Day #5: Exploring Ohakune

Exploring Ohakune
The second day in Ohakune was devoted to exploring the area, with two options: visiting a lavender farm, or biking the Okahune Old Coach Road. The group took the lavender farm option, while we decided to bike the historic Ohakune Old Coach Road.

Omaka Lodge
For the group slated to visit the lavender farm, there was a morning stop at the nearby Omaka Lodge, a boutique hotel featuring a host of gardens spread over 10 acres. The grounds are divided up into distinct areas, including the Champagne Lawn, the Knoll, and the Woodland Garden. Other named sections include the Secret Garden, the Wedding Garden, the Rill (photo to the right) and the Second Husband Garden. The grounds feature numerous large mature trees and a wide variety of plants, including rhododendron, camellia, azalea, ensuring year around color. The garden incorporates sculptures and u plants shaped like spirals and balls. Below is a gallery of photos from the gardens.
Scenes from Omaka Lodge Gardens











Lauren's Lavender Farm
Lauren's Lavender farm is about a 70-minute bus ride due north of Okahune. The farm grows both English and French varieties of lavender. There are approximately 8,000 plants that are in full bloom from December through March. Visitors are free to wander among the plants, taking photographs or watching the bees flitting among the plants. In addition to the beauty and serenity of the lavender field, Lauren's Lavender Farm features an on-site shop where you may purchase lavender products crafted from the estate's harvest.There is also a cafe and picnic area for those who favor a little sustenance on the tour. The farm  hosts seasonal events and workshops, from lavender harvesting experiences to wreath-making classes, allowing guests to learn about lavender cultivation and traditional uses of this versatile herb. The Signature Cities and Seas tour were treated to a tour of the grounds, followed by lunch. The video below gives an overview of the farm. It is taken from HELANTO VLOGS and Lauren Curr

Lauren's Lavender Farm



Okahune Old Coach Road
There were two aspects to our bike trip on the Old Ohakune Coach Road. The first was the historical aspect; the Old Ohakune Coach Road parallels the rail system that brought rail transportation to the Central Plateau. The Raurimu Spiral we encountered in our trip to Okahune was another element in this process. A key feature of the Okahune Old Coach Road is to document the developments that brought rail service to the Central Plateau. The second aspect is of course, the actual experience of tackling the 15 kilometer trail. The clickable photo to the right shows the trail in more detail



History of the Old Coach Road
The Ohakune Old Coach Road roughly parallels the original railroad tracks that brought effective commercial trade to the region. To this end, the trail is filled with signs that document the development of rail construction on the Central Plateau. As we biked the trail, we took photos of these signs, added photos of the content they described, and integrated them into the video below.






The History of the Ohakune Old Coach Road
Biking the Old Okahune Old Coach Road
One tour option was to use ebikes to cover the 15 kilometer ride. Since it was a relatively short bike ride that hugs the old train route and, since we routinely bike when staying at our house in Thailand, we eschewed the powered bike option. From our hotel we were dropped at the bike shop and assigned bikes. We then went out on the street to test them. Tracy's bike seemed to work fine, and Dale's did too, although he did not check the shifter for the front sprocket--something that turned out to be a big mistake. The bike shop van dropped us off at Horopito, at the top of this trail. We entered the park and rode across an access road through private property. It was windy, but so far, so good! As we descended the first downhill, we were riding the brakes while passing mountain bikers literally flew by us. Shortly we learned why--the first and many subsequent hills were at an angle of 50 degrees or so, and the downhill speed was needed to "boost" the bike up the next incline. Clearly we were not mountain bikers, and the extra battery boost would have really helped. It turns out that while the railroad was relatively flat, the trail beside it clearly was not. And here Dale's failure to check the front shifter exacted its toll. It is difficult to ride a bike up a steep hill when both hands are on the front shifter. Alas, even in low gear, many hills were long enough that lactic acid buildup required us to get off the bikes before scaling the summit. So, while it was a much more arduous trip than expected, it was an enjoyable (if challenging) experience. And we enjoyed learning about the history of the Ohakune Old Coach Road.  Having experienced our first physical challenge of the trip, we rode into Okahune. Below is a video by benjiwongbenji who wisely used an ebike to tackle the Ohakune Old Coach Road in the same direction, from Horopito to Ohakune. It gives a sense of the trip, although the video omits some of the steepest parts.

Old Okahune Coach Trail from Horopito to Okahune




Scenes Along the Old Akahune Coach Road








 
Departing Okahune
After returning to the Powderhorn Chateau to recover from our mountain biking adventure, we got a ride from the kind lady at reception into  Okahune for dinner. We chose Ohakune Osteria, ranked #1 by Trip Advisor. Its cuisine was eclectic, to say the least--Italian dishes prepared by what appeared to be an all-Russian staff. The first several dishes we ordered were not available. Well, it was a weeknight offseason in a ski resort area, so perhaps we should not have been surprised. We ordered two pastas which were passable, but we did regret not eating at the Powderhorn restaurant for a second night. After that it was off to bed to rest up for tomorrow's train ride to Wellington.