Endless Mountain Vistas

We had a long day's cycling ahead so were wheels rolling by 7:15am to detour via the Twizel town centre to pick up morning tea and lunch supplies.  The Hydro cafe offered a few good options, but were a bit liberal with the red onion on their sandwiches, so I darted across to the bakery for a more basic sandwich - red-onion free as well as a salted caramel slice that I was sure we would appreciate later in the day.  

It was another glorious morning and the mountain vistas opened up ahead of us as we cycled out of town.  We passed Loch Cameron - apparently a good spot for swimming but we weren't tempted so early in the day.  We cycled along the Pukaki Canal and headed towards Ohau weir.  We passed another salmon farm and the occasional fisherman before crossing the weir at Lake Ohau and picking up the single-track trail around the lake.  

We stopped for morning tea at a sheltered spot out of the breeze and enjoyed our coffee (with fresh milk!) and a vegetarian muffin with a scenic view across the lake. 

Back on the bikes, we continued around the lake, and the views were amazing as each corner opened up a new vista before we could finally see the full range ahead of us.   

We turned off the lake road towards Lake Ohau lodge and the Tambrae lookout, an 11km climb away.  The track was beautiful in some parts and challenging in others and we stopped half way for a second morning tea.  The view at the top was worth the effort and we enjoyed views back across the Mackenzie basin as we ate our lunch.

The descent was a little slow given the rough track and after about 5kms we reached the gravel road heading towards Omarama.  We had a final brief stop for afternoon tea and thorougly enjoyed the caramel slice.  

Our room at the Ahuriri Motel was comfortable and had enough cooking facilities to warrant a quick trip back into town to pick up some lamb steaks, salad and a nice bottle of Central Otago pinor noir.  

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