Central Otago Outback - our best kept secret

Central Otago has long held a sense of mystique, with its rugged rocky landscape, the majestic Clutha River winding its way through the quiet valleys and the trails which crisscross the hills, the legacies of many hardy souls who discovered this sometimes desolate, but beautiful countryside we now call Central Otago.

Many of the visitors to Central travel to see the numerous old mining sites scattered around the countryside, and marvel at the sheer tenacity that the first gold miners showed in searching for that precious metal called "GOLD". The hardships they endured, in an area renowned for the hottest summers and coldest winters in New Zealand, makes us feel so inadequate with our present comforts of the modern day.

When you compete in Goldrush, many of the tracks the race goes over pass these relics of history, and you can imagine the struggles that these early settlers had in setting up the many water races for sluicing the gold and roads to access their claims.

Today, with our modern bicycles and better tracks, we can cover in 2 hours, what would have taken these pioneers 2 days or more. If you take the time during the race to catch your breath at the top of one of the many hills you will climb, just look around and imagine yourself as one of these pioneers, with no formed roads, only horses and carts for transport, no maps or any other of the things we take for granted these days and ask yourself how would you do what they did? I'm sure things today are a lot easier and you can once again salute these early day prospectors for helping to open up such splendid countryside.

The Haunted Tunnel

On the second day of Goldrush the stage on the disused railtrail has some surprises in store for the newcomer to Goldrush. You will run through two old rail tunnels, which are pitch black. It has been heard in the past the noise of an old steam train. This has had an unnerving effect on some of the runners and we think this has contributed to the very fast times recorded over this section of the race. Who knows???