Otago Harbour Cycleway 30 October 2023

With my sister in town, it seemed a shame to waste a calm, sunny day so the two of us hopped on a bike each to enjoy the recently opened 32km Te Aka Ōtākou/Otago Harbour shared cycle/walkway.  We started at the Otago Yacht Club and after checking the ferry times, we headed in an anti-clockwise direction.  We followed Magnet Street past the yacht club and across the lovely Water of Leith cycle bridge.  From here we followed the cycle trail behind the logging yards and out onto Fryatt Street.  This part of the track took us through the industrial part of the city before rejoining the cycle trail near the wharf and past the Molars

The day was warm and the harbour so calm it was almost like a mirror.  We took our time, enjoying the weather and sights as we cycled along between the road and harbour.  We saw only a handful of other cyclists and the occasional walker.  It really was a magical day to be on the bike.
 

Not wanting to rush the journey we enjoyed the ride beside the harbour, watching out for birds and the odd boat shed.  The cycle trail winds in and out of all the coves and making  for an interesting ride.  There are seats dotted along the cycle way and we took the opportunity to stop for a morning tea break at one of these seats.  As the tide was going out, we were able to watch birds walking and fishing in the shallows while chatting.  It was a wonderful place to sit and watch the world go by.  

Knowing we had a ferry to catch, we carried on along the cycleway towards Portobello.  We started to notice a slight head wind and were happy that we had enjoyed most of our ride during the calm weather.  Once at Portobello we stopped at a local cafe for lunch.  There was very little room to park our bikes as the cafe is very popular with cyclists and we managed to find a seat outside in the sun.  Once replenished with lunch, we rode our bikes to the ferry dock where we met up with a number of other cyclists waiting for the ferry to take us across the short distance to Port Chalmers.  The ferry arrived and we marveled at the skill the young lady operating the ferry displayed with getting all the bikes onto to ferry, especially all the heavy e-bikes. Our lighter pedal powered bikes were put onto a special frame on the back of the boat.

 

The ferry ride was only 5 minutes and we were treated to a commentary of the history of the harbour along with other interesting places we passed.  Once we reached Port Chalmers, our bikes were unloaded and off we went again.  The section from Port Chalmers to the yacht club follows the train line and cuts across all the coves so we had a fast, straight run for 30 minutes from Port Chalmers to the car, made even faster and more enjoyable with the slight tail wind.   We both thoroughly enjoyed our cycle ride and would highly recommend the loop circuit - on a windless day that is.