Dunedin - a Ride at the seaside

It’s cycling lore that all rides should begin (and end) with coffee, although when the alarm sounds at 5am for a sunrise photoshoot it’s too early for the cafes. So, an early morning appointment at Vanguard Café in the city with Rachel Elder before starting out on the city’s Harbour Cycleway loop is an ideal opportunity for a much-needed caffeine hit.

Rachel is another former City Councillor and cycling advocate. Her enthusiasm and energy are infectious.

“Dunedin has the beauty and the landscapes to be a top outdoors city”, reckons Rachel.  

“With the development of Signal Hill Recreation Reserve by Mountain Biking Otago, coupled with better road access, toilets, and maintenance funding we’re creating a world class mountain biking facility just 10 minutes from our city centre’, extolls Rachel.

One of Rachel’s favourite projects whilst serving on Council, was to advocate for the development of the Dunedin Tunnels Trail. Thanks to the hard work of the Dunedin Tunnels Trail Trust, building will start imminently on this exciting new trail which will connect Dunedin to Mosgiel. This is also the first step in a grand plan to connect Dunedin to the Clutha Gold Trail which will then allow cyclists to ride on a purpose-built trail, off road, all the way to Queenstown and Wanaka! There are current feasibility studies on potential tracks from Wingitui to Waihola and Dunedin to Waikouaiti, largely thanks to the work of Rachel and the newly formed Dunedin Tracks Network Trust.

There are current feasibility studies on potential tracks from Wingitui to Waihola and Dunedin to Waikouaiti, largely thanks to the work of Rachel and the Trust.

It’s a short 10minute ride from the café to the causeway on Portobello Road and to connect with the cycleway on the eastern side of the Harbour on the Otago peninsula. The cycleway is fully sealed and so can be ridden easily by any form of bike, and bike rentals are available from Dunedin eBike Hire. The ride to Portobello takes about an hour and includes scenic views of the city and harbour.

Upon arrival in Portobello there’s just time for a quick bite to eat at before we’re due at the Port-to-Port Ferry. The ferry is the connection which completes the Harbour loop and doubles as a wildlife cruise.

Operated by Rachel McGregor, a self-proclaimed “one woman show”, who has spent half her life working on the water, the ferry is custom-built to offer passenger services on Otago Harbour. The design includes a bike rack for transporting electric and manual bikes across the Harbour to link the cycleway.  The vessel can take up to 12 eBikes, or 15 standard bikes plus their riders.

Don’t let Rachel’s diminutive stature fool you. She easily hoists our bikes onto the ferry and securely racks them with swift efficiency. Chatting with Rachel on the 15-minute crossing to Port Chalmers it becomes further evident that she’s one tough cookie! Her career on the water has spanned 18-years working on and skippering commercial boats passenger, research, oil spill recovery, search and rescue, dredger and other work boats.

Rachel has also worked as a wildlife guide and is passionate about the marine and bird life of the Otago Peninsula. As Rachel explains,

“The ferry is actually named MV Sootychaser after the Sooty Shearwater, more commonly known as New Zealand’s muttonbird. The Sooty Shearwater comes into New Zealand at the start of October. As we are out on the boat during this time, and the shearwaters are often around, it feels like we are always chasing them - hence the name.”

“The muttonbird name originally emerged among settlers on Norfolk Island as the strong taste and fattiness of these birds' meat was likened to mutton”, Rachel tells us.

However, these days the conservation of Dunedin’s wildlife is more Rachel’s priority, rather than eating it. But, that said, she does run specialty food tours on the boat including a seaweed tour where foodies get to sample a variety of marine veggies under the guidance of expert marine biologists and chefs!