meant more food intake allowed!

One part of the trail.

One of 68 bridges - love those engineers!

One of the gorges - nice fall colors.

Flatter country - it's much drier here than the West Coast.

The tunnels - still loving those engineers!

Signs recommended dismounting bikes and using a flash light - what's the fun of that?

My usual position - Lea in the lead, followed by Greg and me pulling up the rear.  This gave me lots of time to get to know the sheep.

Nice stopping spots to get out of the rain (which we didn't have to do)
or to wait for your mom (which Lea did have to do)

Old train stations - indicator of arriving at a big town!

TRAIL ART

Lots of visuals to keep me entertained.

There was a section of fence lined with a dozen or more bike relics - what happened to the riders? 

The People

The trail is ideal for families...young and....

old!  This family decided it wasn't a good idea for gradma to ride a bike since she'd recently had a stroke.  No worries, she'll ride her electric wheelchair..why not?  They learned the battery lasted 20km.  Once the battery died they had a rope to tow her to the next place they could recharge the battery.  She was thrilled to tell me about it.

Ngaire Sutherland - hotel and event center creator, owner, entrepreneur, minister, orator, nurse you name it.  All in the last 8 years.  This lady had more energy than anyone I know.  She was amazing.
 We ate at her event center in Hyde, see below. 

The Stops

Hyde - population, 9 + bike riders. Our fist stop.

Our fist stop, Hyde.  This was a really wonderful hotel. Restored by Ngaire.

The doorway to Lea's "2nd floor suite" - one room made up the entire 2nd floor.  It was hers...cozy and cute! 

Restored (by Ngaire) old school house, no expense spared. It's now an event center, we had a YUMMY Easter dinner here which included lamb, veggies, potatoes, salads and desserts (plural).

Event center courtyard - look closely it's a converted swimming pool.

Nice stop for a coffee, muffin, or beer.

Lodging along the trail for those who preferred to camp.

Greg had heard about this place for miles - we had to stop for pie.  (Meat pie not fruit).

Restored Jail - she looks too happy to be in jail!

Restored Post Office - still functions.  I bought a postcard and got to hand cancel it myself.  Little joys in life.

Kiwi Lea

Not all 17 year olds are willing to leave their social life to travel with their PARENTS for 6 months and attend school in a foreign country.  So Lea…Good On You.  (Notice the use of local lingo-good on me!)

Lea is really taking advantage of everything that interests her.  She is in Year 13 at Westland High School, equivalent to being a high school senior at home.  Year 13 class size is 24 students!  The school includes year 7s (6^th graders) through year 13s and the entire school population is 400 or so students.  Her classes include Outdoor Ed, Photography, Maths (Statistics), English, Physics and part time Calculus. 

School work is easier for various reasons which leaves more time for other activities.  Far and away the best class she is taking is outdoor ed.  Term 1 of Outdoor Ed is all about river kayaking which includes going out on a river twice a week, indoor pool sessions to learn to roll, and two multiday camping/kayaking outings. The class is taught by an exceptional and well regarded kayaker, Bruce Barnes.  Term 2 will focus on outdoor survival skills. WOW!  Another fascinating aspect of this small school is the number of international students and the fact that they have an international coordinator on staff.  Currently there is a student from Italy, two from Germany, two from Japan, one from Brazil and some Thai students coming later in the year who will be here for several weeks.  It feels more international than the IB program at Lakewood!  Her local school friends include a girl who has moved here from South Africa and another from the US.    

That's Lea out there!

Excellent teacher, in the pool and in the river!

Kind of hard for me to watch from the side - this did not make her nervous, she really wanted to master the roll!

A little assistance provided - this guy jumped up with joy when she did one without his help!

She joined the girls’ rugby team.  It’s nice for Greg and I because as we watch games on TV and try to figure out what’s going on, she can tell us about the rules and strategy.  Last week her team played some other school teams.  Greg and I went to watch and she scored a try!  (Google that to figure it out – basically she crossed the line at the end of the field with the ball in her hand which meant her team scored points.) 

Westland High School Girls Rugby Team

This is actually the math teacher - the coach was helping with the games, this guy just came out and jumped in giving the girls advice and tips - mostly hit low! LOW!

Smile Girls! Then go tackle the other girls!

Westland team in action - they won this game

The school fixed up a saxophone they had and she is playing with a jazz group that meets on Thursday nights in Greymouth, a half hour drive from Hokitika.  The jazz group includes her photography teacher, who also teaches music at the school, the wife of someone I work with and another person from Hoki.  They pick her up from our house and bring her to Greymouth to jam.   A couple of Fridays ago they had a gig at an elementary school fair.  Greg and I went to watch and were the only ones taking photos of the performance!  It’s like we are parents of four year old again…proud of every event our child does and oohing and aahing about how awesome she is.

The Jazz Players

There were some other spectators dancing besides Mickey

Fellow Alto Sax Players

She has quickly become friends with several girls from school and is full into having a social life here.  We are seeing her less and less on weekends and sleepovers are popular.  Last Friday night there was a party for a former exchange student who had come back to Hoki to visit.  They had a bon fire at the beach and then went to someone’s house two doors down from ours to watch movies.  She had planned a sleep over at our house with two other girls but when Greg woke up to start work at 4AM Lea was not home. She walked in at 4:30AM with the explanation that she had fallen asleep at the neighbor’s house once the movie started. All I can say is it’s a good thing I slept through all that. 

Year 13s on Athletic Day

Three princesses at Wild Foods Festival

It’s nice to see her embrace all this.  She has discovered that she likes a small school because when there is something she would like to do, she can always take part in it.  There are not too many people for the team or play or band.  It’s not competitive to take part in most activities.  You want to do it, go for it!  This has made her realize that perhaps a small college would be a good choice, but we’ll see what happens, we still have several months to go for that decision.  It’s enjoyable to live a rural life but when we take a trip to a city she does enjoy the shops (so do I)!   

I Really Am Here to Work

First –  Franz Josef and Fox Glacier shared-use tracks

Final inspection of punch list items on the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier shared-use tracks. These tracks (trails) provide separate access for walkers and cyclists to the glaciers. The project includes the first DOC constructed bike trail in a National Park.  This project won the ‘Best Cycle Facility Project’ award at the Cycle Advocates Network Cycle Friendly Awards 2012.  This was a great pat on the back for DOC’s West Coast Conservancy (the “region” I work in) and Tom, the project manager for this project.  I was happy to be a test rider for a few aspects of the track…how negotiable are the barricades at the ends of the track…do the boulders strategically placed along the track for speed control work well? Do they stick out too much in the track? Etc…I’m from the region and I’m here to help!  




I’m not always sure of exactly where I am – taking photos of the signs helps.  The names in the native Maori language are an added challenge for me.  I just know I like being here, I don’t care too much about exactly where I am! 

Borrowed bike, borrowed helmet, my clothes….thanks everyone for the donations.

The track is not far off the edge of the road but once you are on the track you would hardly know the cars are there because the bush is sooooooo thick. 

Asset number of the sign…asset management, asset management, asset management.  One of the similarities between NPS and DOC. 

 

Second – Fox Maintenance Area Washdown Pads

This was a site visit to see the site of the next project I’ll be working on.  The scope is to add vehicle wash down pads in a maintenance yard at Fox Glacier.  The pads and disposal system have been designed by a consulting firm and the firm has also obtained the required regional approval.  It’s my job to pull the tender (contract) documents together for a construction contract.   Having just reviewed the final documents prepared by a consulting firm…I can definitively say that consulting firms’ quality control process has room to improve, whether doing work for DOC or NPS….grumble, grumble..grumble….

Maintenance yards – another similarity between NPS and DOC.

Third – Franz Josef Toilets

I hope you aren’t about to eat anything…field inspection of the on-site disposal system for the flush toilet buildings at Franz Josef Glaciers.   The guys in the field had called Tom to tell him that the septic tanks had “burped”.  The toilet building has 4 toilets, 2 toilets go to one 5000 liter septic tank, two go to another, and then the discharge from both go to two 50 meter long trenches with perforated pipe and gravel.  Apparently “burping” meant the downstream lid of one of the septic tanks, popped off and wastewater spilled out. 

Tom did some digging at the upstream side of the disposal field and the determination was made that the field has failed.  Emergency redesign was promised!  I hope to design the new system for them.  Luckily they have been taking monthly water meter readings at this very busy site for several years, so peak design flow won’t be hard to figure out.

I sure hope our public health officers Joe and Adam would have caught this one before it got so bad. 

Two 5,000 liter septic tanks.  I’m seeing more plastic tanks than concrete because of transport costs. 

Something ain’t right in this septic tank….so really, how did I get into this line of work?  I don’t think I’ll discuss this photo with prospective civil engineering students. 

And last but not least -  Cedar Flats Hut

The office management here is supportive of me seeing as many of their facilities as I can.  The office is centrally located to the area they serve and field visits are much easier and frequent than at IMR.   Site visits are predominantly one day road trips. 

This conservancy (region) maintains 142 huts that do not have road access.  Much of this extensive hut network was originally established as a result of deer culling (hunting?) and pest control operations.  The huts are a legacy and tradition in this country.  Some are small two person huts and not heavily used, others are very popular, hold up to 28 people, are on multiday hiking trails and require reservations.  The builders and carpenters needed to go to this hut to finish a renovation/extension.  The work required helicopter transport of the workers and materials and there was an extra spot on the helicopter for me!  I went on the first flight with the builders and a building inspector.  Then the helicopter did three more material flights, new material in, demolished material out, and I returned on the last flight.  The builders were staying up there for nearly a week to get the job done.  They brought all their supplies for work, sleep and nutrition.  

DOC hires helicopter companies for transport services.  This is one of the bigger helicopters used.  Pilot + 6 passengers plus gear.



Each worker brought personal gear and essentials - a supply of beer for each!



The landing spot near the hut - amazing to land in such a small area.

Debris being hauled out

The historic hut - a two bunker.

My first thought was --- orange??? But I realized orange is very visible.

The newer hut - now with an addition.  Sleeps 6 or 8. The plan for the guys working there was to stay until it was finished.  They would radio when they were ready to be picked up.  They thought it would be 6 days of work for four of them.

 

Swing bridge very close to the hut - access to a hot pool, a special attraction for this hut.

This one was really skinny, and really swingy...thus the name swing bridge as I was told!  The wind was blowing and I was swinging!

One at a time....I wonder what the weight limit is.....

Rain water collection tank to be used as the water supply for a sink in the hut.

The stand for the water tank...will flow by gravity to the sink.



This is the sign at most water services....the general consensus is that the risk of giardia is very low in the high mountains...I won't drink the water without boiling because it's too ingrained in me....I could go on about this topic because it really is interesting to me, but I won't here.



Disposal drainage pit for sink grey water.



Pit toilet....not stinky but hardly any loading!



The entire set of construction documents were drawn by hand...CADD is not universally used although plenty of plans I've seen here have been drawn in CADD.  The plans have been approved by a building authority and the building construction gets inspected by building inspectors.



More lumber coming in.



On the way out...there they are down there!



We were not too far from Hokitika, there's Lake Kaniere and the ocean!



My minor contribution was driving a truck loaded with the debris that was flown out, back to the office where someone else would take care of getting the load to the dump.  We had to wait about 20 minutes for this herd of cows to get from one field to another...see the long line of cows???  No worries, mate, it was a lovely day and I had lots to review in my mind.  Also had time to thank my lucky stars for this opportunity!

That's all for now....