Part of the Government's New Zealand Cycleway Project, the Roxburgh Gorge Trail and Clutha Gold Trail open next week. It is hoped they will build on the success of the Otago Central Rail Trail. Shane Gilchrist surveys the view ahead while also looking over his shoulder at what has passed.
Forget the much-vaunted views; ignore the remarkable sense of isolation.
Instead, step inside the Department of Conservation long-drop at the Doctor's Point stop on the Roxburgh Gorge Trail and listen to the roar of a nor'wester funnelling through the rocky landscape and slamming into the dunny's beige walls.
The rumble is not unlike a train in the distance.
However, unlike the nearby Otago Central Rail Trail, you'll find no evidence of such machines here.
Still, human endeavour is clearly on display, be it in the schist huts and sluice tailings on the opposite bank of the Clutha River or the compacted surface of the Roxburgh Gorge Trail, which, along with the Clutha Gold Trail, officially opens on Thursday.
The new trails are part of the Government's New Zealand Cycleway Project, announced in 2009.
The fact the Roxburgh Gorge Trail (34km, between Alexandra and the Roxburgh dam) and the Clutha Gold Trail (73km, between Roxburgh Hydro and Lawrence) will build on the success of the 150km Otago Central Rail Trail is not lost on those involved either directly or indirectly in the initiatives.
According to feasibility studies, up to 18,000 people could cycle or walk the entire distance of the two new trails between Alexandra and Lawrence over the next five years; the Central Otago District Council estimates the Roxburgh Gorge Trail will add more than 25 full-time jobs and contribute more than $3 million to the local economy over the same period; and the forecast economic impact of the Clutha Gold Trail is $5 million and more than 50 full-time jobs in five years.
However, it should be noted these figures are largely based on the success of the Otago Central Rail Trail. Officially opened in 2000, the trail between Clyde and Middlemarch
now attracts more than 14,000 multi-day riders annually and contributes more than $12 million to the local economy, according to the latest Central Otago District Council survey (to April 2011).
Elsewhere, cycling momentum is building in Cromwell, where the community is investigating the feasibility of developing a track to Clyde.
And further west, the Queenstown Trails Trust (formerly Wakatipu Trails Trust) last October celebrated the culmination of more than a decade of work with the opening of the 110km Queenstown Trail.
An easy to intermediate-grade series of Wakatipu basin tracks linking Gibbston, Arrowtown, Lake Hayes, Frankton and Queenstown Bay, the $5.4 million trail is also part of the Government's nationwide cycle trail initiative.
''Cycling is a large part of the visitor experience for Central Otago, as well as a pastime, a passion and an integral part of the livelihood for many locals,'' Roxburgh Gorge Charitable Trust chairman Stephen Jeffery enthuses.
Yet, for both trails, there have been more than a few potholes along the way.
Despite a 2008 exploratory study identifying the true left (eastern) side of the Clutha River between Alexandra and the Roxburgh dam as ''a more outstanding visitor experience'', negotiations with affected farmers stalled the following year.
And although a course for the Roxburgh Gorge Trail was eventually identified on the true right of the Clutha, a combination of landowner opposition, plus environmental, safety and financial concerns forced further route alterations, including a 12km section in the middle of the gorge that will be navigated by water-taxi.
In regards the Clutha Gold Trail, 19 of 27 submissions to a 2011 resource consent hearing opposed the trail, many objecting to the proposed route affecting river views from adjacent properties.
That year the Society for the Promotion of an Alternative Route appealed to the Environment Court; despite additional conditions being imposed about surveying in front of some properties, the appeal was unsuccessful in trying to get part of the trail realigned.
And last week it was announced users of both trails would be asked to contribute to ongoing maintenance and help make the trails self-funding.
Under an honesty system, users are expected to pay $25 per person or $50 for a family, yearly, for a maintenance contribution tag covering both trails.
• Yet, on a spring day in the confines of the Roxburgh Gorge, where the only other souls to be seen are a couple of contractors about to enjoy smoko, all this talk seems a distant echo.
The trails are complete. Now it's a case of seeing who - and, more importantly, how many - will don bike pants or walking shoes and spend a bit of money in the areas through which they traverse.
''While it's great that Alexandra is a hub for cycling, I'm hoping to see some new businesses spring up in Roxburgh,'' Mr Jeffery says.
''However, I don't think we'll see it happen straight away; you need to see people on the ground before you spend money.''
Neville Grubb, a member of the advisory board to New Zealand Cycle Trails Inc, set up early last year to advocate for trail operators and liase with Tourism New Zealand on marketing campaigns, agrees.
He says it's vital those pondering any trail ventures don't over-promise and under-deliver. ''Otherwise you risk killing the golden goose''.
Patience is key, Mr Grubb notes.
''You are not going to find that there are 30,000 people riding a trail in the first year.''
He should know.
As managing director of Trail Journeys, which operates guided tours, bike hire, transport options and accommodation from its base at the Clyde end of the Otago Central Rail Trail, the Alexandra businessman has been involved in the rail trail for more than a decade.
''The Otago Central Rail Trail officially opened in 2000, but we did business before that, hiring bikes from our shop to occasional customers.
People started asking about where they might stay, how they could get back to their car, that sort of thing. That made us realise there might be an opportunity to expand.
It evolved from there.
''We started with one bike; now we have 550.''
Mr Grubb admits he had his doubts about the viability of the rail trail.
The mountain biker in him regarded the terrain as flat and therefore offering little excitement.
He's happy to have been proved wrong.
''It was just a different customer base that was attracted. It has become more than a cycling trail; it is an experience. It's about visiting Central Otago and seeing the area from a different perspective.''
For the past few seasons the number of people completing the entire rail trail, as opposed to single-day sections, have plateaued at about 14,000-15,000, with Trail Journeys catering to ''about 9000'' per season.
''We had massive growth in those early years, but given the initial small numbers it didn't take much to show a 500% to 1000% increase on the previous year.
"Up until about four years ago, we were still increasing up to 40% a year. Now it is a steady number. Bookings this year show we are in for a good season again.''
Mr Grubb says his business will be looking to cater to those cycling the Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold trails.
However, he's unlikely to employ new staff or add vehicles or bikes to his operation.
''I do think there will be extra business coming our way, but we should be able to handle it without going whole-hog into it. We think it will evolve.''
The demographic for the Otago Central Rail Trail is predominantly non-cyclists aged between 40 and 65, split fairly evenly between genders.
Some are best described as ''weekend warriors'', others are less fit.
New Zealanders comprise the bulk of users (78%), of whom half come from the North Island; the remainder is largely made up of Europeans and Australians.
''If we look at all the other trails around the country coming on stream ... well, they are trying to attract punters to their areas also,'' Mr Grubb notes, adding: ''I do think Central Otago might have a wee bit of an edge because the rail trail is so close to the Roxburgh Gorge Trail [which, in turn, joins the Clutha Gold Trail].''
• Given Roxburgh is smack-bang at the start (or end) of not one but two trails, it's hardly surprising there is some excitement in the town.
Sally Smith, co-proprietor of 103 The Store/The Lounge on Roxburgh's main drag, started up a business group about six months ago.
''Though we haven't focused too much on the cycle trails, despite that, there is a bit of a buzz. You might not think about it day to day, but it's a very cool thing that is about to happen.
''I think there will be a lot more people through here. It is predicted that Roxburgh will have 20,000 more visitors per year in five years. That's exciting.''
Ms Smith and business partner Theresa Bennetts last year expanded their 18-year-old giftware, clothing and design business, adding a ''coffee-and-cake'' cafe ''to bring in more people''.
''Now that the trails have been constructed, we've been getting more cyclists through the area. Last week, I think we had a group of about 13 stop in.''
In Lawrence, at the eastern end of the Clutha Gold Trail, the number of Lycra-clad visitors is on the rise.
''When the weather is good, people are out there walking it and biking it,'' says Gold Park Motor Camp proprietor Marie Martin who, having completed the trail, describes it as ''fantastic''.
Paul Tansley, owner of The Prospector, a restaurant and accommodation venture on Lawrence's main street, has also witnessed an increase in two-wheeled activity of late.
''Given the trail has been open in sections for a while now, people have been riding it and we've had a lot of people coming in for lunch. About six weeks ago we had two big groups of about 15 people in each - one group going up and one having come down - and they were buzzing about it.''
Mr Tansley built The Prospector two years ago.
Although he knew of the trail (''it was clearly in the back of my mind''), he says his business model is based on being able to survive should a trail not exist.
''We have survived for two years without the trail. But now we have this new opportunity, which allows us the chance to grow the business. It's certainly tied into the buzz about the cycle trail.''
Dunedin also has a connection to the Clutha Gold Trail.
Literally.
Nick Beekhuis, who runs Offtrack Mountainbike Tours and is expanding his business to include transport services between Dunedin and Lawrence, says it's an opportunity for the city to promote itself as ''a key stepping-off point'' for the trail, as it already does for the Otago Central Rail Trail.
''Having that transport connection to and from Lawrence is important, as is servicing people who are using the trail, carrying gear and bikes along various points.
''I also have an arrangement with a shop in Lawrence, providing bikes from that premises. I'll just wait and see how many resources I'll put in there. I'm working in partnership with someone up there, but at the moment the new trail is an unknown quantity.
''I did a campaign in conjunction with the i-Site Dunedin Visitor Centre last month and have taken interested people up to do the trail. They loved it.
''I'm also taking some people up who work on behalf of cruise ship shore excursions. There's an opportunity for people to spend some time up there while a ship is berthed at Port Chalmers,'' Mr Beekhuis says, adding he'll not be providing a guided service on the Clutha Gold Trail.
''There are a couple of zig-zaggy bits, some slightly steeper climbs, but I'd expect anyone who can ride the Otago Central Rail Trail would be able to do the Clutha Gold Trail. It's not like the Roxburgh Gorge Trail, which is a bit harder in places.''
