Off into back-country only lucky few enjoy

Brenda Harland (left), of Dunedin, and  Alice Sinclair and Les Bayne, of Mosgiel, meet  Flynn ...
Brenda Harland (left), of Dunedin, and Alice Sinclair and Les Bayne, of Mosgiel, meet Flynn for this year’s Tussock Creek Light Wagon and Horse Trail. Photo: Shannon Gillies.
Hundreds of people have turned their backs on their nine-to-five office jobs to take part in an adventure taking them through parts of the country cars  just cannot traverse.

There are nine separate trails making up this year’s Goldfields Cavalcade,  leaving from different parts of Otago to meet up at Omakau Racecourse on Saturday.  For some cavalcaders it is a special anniversary.

Chris Bayne.
Chris Bayne.
This year is the 25th anniversary of the event and the 25th time Brenda Harland, of Dunedin,  and  Alice Sinclair and Les Bayne, of Mosgiel, have taken part.The trio of friends were participating in the Tussock Creek Light Wagon and Horse Trail, starting in Kurow, which left for Omakau  yesterday  morning.

Mr Bayne said the first cavalcade was an experience hard to forget.

The original group was struck by a blizzard, resulting in nine people getting hypothermia.

"The cavalcade wouldn’t have been continued on — it was a oncer. It’s [continued on] because we had nine people down with hypothermia. It was the best PR the trail could have had. It went international.

"We left on 23degC. An hour and a-half later we were in a blizzard."

When that trail first began no-one was really mixing,  but by the end of the day everyone got together because the blizzard acted as a equaliser and everyone realised how fragile they were, he said.

Since then,  trail bosses and organisers were better equipped to deal with situations.

Trail boss for Tussock Creek  Chris Bayne did the trail in 1991 and 1993. In 1994 she was asked to be a trail boss and has been one ever since.

She said a huge part of the event was making it  suitable for  the person who might be the slowest or most unfit.

"You never know who’s coming. You can’t push people to their limits. It’s their holiday. You’re here to see beautiful landscapes ...  to have fun."

Mrs Bayne said exposure to the landscape on offer was largely due to the generosity of farmer-owners of the land the cavalcade crossed through.

"If we never had the farmers we would never have a cavalcade. I’ve never been turned down and they’re just absolutely fantastic."

Mrs Sinclair said trail-goers ended up like a family and  year after year people  greeted each other with hugs.

shannon.gillies@odt.co.nz

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