My fourth day cycling the A2O Trail, continuing past impressive lakes and dams to the historic town of Kurow. From Otematata I was grateful for an eBike to climb the steep road back up to Benmore Dam, with great views in bottom direction from the top.

The next 22km along the sealed Te Akatarawa Road was one of the less enjoyable parts of the trail as it has limited views of Lake Aviemore and it relatively narrow for traffic to pass on the 80kph road. Thankfully traffic in my direction was light, but it was a relief to reach the end of it.

Which was marked by another impressive piece of power generation infrastructure from the 1970s and 1980s, Aviemore Dam.

From here it was off-road all the way to Kurow along an enjoyable track, though there were a couple of road crossings requiring care.

Wharekuri Ruins made for an atmospheric stop along the way.

This was a beautiful situated spot for lunch overlooking Lake Waitaki.

The last dam on the A2O trail is the Waitaki Dam, named after the river that the trail follows pretty much from source to the sea. This is much older than the others, dating back to the 1930s.

Beyond it the Waitaki River flows naturally to the sea, though it is heavily used for irrigation purposes.

Kurow has an outsized history for a permanent population of only 400 people. During the Great Depression it was home to unemployed workers once the Waitaki Dam had been built, leading to the creation of the first social security scheme in the world. It is home is a number of attractive heritage buildings.

It was also home to All Black legend Richie McCaw. Fundraising for a statue of him has apparently stalled but the giant cardboard cut out is tribute enough.

In the middle of the Waitaki River is the lovely Kurow Island, which was well worth exploring.

As were the Kurow Wetlands.