Hands down, the most fun i've had on a family holiday! The Central Otago rail trail takes you from Clyde to Middlemarch (or vice versa) through Central Otago (Lord Of The Rings country). It follows the old rail trail that they built during the gold rush and the scenery is beautiful! Away from the road and with the trail not overly busy, the trip was a constant reminder of beautiful rural New Zealand is. The trip takes 3-4 days and along the way you stop in tiny towns and stay at old school hotels or B&B's. Everyone we came across was incredibly hospitable and let me tell you, there is nothing like a cold brew after 6 hours in the saddle in 30 degree heat. We organised our trip through cycle surgery and there were an absolute treat to deal with. They picked our bags up from each location and dropped them at the next so they were ready when we arrived. On the last leg when we were running behind schedule and battling into the wind they even offered to pick us up! In my opinion, the Central Otago Rail Trail is a MUST if you're a New Zealander and if you've got time as a tourist, i'd definitely recommend doing it too! read more