Well, you may have wondered where I'd got to after my last post at the end of the year. There we were happily camping at Ohau C Camp beside Lake Benmore waiting for the warm weather to arrive and the crowds to leave when...
 |
| Ohau C camp, Lake Benmore |
Instead of spending summer relaxing, exploring, fishing and photographing some of our favourite and more remote South Island lakes; Mavora, Onslow & Poolburn, we'll be ensconced in a dark warehouse for a few weeks. It's time to sort through our furniture & gear which we've had in storage for the last 8 years. And the reason for the sudden need to do this?
Welcome to our new home town! Twizel, heart of Mackenzie Country and the great outdoors.
Mackenzie Country (aka the Mackenzie Basin or Mackenzie
District, and yes, it is a small 'k') is in the high country of the South
Island, at the foot of the Southern Alps and part of the South Canterbury
region. The Mackenzie is close to my heart and one of my favourite areas in all
of New Zealand. Which is just as well, as we have purchased a property not too
far from Twizel's town centre.
 |
| Kelland Pond |
And while I say 'home town' that's not quite right because
we'll still do our wandering while we rent the property out for short term
holiday accommodation. And then when we
need a break from the road we'll be able to put the sign up for a couple of
weeks 'No Vacancy'.
 |
| Ben Ohau & Lake Ohau |
There is so much to do in the Mackenzie District, it's a
very busy and fast growing tourist area. The Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail passes by
our front gate, there's trophy fishing in the canals and three lakes within
close proximity and another 4 or 5 lakes within an hours drive.
There's day walks and tramping tracks, birding and boating.
The Mackenzie is also an International Dark Sky Reserve which has great appeal
to me; Lady Aurora will never be too far away. Of course I'm in seventh heaven
with the photography opportunities; magnificent autumn colours, wild flowers
(including those love 'em or hate 'em lupins), snow covered mountains, high
country tussock landscapes, big blue skies and turquoise coloured canals and
lakes. And dare I mention hoar frosts!
I can't believe that I can now say that Aoraki/Mt Cook is in
my backyard, just 45 minutes away.
We'll be back in Twizel in early April to unpack the container and then we'll have a little bit of work to do on the property over winter and be ready to hit the road again late winter/early spring.
I will share more information on the property further down
the track, in the meantime I am going to try and catch up on some blogs! (New
Year's resolution that begins February 1st!).
 |
| Lake Ruataniwha |
Well that is certainly a surprise....
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for the endeavours.
Thanks Frederick, about as opposite to the Coromandel as you could get huh? The Coromandel will still remain our favourite in the North Island and we'll look forward to continuing our visits there.
DeleteWhat a great move...home and away..the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jimu, yes, we'll not give up our wandering just yet, we love the lifestyle too much.
DeleteMany Congrats. Very exciting for you both ...and how do folks pronounce "Twizel"? Is the "i" as in "is" or "fine"? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Tim, it's Twizel as in fine. Twy-zel not Twizz-el (which sounds a bit rude :) )
DeleteCongratulations that is my favourite area also.... Mary Carter
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary, lovely to hear from you. I thought of you the other week when I checked out your 'secret spot' on the Waitaki River :)
DeleteWay cool, enjoy your new venture and hope to see you online with all those awesome pics in the future
ReplyDeleteThanks Colleen & Shane, we're both looking forward to having a base even though it'll be rented out for most of the year.
DeleteMy brother just brought a house there recently so we too can also go and enjoy the countryside, in fact we grew up in that area so nice to be able to spend time there still. I can totally see why you would buy there, good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks Vicki, Twizel is certainly going ahead in leaps & bounds at the moment, hopefully all the new developments won't take away the small town feel of the place.
DeleteCongrats. You two have seen enough of the country to know where you want to have a base. Twizel sell winning lotto tickets too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob, yes it'll be a base but it's also where there's a shortage of holiday accommodation which works out well for us as we want to get back on the road as soon as we have everything sorted. And you're not the first to mention the lotto ticket :) Sadly it was not us, if we'd won it we'd not have bought property, we'd have been off on a world tour!
DeleteShellie this magical place is very dear to my heart.
ReplyDeleteI went to Twizel to save money to go overseas when I was 19, lived there for 3 years, had so much fun, lived the life fishing, hunting, chasing rabbits, trail riding, camping, swimming, gathering Rose Hips, enjoying great company, Hoar Frosts, fantastic summers, freezing winters, oh yes and working for the MOW which was awesome, making all sorts of parts for the Dams. Best part of all meeting my pay clerk who became my wife! Absolutely loved Twizel, lived in the single men's camp then my wife to be parents place in Cass Crescent. Have thoroughly enjoyed your amazing photos of the Mackenzie
Great memories Baz, thanks for sharing them. It sure is a special place, many people just pass through giving the Mackenzie a cursory glance but if you stay awhile it just works it's way under your skin. More great photos to come now :)
DeleteFantastic Shellie and David, congratulations. The Mackenzie country is one of our favorite places too. We always camped there every Christmas/New Year. Wow! A base after eight years, will be different.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Eidlewise, pleased the Mackenzie meets with your approval! :) It might be a 'base' but once we get the place organised we'll be back on the road quick-smart.
DeleteWe have so enjoyed your travels and amazing we have never caught up yet. Congratulations on making a move south. We love the area also as much as the Coromandal. Love your fab photos and look forward to many more. Keep your eye out for “Willy’s Way” we must meet someday. Having been on the road ourselves for 5 years about 7 years ago I still find that I prefer to be in the motorhome. It’s very hard to settle down again so we continue to still make the most of time away. We look forward to many more blogs and fantastic photos.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your kind words, yes, it always amazes me that sometimes paths never cross when there are so many of us criss-crossing the country. I will keep an eye out for you now (although, it all gets quite confusing when you see so many 'Out There'). Once we get the property sorted we'll be back on the road, we have no desire to send down roots just yet :)
Delete