The Waitaki Valley is a region with ambition.
More than 6500 cyclists rolled past Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail counters over the summer, and the whiff of opportunity has encouraged people along the way.
Work began on the trail - which takes visitors from Aoraki/Mt Cook to Oamaru - in 2011. It was declared fully rideable and signposted late last year.
There is a lot of work to be done, with sections still to be moved off-road, but it is proving its worth as a significant boost for tourism and the economy.
Accommodation establishments are springing up in places where once you could not buy a cup of tea. Neglected buildings are being restored and the buzz in the Duntroon, Kurow, Otematata and Omarama communities is infectious.
Cyclists experience the amazing diversity of the Mackenzie and Waitaki regions as the 314km Alps 2 Ocean trail takes visitors slowly from the country's highest peak, through some spectacular natural landscapes and wildlife right down to the sea.
It features hydro-electricity projects in the Waitaki Valley, Ngai Tahu's strong ties with the region, European settlement, agricultural history and irrigation, snow-capped mountains, clay and limestone cliffs, Maori rock art and vineyards.
The trail is like a chain - dependent on each link. Cyclists want to stop every few hours for food, drink and to explore places of interest. If there are no facilities in one place, the trail staggers.
So how are the Waitaki Valley communities that were created in the wake of the power stations and dams developing to cater for their new clientele on two wheels? And what more needs to be done?
Kurow
Former Otago rugby prop Steve Hotton, who has owned and run the Kurow Cafe and Restaurant for nine years, is not waiting for the Alps 2 Ocean bandwagon to pass his gate before he jumps on.
In an arrangement with three different cycle tour companies, Kurow Cafe started catering for cyclists last year, offering breakfasts, evening meals and packed lunches for guided tour groups.
That started in October, and the small town of Kurow saw at least one large group of cyclists pass through each week until the end of April.
''The winter months are, of course, quieter, but I'm hoping [cyclists] still do use it in winter because the scenery is equally as nice as it is in the summer,'' he said.
Kurow offered a little taste of high country life, as well as boasting one of the country's best jet-boating rivers - and the cyclists loved it, he said.
''What's amazed me is the age of the cyclists. They would range from 40 through to late 70s, and they're in no hurry,'' he said.
''They want to spend, they're not worried about costs and they're just amazed at the scenery.''
There are myriad opportunities for cycle-friendly business in Kurow, but to a certain extent locals were sitting on their hands, he said.
He expects that attitude to change as the trail becomes more established, but to capture the tourists in Kurow, to keep them for longer and to attract them back, more needed to be done - now.
''We need to have things to offer as well as just a bed and a meal - there are heaps of opportunities here, but you've got to be prepared to have balls of steel and give it a shot,'' he said.
''Don't come in with the attitude that, `Hey, I'm going to make a million bucks in the first year'. You've really got to graft it out, do your homework and just hang in there; that's the biggest thing.''
In Mr Hotton's nine years in Kurow, progress has been slow, but it was going ahead thanks, in large part, to outsiders who could see the town's potential.
Whether tourists chose to cycle their way through the valley or arrive on four wheels, Alps 2 Ocean was giving the area the exposure it deserved.
''People are coming here and they are amazed at the scenery and the industry, and they didn't even know it was here - that's their comment.''
Mr Hotton said he saw Kurow becoming a tourist hub, similar to Wanaka in the early days.
Otematata
Otematata is well placed along the cycle trail, about 24km from Omarama, but with cyclist entry to the town still via State Highway 83, the town has been slower to embrace the opportunities Alps 2 Ocean offered.
''That's simply because it's not completed through here yet, but once it is I think we can benefit by becoming one of the major hubs, like Twizel is at the moment,'' Otematata Holiday Park and Lodge owner Brent Cowles said.
About half of the 314km trail is still on the road. The Waitaki District Council's next focus was to take the sections Sailors Cutting to Otematata and Kurow to Duntroon off-road. An application for about $950,000 of government funding is pending and the Waitaki District Council has set aside up to $300,000 as a loan to contribute to the trail's completion.
The complete route would not all be off-road, with quiet roads lending themselves well to the trail, along the canals between Twizel to Ohau, for example.
Taking over the holiday park with his wife Kirsty in December 2012, Mr Cowles had seen an ''insane'' growth in visitor numbers. More than 280 people were turned away over the peak of the summer season.
''I think people are now starting to understand that [Alps 2 Ocean] could have quite a big benefit to our region,'' he said.
''It's just that people are impatient; they want it here and they want it here now.
''I think that's where the negativity came out of - it took a few of us to stand up and say `look, this is what we want and we need it here'.''
An important aspect to making the cycle trail work for Otematata was becoming cycle-friendly and the town needed to move beyond pub meals, offering more quality and experience.
''People want to have good food, a good selection of wine. It doesn't have to be really flash - we want to keep it incredibly rustic, quirky, to reflect the high country area,'' he said.
Acknowledging the good work of Omarama's Ladybird Hill and Hot Tubs, Mr Cowles said the valley still lacked a major ''attraction''.
''We need to give people something to do to help them stay,'' he said.
''It would need to be privately enterprised, but I think there's a few like-minded people around now that are starting to understand that.''
The 2014-15 season was looking promising, he said.
Already, the holiday park was about 90% booked for the Christmas and New Year period, and Alps 2 Ocean could help extend that.
A submission had been made to the Waitaki District Council to have the first 20-30m of Otematata's recreational area rezoned as commercial, to foster economic development.
''There's nowhere here on the street frontage for anyone to build, and if we don't go through that process now, it could take two or three years and we're not inviting people into the township,'' says Mr Cowles, who is a member of the Ahuriri Community Board.
''It's really important that we have areas where people can develop. If we have a main street, or a street frontage, then automatically our 80kmh limit gets dropped down, people slow down coming through town and there's something for them to stop and look at.''
Whatever Otematata's future, it will keep its quaintness, he said.
''I just think there will be more for people to do here and the driver of that is going to be Alps 2 Ocean,'' he said.
''It's got to happen; it's just timing - you only have to look at all of these small towns along the [Otago Central] Rail Trail to see how they have developed.''
Omarama
Up to 6000 cyclists had come through to Omarama since the section was officially opened, many of whom were older, arriving in groups of eight to 12 and many organised their own tours.
Hot Tubs Omarama owner Jan Thomas said all Omarama businesses had reported a good summer season, citing an increase of traffic from Alps 2 Ocean.
Anecdotal feedback suggested a lot of cyclists were riding for three days from Mt Cook to Omarama, where their Alps 2 Ocean journey was ending.
''They'll come back again in another couple of years. They're watching and waiting for the trail to be completed and they'll come back and do the second stint,'' she said.
Mrs Thomas helped establish the Omarama Business Group almost four years ago to gather like-minded people together and have businesses work as a team, rather than in competition.
''Then Alps 2 Ocean came on the horizon quickly after that and we decided as a group that we wanted to be a really good stopping place for people on bikes,'' she said.
''We felt we had a lot to offer.''
Omarama would evolve with the trail, she said.
Most of the businesses already have cycle stands and were learning to cater to cyclists needs.
Attracting workers to Omarama had been a problem in the past, so the Omarama Business Group is establishing a backpackers board, to be titled Work Your Way.
To be promoted on social media as well as Omarama's website, it was designed to promote work for tourists in towns along the Alps 2 Ocean trail.
''We'll recommend them on and work them down the valley,'' she said.
There are still gaps for business in Omarama, she said, but seeing the development of old businesses and establishment of new had been encouraging.
At a glance
Length: 314km from Aoraki/Mt Cook to Oamaru
Grade: Easy to intermediate cycle trail (grade 2-3)
Gradient: The trail descends about 780m
Waitaki Valley Trail Sections
• Omarama-Otematata 24km
• Otematata to Kurow 44km
• Kurow to Duntroon 23km
• Duntroon to Oamaru 55km
