🇳🇿 CYCLE – 45kms – Millers Flat -> Lawrence – lost my drone!

Ending up in Lawrence for the end of our journey

Breakfast with our own hand picked cherries – divine!!

We drove from our cottage accom and to the main street (basically the only street!) to pick up our bikes from the shed

Clutha Gold Trail

We found the cycle path and started riding which was so beautiful with the aqua waters

Some part of the path was parallel to the road with the cars wizzing by

THE LONELY GRAVES

Stories and myths abound in regard to the site, the most popular being that in 1865 William Rigney found the body of a young man washed up on the beach at Horseshoe Bend.

An inquest was held and Rigney arranged for burial of the young man presumed to be Charles Aims.

After publication of this story in the Tuapeka Times in 1901 Rigney contacted the paper and explained that he had neither found or buried the body.

However the story stuck and when Rigney died in 1912 he was buried alongside “Somebody’s Darling” and the words “Here lies the body of William Rigney, the man who buried Somebody’s Darling were inscribed on his headstone.

Prior to DoC’s assuming responsibility of the site the local population maintained the area.

As a footnote after the opening of the Millennium Track in 2000 the headboard from “Somebody’s Darling” grave was found to be missing.

The area was searched but no trace was found.

However some months later the staff at Te Papa, our National Museum were reported to have found the headboard outside the main door. Like all the previous stories about the site this was not true and it was actually found outside a police station in Wellington. One of the detectives there thought it was beautiful and decided to investigate.

Eventually the mystery was solved and the headboard returned to its rightful place where it is much more securely attached.
https://www.millersflat.online/listing-item/the-lonely-graves/

The scenery was just beautiful

The trail gets to the old railway line and comes to the highest point of the trail and into the Big Hill Tunnel

Its 440m and REALLY darl riding through (def need a torch or headlamp!!) This tunnel was built during the massive gold rush to get better access to Lawrence

The Lawrence Chinese Camp is the earliest and largest Chinese goldmining settlement

The camp was established in 1867 during the Otago goldrush era when there was an influx of Chinese miners following an invitation from the Otago Provincial Council to come to the region to rework the goldfields. At its peak in the late 1880’s the Camp was a thriving trading hub catering to Chinese miners in the Tuapeka District of Otago and home to over 120 residents, including some families from mixed marriages between Chinese men and European women. At the turn of the century, as the surface gold ran out, many Camp residents left Lawrence in search of other employment. By 1946 the camp was empty.

The sheep found a cool spot!

LAWRENCE

We got to Lawrence! really tiny town, was a shame to get there so soon and it wasnt a hard trail this day, it was pretty flat and relaxed

We waited here for our ride to pick us and the bikes up and head over Clyde and to the head quarters of the tour company to drop our bikes off – what a ride! was a great experience and even though it was expensive, I would use this tour group again in a heart beat!

CLYDE – Bus ride