A Visit to the Mainland

Catch-up; March 2021

Back in late March, Royalty arrived in the high country. Family Royalty that is. Mum & Dad who came to check out Night Sky Cottages for themselves. They flew into Christchurch from Napier on a direct flight and I met them at the airport after catching a bus from Twizel. We hired a car and I drove them back to the cottages, they hadn't been in the South Island for many years so it was great for them to sit back & enjoy the scenery.

For the first ten days we relaxed at the cottages and fitted in day trips (complete with a picnic lunches) around the Mackenzie Country. One of our first trips was to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.

Mt Sefton & White Horse Hill Campground- Aoraki/Mt Cook

The weather was fabulous, we'd timed the visit just right, not too cold nor too hot. Just stunning blue bird days. 

It was an especially calm day when we visited Lake Ohau &  the Ohau River weir, the water crystal clear.

T-Ohau River, Left- Ohau River outlet, Right-Lake Ohau & Ben Ohau

Looks like Banksy's been visiting the high country too. Rude Kids- on one of the canal towers 

I took them to see some of my my favourite places- Lake Ruataniwha

Oahu C Camp Lagoon at Lake Benmore; autumn was just around the corner.

We took the long way back to Christchurch; down the Waitaki Valley to Oamaru, checking the dams out as we went and stopping at Kurow for lunch & a hot drink on the way.

Followed by a pit stop at Duntroon where the art on the toilet block brought a smile to our face. The A2O Cycle Trail (Alps to Ocean) passes down the valley too. There's now a new toilet block nearby but I think they've left this there as well.

While Mum & Dad rested up at the Oamaru Air BnB we'd booked for the night, I took myself on a walking tour of the Oamaru Public Gardens which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially the colourful blooms in the hothouse.

The next day we headed off to Christchurch, first stop just up the road at the Rainbow Sweets factory shop. Just for a look of course. We all have a sweet tooth although I think Mum & I take the family cake for scoffing our loot in no time at all. Dad tends to make his last a few weeks (if Mum doesn't find his stash). Half an hour & several large bags of sweets later we made it back to the car. 

Our next stop was Riverstone Castle, one of my favourite places to visit whenever I am passing. I knew Mum & Dad would enjoy a visit too.

We had a lovely lunch at Riverstone Kitchen before exploring the gardens & shops. Dad looked very pleased with his favourite Blue Cod & chips ('rabbit food' passed over to me). I had great delight in letting him know that this particular dish was our 'takeaways' back in the original Level 4 & 3  lockdown last year. We spent that Lockdown just down the road at the Glenavy Waitaki Holiday Park & Riverstone Kitchen supplied takeaway fish 'n chips when we moved to Level 3. 

Mum was in her element, she had a craft shop at Bay View in Hawkes Bay for many years and spent her 'retirement years' selling at craft markets. She even met and had a natter with the owner, Dot, who was unpacking stock. 

For the next few nights we stayed at an Air BnB in Rolleston (near Weedons NZMCA Park, where David was due to arrive from Twizel with the 5th-wheeler a couple of days later).

Dad wanted to do a tiki tour of Akaroa Peninsula, he hadn't been on the road around the top of the rim before. We stopped at Little River for a morning coffee and then I turned off at the summit and travelled clockwise around the top. Which was just as well when Mum saw how far down it was on some of the road edges on the inside or when I pulled over to show them the view.

Akaroa Harbour, Banks Peninsula

Once down from the top we had lunch & an icecream in Akaroa township before heading home.

When planning the trip I had asked Dad if he wanted to visit some of his old haunts; he's a born & bred South Islander. At the time he'd said no he wasn't fussed but once we were in Christchurch we decided we couldn't get this close & not check his old hometown out. He was born in Woodend just north of Christchurch, went to school in Woodend and also spent some time in Sefton just a little further north before his family shifted north to Havelock North in Hawkes Bay.

St Barnabas Anglican Church, Woodend

So we did the obligatory tour, stopping at the family church (which is on the main highway) and finding many of his Eder relations on the cemetery burial list. Next stop was Dad's primary school, then locating his old house (with add-ons) down a back road & checking out the cenotaph roll of honour for relatives & finding his Uncle Jim Eder listed there. 

Then it was off to Sefton where some of his cousins still live. We drove a few more back roads, Dad giving us a running commentary of who lived where & what went on there before finding our way back onto the main road near Saltwater Creek where he used to go white-baiting with his cousin. Funnily enough the rest area beside the creek is where we often stop for lunch or a cup-of-tea break when we're travelling. 

And then before we knew it it was time for them to fly home. We all had a lovely time and for me it was great to spend some quality time with Mum & Dad and show them around our new home province. 

 

Camping at Lake Ohau, Waitaki District, Otago

Catch-up  March 2021

Don't ask. And yes, I know I'm waaaay behind with my blogs but I just don't know where the time has gone these past few months. And while I might not have caught up yet, I am making some headway through my backlog of  photo processing, photo queries and cottage chores amongst others on my long list of tasks. Let's hope I can do a few more regular blog postings before summer arrives & it's full on again. 

We spent a week in March at the Round Bush DOC Camp on the shores of Lake Ohau in the Upper Waitaki District.

The camp is off Lake Ohau Road, 26km from the main road turnoff, just south of Twizel, the last 3km are narrow & gravel. And while this is a great campsite don't be tricked by my tranquil looking photos. Lake Ohau is an alpine lake, it's in the mountains and the weather can turn on a dime, from calm & sunny to brutally cold with ferocious winds. There are also sandflies the size of helicopters!

The view from the front door. Straight across the lake to Ben Ohau, the small mountain at the end of Ben Ohau Range. Lake Ruataniwha & Twizel are on the other side of Ben Ohau.

We struck it lucky with only one day of inclement weather. David put the Takacat up, it was time to go fishing. Lake Ohau, like Lakes Pukaki & Tekapo in the Mackenzie basin are alpine lakes. They are big lakes and long. Very deep & very cold as they are fed partly from the snow melt off the Southern Alps. David said he felt pretty insignificant bobbing along in his little 3.4m inflatable.

How's that for a mirror finish? It's not too often Lake Ohau is as calm as this, we were lucky enough to have three or four windless days on this visit.

I was also lucky enough to catch the Southern Lights from the lake front one night. Initially I was disappointed that my southerly view was obstructed by Ohau Range and I was thinking I might have to drive back out towards the main road to capture the full width of the aurora. But after a few test shots I realised that the composition wasn't too bad afterall; with Ben Ohau & the Milky Way joining the Aurora Australis. 

Round Bush is surrounded by native bush & beech forest and is great for bird watching. The Lake Ohau area is also one of the highest ranked South Island priority areas for mistletoe conservation. The endangered native scarlet mistletoe flowers in early December and if visiting the lake then, the Southern Beech trees that host the mistletoe, have great splashes of red through them (I prepared a photo for you earlier). 

A rather 'flea-bitten' male Tomtit/Miromiro (top right) & a male Bellbird/Korimako (bottom right) made bird watching easy when they came in close to the camp. Then after hearing a NZ Falcon/Karearea calling to a juvenile nearby I tracked them through the lakeside bush until they flew higher up the mountain. On the way back to camp I came across this hunting/fishing lodge hidden away in the bush, I hadn't seen it on previous visits to the camp. 

Takacats rule!

While David went fishing (he caught a couple of catch & release trout), I drove further up the road to explore. I stopped to take a photo of one of my favourite South Island views; looking up the lake towards the Hopkins & Dobson River Valleys with Mt Glen Lyon in the centre. I have this scene on a canvas in Kahu Cottage, although I took that photo when the manuka in front was in full flower.

I walked across the road to check out the lake view and who do you think was tootling along far below me? Click on the photo to check out exactly how insignificant he really was. 

The view back down the lake was fabulous.

I drove down the otherside and onto a track that took me on a bumpy & rutted route through the manuka until I reached the lakeside. I zoomed in on the Dobson Valley side of Mt Glen Lyon. On a clear day you can see the tip of Aoraki/Mt Cook, NZ's tallest mountain, peeping over the top of the mountains (see bottom right). 

I carried on past Ohau Station until I reached the Maitland Stream where the main (single lane) bridge is being repaired. A narrow bailey bridge or a ford were my options to take if I wanted to get to the other side. I swear the bridge was far too narrow for the Ranger, even though a worker on the main bridge was beckoning me on; he didn't have to answer to David had I hit the mirrors, so I took the ford. And cleaned a bit of the dust off while I was at it. 

Taken from the other side after I crossed the ford

The road continued on up past the vast river delta of the Hopkins & Dobson Rivers.

I stopped at the Temple Stream bridge to check for fish & birds; the water was crystal clear and looked very cold.

Once across the bridge I turned left and climbed a small hill beside the stream. The road is narrow and there's nowhere to pass for a short distance through the bush; luckily the vehicle I met coming out was able to back up a short way to let me past. I wanted to check out the Temple DOC camp.

Temple Stream bridge

Once through the bush the valley opens up and the short track follows the stream to the bush line.

 

There are large water filled potholes & it's quite rough in patches but doable in a smaller campervan or if you take your time perhaps you'd make it in a larger motorhome. The DOC campsite is large & flat and would be a great place to camp, there are plenty of sandflies here too. There are several day walks and tramping tracks up the two branches of stream; North Temple Valley & South Temple Valley.

I walked to the junction of the two branches and as I moved in and out of the bush I caught a glimpse of movement & colour way off in the distance. I zoomed in with my camera & was surprised when I caught sight of two trampers & their pack horse disappearing up the south branch (bottom right). Other than Mavora Lakes, I've not seen people with horses in the conservation parks.

I had my lunch at one of the picnic tables in the camp and them did a bit of bird watching in the bush along another track. I found another male tomtit, looking in a very much better condition than the one back at camp, and several Rifleman/Titipounamu, New Zealand's smallest bird. Unfortunately they were on a food finding mission and didn't stay still long enough for me to photograph.  

From Temple Stream I carried on further up the valley, passing mobs of merino sheep and crossing several cattle-stops along the way.

Mt Glen Lyon stands proud and alone at head of the lake. Back in Twizel, the cottages are on Glen Lyon Road. It's 40kms from the cottages up the other side of the lake to Glen Lyon Station, both named after this mountain.

And it's also 40km up this side of the lake to the end of the road. Well, the end of the council maintained road that is. 

A 4WD track continues on up the Hopkins River valley providing access to the Huxley River catchment and many of the tramping tracks and huts in this area of the Southern Alps. I am tempted to check the track out but decide this will be as far as I go. Today. 

I turn around and head back to camp.

And then convince David to take me back up there the next day. 

He decides to take the bailey bridge over the Maitland Stream. I'm sure only because I get out to see him through (and I wanted to see how close it was). Of course there's plenty of room but you know how it is when you're inside and the rails look so close. I will add that he decided on the ford on the way home; much more fun! 

Once through the road end gate & onto the track, the river valley opens up ahead of us.

There are a few muddy bogs to cross near the entrance and then several large rock slides further on. An approaching ute waits for us to cross a gnarly patch over the top of a section that has had a few washouts (that's his vehicle disappearing over the top in the bottom right photo.)

What doesn't show in the photos is the gale force wind that is whipping down the valley stirring up dust and sand. You can see a some of the dust clouds in the photo above.  

After 4-5km we reach a very large and wide rock slide with deep channels and decide that this is far as we'll go today. We could have inched our way across it but as is usual for us when we're exploring 4wd tracks we don't push the boundaries. The ute tows our home, any damage or breakdown and we're stuck where we've parked the 5th-wheeler for however long it takes.

And if you're wondering how large is large, can you see the vehicle approaching us from the other side? Click on the photo to enlarge. We wouldn't have had to just cross the slide but drive up it as well to find the track to continue on. 

Another two vehicles pass us heading out of the valley while we were stopped; hunters who had been staying at the huts further up the river. The 4wd track goes quite a distance up the river, crossing it in places too. These hunters told us they only made it to the first of several huts; Monument Hut.

We find a relatively sheltered spot behind the matagouri and out of the wind to have lunch. Afterwards David scans the mountainside looking for his elusive deer & tahr (one day he'll spot something) while I take a few more photos.

And then we head back to camp. Ahead is the vast shingle flats where the two rivers; Hopkins & Dobson meet, the grazed paddocks of Glen Lyon Station show along the base of Ben Ohau Range.

There was a spectacular sunrise on the morning of our departure from Round Bush. I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked out, as I do most mornings checking to see if there's going to be an interesting sunrise to photograph. It's not too often I strike it like this though. 

The famous Canterbury nor'west arch cloud formation was stretching across the sky high above the lake with a fiery orange colour just starting to stain the far end. It was a mad scramble as I grabbed my camera gear, threw on some warm clothes and rushed outside to take photos. 

The colour grew more intense as I hurried along the lake shore and around the point to take photos looking up the lake. A storm was brewing in the mountains at the far end of the lake. 

And instead of the usual subtle rosy pink behind me it was brilliant oranges & yellows (I am always telling people to look behind when they take sunrise shots, often the scene is just as spectacular).

I needn't have hurried (this time), the colour lasted for well over 20 minutes and I was able to take a few dozen photos while the fiery colours gradually bleached out of the cloud as the sun rose higher...

...leaving behind a just as spectacular dark & brooding nor-west arch. 

It was just as well we'd planned to vacate anyway & we pulled out just before the storm arrived.