On arriving at Omakau, Viv was keen to find some family graves and was later loaned a car by the friendly B&B owner. However, first Shayne took us on a tour of the local area.

Shayne's tour included Ophir (over the Manuherikia River), preceded by a trip to the historic St Bathans beyond Lauder. There were some "that's fairly interesting" old buildings with 19th Century goods.....mmm. OK, so I clambered up above the old gold diggings to try a few different angles of the startlingly beautiful lake left by the 19th century rape of the land (with my old non-SLR Nikon Coolpix), while the rest had a beer at the Vulcan Hotel!

Day 3: (Wednesday21st Feb 2007) Back on the trail, the rural environment around Lauder looked almost arable thanks to the near constant irrigation (notice pipes crossing the trail). We then crossed the Manuherikia River (a third time) on the longest bridge (110m) and headed up the Poolburn Gorge dividing the Ruggedy Range from the Blackstone Hills to enter the Ida Valley.

Just before the 1st tunnel (Poolburn Tunnel No2), a trail leads up to the old tunneller's camp where the chimneys built against the tents remain. Torches in the tunnels spoil the excitement of cycling in the dark - I mean, what are you going to hit in a rail tunnel, a sharp corner?? Just remove the sunglasses!! Even so, some walked.

The Bardsleys & Taylors were off on the trail, leaving some beautiful scenery for the more dedicated photographer. However, they weren't difficult to catch up and pass in order to take some "silly pics" - and more by luck than sense I didn't need to treat any injuries.

The fence line of socks marks the side road at Oturehua to the Hayes Engineering Works were we had a pleasant break being shown around the now historic place. Wind then water power turning a shaft to which all the machines were driven by belt was almost as impressive as the set-up at Tawhiti Museum (Hawera) where the system is not just in working condition, but actually runs for visitors. Oturehua Tavern put on an excellent lunch.