THE WINDING ROADS

Left home 15.01.2016.   Departed from Picton 24.04.2016  7040Kms.

 

Change of Colour.

The mighty Benmore Dam holding back the huge Lake Benmore which was created for power  generation. It is fed by Lakes Pukaki, Ohau & Tekapo.

Parked for the night by Lake Benmore where the Ohau Canals feed into the lake. Also featuring the National Rowing Centre hence the rows of bouys.

The dry McKenzie Basin in drought with no sheep & Lake Tekapo both viewed from Mt John Observatory. Mt John is a World Dark Place for viewing the heavens.

Lake Tekapo with the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Burkes Pass, a little stopping place with lots of interesting stuff.

Geraldine, a beautiful town. Fairlie is another lovely town nearby.

The World record Jersey.

Rest of the Journey.

We went to Christchurch to a guy that sells pet electric fences which we hope will stop Oscar going through our back hedge.  We then travelled up to Kaikoura & on to Picton.

Driving up the Kaikoura coast is an outstanding journey. The road follows the rocky coast for much of the way, ducking through tunnels in places, alongside the rail tracks.

Kaikoura & leaving Picton. What an adventure it has been.

17 – 19.04.2014

The Victorian Precinct buildings were built out of creamy coloured stone found in the near countryside in the 19th century. Oamaru was an important port back then. Today the buildings have been restored & they form a quirky, arty shopping area.

Steam Punk HQ. Mad Max?

The Victorian Precinct.

Donna Demente has the Grainstore Gallery, an amazing place.

Magnificent buildings made from Oamaru stone, some with Roman columns. Terry went whisky tasting while Catherine looked through racks of yesteryear clothing.

Harbourside.

Rail repair machine holdup. Hawaii?? Karatane beach in the morning mist.

Moeraki Boulders one of natures mysteries.

15.04.2016 6044kms so far.

Dunedin is a very alive city which is much connected to Otago Uni & the Medical school. It definitely has a Scottish flavour. A lot of the buildings & parts of the city reminded us of Edinburgh. I found that it was too hard to express this in photos so I have a limited number of photos. Next time I can see us spending a lot more time there. Not in the Winter though as I understand that the climate can be bitterly cold. We had lovely Autumn sunny days & this added to our enjoyment of the city.

Dunedin railway station.

A magnificent building which harks back to when steam rail was the main form of transport.

Larnach Castle.

An interesting road out to Otago Peninsular with the sea being very close to the edge.       We then climbed up quite high to the castle.

 

Pounawea

A delightful little place just after Jack’s Bay.

First show of Autumn colour.

Taieri Mouth

A beautiful seaside town south of Dunedin. A place we would love to have a Summer holiday at another time. The cray boats cross the bar to the open sea & they bring in big catches.

 

Deserted Coast

Between Taieri Mouth & Brighton the road runs alongside the coast for most of the way. At one point we stopped on the side of the road & clambered down to the beach which was deserted for as far as we could see. The sand was fine & white, the sea & sky blue & the sun was warm.

We felt that we were the only people alive in this beautiful place. Terry had a great compulsion to whip off his clothes & run around on the sand. Complete freedom! Did he do it? It would not have been a great sight & certainly no photos. Oscar took the opportunity to have a roll in the warm sand.

 

 

Started through the Catlins on 08.04.2016.

Top  Whitebaiters cribs. The rest  The most southerly point of the South Island. Slope Point.

 Hard to see but there are fossilised tree trunks lying where a forrest used to be a long time ago at Curio Bay.

Cathedral Caves.

Btm right   Catherine shooing away the sandflies.

Owaka teapot garden.

On the walk to Jacks Bay blowhole. Just before the rain sent Oscar & Terry scooting back to the motorhome. Take a coat next time.

Jack’s Bay.

A beautiful bay with fine sand, strange rock formations, giant kelp, quaint cribs & sea lions sunbathing on the rocks. We just chilled out for three days.

Bert Munro Bike & other bits.

Beautiful park, Tuatara breeding & Kiribati exhibition.

 

Left A great & interesting couple, Dolly & Paris, from San Diego. They will be voting for Trump as they are very unhappy with the immigration problems in the USA.

Right A pedestrian / vehicle mix which seems to work very well. On the whole we found Invercargill to be a very nice city, which we thought was better than Tauranga CBD.The nice weather was great but we are not sure how we would feel about the cold Winters.

Clifden Suspension Bridge.

The largest WOODEN suspension bridge.

Gemstone Beach

Gemstones are found in the cliffs & also at low tide along the foreshore. Pictures of a rough hut built in the cliff where someone is/was prospecting. It even had power connected to it.  Which way does the wind blow along the South coast?

Riverton

Btm right.Typical preparation for Winter. Brown & Green pods.

Stormy weather.

 

 

 

On the way to Manapouri. Lumsden cafe Route 6.

 

Countryside colours.

 

Lake Manapouri & Power Station.

Once we reached West Arm & the underground power station we transferred to an old bus that took us over the Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove, a 1hr 15 min journey through the Alps. During construction a ship called the Wanganella was moored in Deep Cove as accomodation for the miners who were tunneling back towards West Arm. This tunnel became the water outlet from the power station.  The power station, which has the capacity to supply the power needs of the South Island, was actually built just to supply the Comalco Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai Point  in Bluff.

We boarded another boat & followed Doubtful Sound from Deep Cove to the Tasman Sea entrance & back.

The beauty of Doubtful sound in pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ranfurly – Naseby – Alexander – Roxburgh & on to Gore. 31st March – 3rd April.

As we arrived at Roxburgh we hit 5000 km so far.

The Maniototo is a vast flat area which is 2000 ft above sea level. It extends down through Central Otago to Southland. It is the coldest & hottest area in NZ. Winter temps can drop to -12 degrees C, yet Summer temps can reach 37 degrees C.

The roads across the Maniototo are excellent with gentle curves & long straights & we saw about one car per half hour. The Fiat purred along very comfortably at 120 km/hr & there wasn’t a cop in sight.

Locals from here to Invercargill roll their Rs when they speak, quite delightful. There are names given to places such as Drybread, Scrubby Gully, Chatto Creek, Crippletown.

Curling lessons at Naseby.

 

Hayes Engineering

Ernest Hayes was an engineer & inventor of farm implements in the early 1900s, one of which, the Hayes Wire Strainer, is still sold throughout the world today. The whole workshop was driven by water which flowed through a pipe from above the works to a main water wheel, then a system of shafts & belts turned the machinery.

His wife Hannah took his goods in a basket on her bike to prospective clients. She cycled along gravel roads, wearing a long skirt, sometimes over 130 kms. No gears or fancy seats. They brought up 9 children in their spare time, in a tiny cottage, until they could afford a 4 bedroom homestead.

I don’t intend going into their full story here but a Google search, for interested people, is well worthwhile.

Alexandra

We didn’t stay but moved on to Roxburgh. Through this whole area we found that the apples, we bought from orchards especially, were so incredibly delicious like nothing we had tasted before.

We also bought some from Foodtown that didn’t compare.

Roxburgh

When we left Alex the countryside changed dramatically as the pictures show. There are huge Schist deposits popping up through the land as far as the eye can see.

The mighty Clutha heading for the Roxburgh Dam.

Roxburgh Dam.

Our parking place for the night down by the dam.

My office has now moved in out of the cold. What is this strange beast?

Gore

Another town with nothing different about it from the other towns we have recently visited. If you are not into bike trails or trout fishing there aint anything else. Unless you are a women. Catherine spent a whole morning browsing the shops until they closed at midday. (Saturday thank goodness).

We are staying behind the Gore Town & Country Club with showers, laundry & power provided all for $8 per night. Of course we have been into the club for drinks & $15 roasts. Now thats more like it!!

 

A Townie’s quiz. Name the adult transformers pictured.

The first prize is a week in Gore. The second prizes is 2 weeks in Gore.