Gripped by gold fever, thousands of desperados from all over the globe were lured to Gabriels Gully in 1861 - New Zealand's first gold rush. By the 1920s, about 400 million dollars worth of the precious metal had been extracted from the immediate area (at today's spot price of $1285 per troy ounce!). Nowadays little evidence remains of the hectic activity of those times but the local village of Lawrence retains an old world charm and a feeling for the history of the area.
There is a pleasant bike ride that loops through the gully. It includes some nice singletrack, some back road, some quiet sealed road and a few kilometres of the famous Clutha Gold Trail.
Here is a blow by blow account....
From the carpark at the start of Gabriels Road head back towards Lawrence, cross the bridge and immediately turn right. Follow that back road out to the main highway where you'll find the start of the Clutha Gold Trail after about 100 metres. Follow the Clutha Gold Trail to the Evans Flat bridge on Highway 8. You've ridden 6.3km. The trail goes under the bridge but you don't! Cross the bridge on the highway and immediately turn left into Munro Road. That's a country road which you follow for 3.6km where you turn right into Blue Spur Road. Follow that road for about 100 metres and you'll see a grassy track on your left and a sign saying "Track to the Great Extended Mine". Follow that trail past the mine entrance (blocked off), over the hill and down into Gabriels Gully. It's a good walking track with a very short section of steps where you'll have to push your bike.
Down in the gully there are interpretive panels to help you understand the heritage of the area along with some excellent walking tracks. When you've had a look around, ride down the sealed road towards Lawrence where you'll complete your loop. Once there you should take a ride around Lawrence which positively oozes with history, heritage, interesting old buildings including a phalanx of monumental churches, boutique shops and cafes. The museum is interesting too...
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