Matakanui - Rail Trail Gravel Bike Route

The 152km long Otago Central rail Trail, whilst being a fantastic ride in its own right, also offers countless opportunities for detours and to create loop rides utilising the myriad of quiet, backcountry gravel roads which transect the central trail corridor.

This half-day ride includes iconic Central Otago landscapes and a detour to visit the historic gold mining settlement of Matakanui. The route can easily be extended into a full-day ride by incorporating classic gravel bike routes through Crawford Hills near Alexandra or up to St Bathans and into the Oteake Conservation Area and head of the Manuherikia River catchment.

Once you start analysing the map, there’s almost no end to the gravel routes which you can stitch together, and the beauty of using the Rail Trail as the central corridor for your ride is that you’re never too far from a good coffee and cheese scone, or a cold beer and bowl of fries at a country pub.

This is not a particularly hilly route (750m vertical gain), and gradients are generally easy. It’s likely to be the weather that determines how difficult this ride will be. In hot and windy conditions, this would be a much harder proposition than on a cool, calm day. However, there are numerous “bail out” options if you need to shorten your ride, so make sure you have a map with you or a good GPS based navigation app on your phone e.g. Ride with GPS or NZ Topo 50.

Parts of the route are quite isolated, so make sure you’re self sufficient with tools, spare tubes, fully charged batteries if you’re on an E-Bike, and have 2 bottles of water plus some snacks.

You’re likely to encounter stock along the way (especially on Thurlow Road), so ride respectfully around farm animals and make sure you leave all gates as you found them.

Becks School Road turns into Glassford Road, at the end of which bear right onto Naylor Road and Naylor Loop Road for a circuit of the historic goldmining settlement of Matakanui.

Established and expanded during the 1860s gold rush, Matakanui (old name Tinkers) once supported a bustling mining population of around 3,000 people and included the very lively Newtown Tavern. Today, the tiny settlement is a virtual ghost town characterised by weathered heritage buidings with iconic corrugated iron aesthetics, and expansive tussock landscapes.

Retrace your steps down Naylor Road and then take a right onto Chesterman’s Road, another right onto Wellington Road, left onto Devonshire Road and then right on to Moutere Disputed Spur Road. When you reach SH85, turn left onto the highway – again taking care to keep left – and after 2km you’ll reach Chatto Creek and an ideal stop for lunch at the historic Chatto Creek Tavern.

Here you’ll reconnect onto the Otago Central Rail Trail for the last 12km back to Omakau or nearby Ophir, where a cold beer at the pub or café awaits.