No snow for your ski holiday? This is your Plan B

Boardwalk through the beautiful wetlands of Lake Waihola. Photo / Will Nelson
New Zealand is famed for its winter skiing but sometimes the snow doesn’t play ball. The South Island’s cool new Clutha Gold Trail Great Ride extension makes a perfect Plan B, writes Lee Slater
The Clutha Gold is now twice as nice thanks to 62km of new trail between Lawrence and Waihola. This extension shines a light on even more Otago treasures, including a historic railway station and tunnels, and unsung small towns.
Readily accessible from Queenstown and Dunedin, the Clutha Gold Trail is a fantastic add-on to your southern holiday or a rewarding alternative if your ski trip is scuppered by poor conditions.
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Opened in 2013, the original trail ran between Roxburgh and Lawrence and offered a bike trip taking a day or two. This new section from Lawrence to Waihola has almost doubled the distance and riding time.
Several previous Clutha Gold rides have really opened my eyes to this quiet and charming part of Otago. Its landscapes are unfamiliar and diverse – from the swirling blue waters and mountainous surrounds of the mighty Clutha/Mata-au River, to rolling green countryside complete with fruit orchards and farms.
The Clutha Gold Trail’s combination of old railway line, purpose-built pathways, boardwalk and quiet backroads is a great way to take in the sights, scenery and stories of yore.
The trail roughly follows the route taken by early Māori hunting and gathering parties who travelled from their coastal kaik (settlements) up to Whakatipu, Wānaka and the West Coast.
A much bigger mark was left on the landscape by the 1860s gold rush, which saw thousands of prospectors flock to the banks of the (then-named) Molyneux River in search of their fortunes. And good old Lawrence was where it all began.
It was called Tuapeka back then, the place where Gabriel Read first spotted gold “shining like stars in Orion on a dark frosty night”. Before you could say bullion, the place had gone totally bonkers, the local population swelling to more than 11,000 – almost double that of Dunedin at the time.
The frenzy may have fizzled, but plenty of flinty history remains. You can dig into it at Lawrence’s Tuapeka Goldfields Museum, and at nearby Gabriel’s Gully reserve.
Like many of New Zealand’s 23 Great Rides, the Clutha Gold Trail resurrects a long-retired railway line, in this case for around 30km of its length. This reveals even more hidden histories by way of tunnels, cuttings, sidings and sheds.
The section between Lawrence and Milton has also breathed new life into wee Waitāhuna Station where coffee and home baking may stop you in your tracks. Museum-style displays are testament to the owners’ passion for local history.
The journey is broken up by a series of small settlements, starting upstream at Roxburgh and coursing through Millers Flat, Beaumont, Lawrence, Milton and Waihola. There’s accommodation and dining dotted throughout, although check ahead for service during the winter months.
The Clutha Gold Trail is big on bridges, from classic to contemporary and several in between. Particularly striking spans include the bright blue road bridge at Millers Flat, and Horseshoe Bend footbridge with its hair-raising tale.
Further down the Clutha/Mata-au the trail reaches Beaumont, where a long-awaited new highway bridge marks the spot where the Clutha Gold deviates from the river to continue cross-country towards Lawrence and the Mānuka Gorge.
Five striking new bridges secure safe passage (and good photo-ops) between Milton and Waihola. Built by construction firm Calder Stewart, they’ve certainly raised the bar for what a dedicated trail bridge can be.
There’s 1600m of mint boardwalk, too, along the edge of Lake Waihola. Once an abundant mahika kai (food gathering place), it is now a wildlife refuge being restored under the kaitiakitanga of Te Rūnanga ō Ōtakou.
For your own kai-time at this end of the trail, look no further than Waihola Fresh Fish Supply, where you can get a good feed of fish and chips.
Cycling the whole 135km (grade 1–2/easiest–easy) takes between two and four days but can easily be split into day rides basing yourself in place. Lawrence Bike Transfers can assist with local shuttles and other logistics, and there are a bunch of other official trail partners listed on the trail’s official website.
The Roxburgh end of the Clutha Gold is within easy reach of Central Otago’s other Great Rides – Roxburgh Gorge, Otago Central Rail Trail and Lake Dunstan, plus numerous other trails and mountain bike parks, providing nearly endless opportunities for two-wheeled holidays. For more inspiration, look up Central Otago’s online TrailHub.
To find out more, see cluthagold.co.nz and greatridesapp.com