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New Custom Built Bikes for Trail Journeys Fleet
Trail Journeys are developing an new bike specifically for the trail and from our 10 years experience on the trail we have identified areas that are important to our customer and our service depart. These include puncture proof tyres, good quality bearings, comfortable riding position with high rake stems for maximum comfort, comfort saddles and many other features identified by our staff.
Check out the comments from our past customers
Trail Journeys like to pass onto our new prospective customers the comments from many of our satisfied customers.To view these CLICK HERE
Trail Journeys launches Wine/Railtrail Combo
New for the 2011 - 2012 season will be a combination Guided Wine and Railtrail experience taking in some of the best cool climate vineyards in New Zealand. For the wine experience, Appellation Central Wine Tours out of Queenstown will take you on a tour of some famous wineries in the Bannockburn area including lunch and then deliver you to Trail Journeys for the start of your Railtrail experience.
Driving down to start the Railtrail. For a good suggestion, READ ON !
Increasingly we have people driving to Central to start the Railtrail. A good TIP for those people is for you to drive to Middlemarch and leave your car with us for either secure inside or outside storage. Catch our bus that day to Clyde where you stay the night and then start the trail the next morning, cycling back to your car. This way you don't have to wait for the bus to take you back to Clyde. As most people will finish around lunch time, if they do 4 days on the trail, you will effectively be 5 hours earlier on the road home or to your next destination. Contact our team for more information. CLICK HERE
Trail Journeys success in Middlemarch !
Trail Journeys new base in Middlemarch has been an outstanding success. With a combination of services offered including hot showers, internet access, merchandise, bike hire and car storage, the Middlemarch base fills the need for a top class facility. The 24 hour fuel from our newly installed card pumps has also provided the local community with a reliable fuel service for the area.
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Building the Otago Central Rail Trail
The Department of Conservation saw the disused railway's potential for outdoors enthusiasts, and acquired the line in 1993.
Then in partnership with the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust and with the expenditure of over $850,000 over six years were spent preparing and upgrading the closed railway for its current use.
This involved re-decking the trail's 68 bridges, several over 100m in length, and furnishing them with hand rails (check out the bridge photos above which show handrails clearly for those of you who don’t like heights !).
All the railway's original sleepers, rails and crushed rock ballast have been removed, and users now find a track similar to a gravel road. The difference is, on the Rail Trail, there are no motor vehicles or hills!
The Rail Trail is now one of a kind within New Zealand. Steeped in a sense of history and remoteness, it provides a chance to view scenery unable to be seen from the highway. It has also preserved largely intact, an important part of Otago's heritage.
Please note that on-going enhancements of the Rail Trail greatly depend on grants and other additional funds raised by the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust. For example the ten dollars that you spend on your Trail passport goes to the Trust to fund ongoing enhancements on the trail. These enhancements include the information signs dotted along the trail (detailing points of interest and information such as food and water, and accommodation), eco-toilets, the upgraded and new gangers sheds and seats (shown in the photos above).
The Department of Conservation (commonly known throughout New Zealand as DOC) are responsible for the maintenance of the actual trail itself (re-gravelling, repairing any damage to the trail through adverse weather, etc). Note also that Trail Journeys pay a portion of every guided trip and bike hire to DOC towards the upkeep of the trail.