Catch-up (February 2021)
After the Lions 4WD safari in Roxburgh we headed on into the interior to do our own 4WD journey. To one of our favourite places in New Zealand; the Poolburn Reservoir.
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| Poolburn Dam & Rough Ridge |
I've lost count, but this must be our 6th or 7th visit to this special place located high up on a plateau at the south end of Rough Ridge Range and the Ida Valley in Central Otago.
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| 'Out There' heading up to Poolburn Dam |
From the valley floor, after you turn off at the old Moa Creek Hotel & Store, it's a 12km gentle climb over a gravel, dirt & solid rock track to the dam.
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| Moa Creek Hotel & Store |
The track is part of the historic Old Dunstan Trail (the route gold miners took from Dunedin to join the Central Otago gold rush) and it's not a road for the faint-hearted, those that are low slung or worry about mud or dust but it's actually not too bad if you take your time. The climb up to the dam takes us just over an hour, the Ranger in 4WD Low Range most of the way. It's a little quicker coming back out.
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| Mustering sheep off Rough Ridge |
Much of surrounding land is farmed by Bospiel Station or Ida Valley Station and as we head up through the lower slopes of the plateau, hundreds of sheep are being mustered down to the valley. There's no hurry as the long trails of sheep weave in and out of matagouri & rocky tors and stretch back hundreds of metres.
We stop to take in the view behind us, looking back over the Ida Valley to the right, Alexandra somewhere out there to the left & Raggedy Range & the Dunstan Range in the centre. Raggedy Range, the first one you can see, separates the Ida Valley from Omakau, Ophir & the Manuherikia Valley. Click on the photo to enlarge.
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| The view looking west |
The road looks fine in my photos but there are sections, and especially on corners, that have been gouged out and washed away by recent heavy rain. The solid rock sections stay put but the soil gets washed away in between. If you'd like to check out how the road can get during winter, here's one of my earlier blogs on Poolburn.
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| Eat my dust |
Regular visitors to the dam know that when you see the 'rabbit' you're nearly there, Poolburn is just over the next rise. It took me a few trips before I finally spotted it, there are so many rocky tors dotted over the landscape you can actually see a whole zoo of animals if you try too hard.
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| Poolburn rabbit |
And then there it is, Poolburn looking as spectacular as ever.
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| Arriving at Poolburn Dam |
We breathed a sign of relief when we saw that our regular camping spot was free. While there are never more than half a dozen or so campers dotted around the dam, we have our favourite location.
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| The view from the front door |
Once the 5th-wheeler is set-up it doesn't take long to get inflatable Takacat up & ready for fishing.
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| 'Out There' & 'In There' (the dinghy) |
We were planning on staying for two weeks and if the first couple of days were anything to go by, we were going to have some spectacular summer weather. Typical Central Otago with big blue skies, wide open spaces, rich golden tussock, crystal clear water and fiery sunrises & sunsets.
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| The Golden Hour at Poolburn |
Unfortunately I spoke too soon, three days later a summer storm rolled in over the far end of the dam. Angry clouds and a strong wind forewarned of more to come.
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| Clouds close in |
Those that know Poolburn know how quickly the weather can change up on top of the plateau. And how bitterly cold it can get within minutes. By late afternoon heavy rain lashed the rig...
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| Tucked up inside |
...and by nightfall the cloud had descended and wrapped us in a dark cold gloom.
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| Hopefully the dinghy will be there in the morning |
Thankfully- as we rocked & rolled through the night in our 'tin can'- it blew itself out and the next day dawned a little more settled.
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| Poolburn Dam |
And that was that, no more bad weather. We had glorious sunshine (& occasionally fluffy white clouds) for the remainder of our stay.
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| A typical Central Otago landscape- big skies, rocky tors & tussock |
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| Poolburn Dam |
And sure enough after a short climb just above the dam wall I found a large hole in the ground...
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| Poolburn Quarry |
...& what is most probably the only patch of green for miles around. The quarry once supplied rock for the dam wall, now with its enclosed micro climate, a mini swamp complete with damsel flies and reeds of raupo are surviving in its water filled base.
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| The Dunstan Trail heads off into the distance |
On another day I drove out past the dam wall and continued on along the Old Dunstan Trail taking photos and...
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| The Dunstan Trail & Poolburn Dam |
...turning around when I reached the Serpentine Church fork in the road. There are no sign posts, I only know this because we have done Long Valley Ridge Road to the church previously. The Dunstan Trail continues on to the left and comes out at Styx at the top of the Maniototo Valley. We have driven this route previously too but it's one I didn't write a blog on. Which annoys me because I know we saw three falcons along the way & also walked into the Styx Jail. One day I will fill in the blog gaps!
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| Serpentine Church junction |
On my way back I stopped on the side of the road and walked a short distance through the tussock and around the rocky outcrops until I found a high spot with magnificent views across the tussock covered landscape to the reservoir beyond.
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| Poolburn Dam |
Zooming in on the Poolburn you can see the many fingers of the dam reaching out into the surrounding depression...
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| Poolburn Dam |
You can also see why boating on Poolburn is a little bit of a nightmare, especially in an inflatable. There are just as many and probably more rocky protrusions below the waterline than above. And the sharp pointy tops that were several feet below the last time you visited can be just several inches below the surface on the next visit.
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| Poolburn Dam |
Visitors. Oh we had a fair few to the dam this time and with them came a mega amount of dust. Some days it was like Piccadilly Station with the amount of vehicles passing. Although this lovely pied stilt who walked up and down the water line every morning, right in front of our rig searching for breakfast, didn't seem too perturbed with all the activity.
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| Pied Stilt |
One disturbing visitor came knocking at our door in the middle of the night. We still have no idea what it was but I suspect a possum or a wild cat (which we saw wandering in amongst the rocks later in the week). Then again I thought it might have been a dog from one of the cribs on the far side of the dam.
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| Cribs & Clouds- Poolburn Dam |
That was until I saw it had peed on our bottom step. Back to a possum I think. It left paw marks in the dust in two places on the door (see top red arrows) & a stray hair stuck to the wall. It unsettled us a little as it was quite loud, and you know how it is in the middle of dark night when you're all by yourself. David took the spotlight out to check but saw nothing. We double checked the security door lock & went back to bed.
I left an piece of apple out the next few nights expecting it to be gone if it was a possum but nothing touched it.
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| Calling card |
Other visitors included over 60 motorbike riders competing in the TT2000 long distance motorcycle rally. The TT2000 is an annual challenge where riders cover 2000km in 48 hours, Each year there's a theme & set check points and the aim is for riders to cover the distance & visit the minimum numbers of check points required by any route they choose within the 48 hours.
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| TT2000 riders s top to take in the view over the dam |
The 2021 rally began & finished in Oamaru and the checkpoint theme was Scottish place names. Not all the riders take the same route but we certainly had our fair share of them passing through in small groups throughout the day.
It was a little worrying later in the day to see a police vehicle & a first responder racing past the dam, they'd have a fair way to travel to reach the incident as the last of the motorcyclists had passed by quite some time prior. Rescue vehicles is something you wouldn't see very often up on the plateau. They came back past after dark.
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| First responder |
During our time at the dam, there were groups of 4WD vehicles passing through in both directions most days, friends travelling together or 4WD tour groups travelling the Dunstan Trail. There was also an foot orienteering event starting & finishing at one of the cribs across the dam. It was a scorcher of a day for the steady stream of tiny little figures walking, running and clambering over the surrounding countryside.
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| Cribs at Poolburn Dam |
Next came 50 cyclists on the Tour Te Waipounamu, a bikepacking race that runs the length of the South Island (1330kms); over mountains, through the high country & across the plains. The race starts at Cape Farewell and finishes a week or so later at Slope Point. Fellow NZMCA members Mandy & her husband were following several of the riders including the leader (and eventual winner) of the race, Ollie Whalley. They parked up above us on the roadside (see photo below) to cheer the riders through. Ollie came through in the early evening & when we awoke in the morning Mandy & her hubby had gone, chasing the riders south.
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| The sun sets on the couple's Ford Explorer |
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| More visitors to Poolburn |
And last but not least, and certainly with more intrigue, were the cast & crew filming the Lord of the Rings TV series. It was all cloak & dagger stuff & anyone I met while out exploring or we asked as we passed them on the road, would neither confirm nor deny it. But it was fairly obvious given that Poolburn was the land of Rohan in the original LOTR movies & February was the month the TV series was to be filmed in NZ.
The Tech site (centre photo) and entrance to it (top left) was just down the road from our camp so we saw a continuous stream of vehicles, trucks, trailers (with UTVs & portaloos stacked on them) & other interesting vehicles heading into the tech site each day. During one morning over 40 vehicles arrived (along with all their dust). Anyone travelling in the opposite direction on the road would have wondered what on earth they had struck. It's very rare to pass one or two vehicles let alone that many.
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| LOTR TV Series |
The actual film set was 10 or so kilometers further on past the dam on the Dunstan Trail, way off up on a ridge (top right). I spotted it the day I travelled to the Serpentine Church turnoff. The Nomad Safari vehicles looked to be transferring guests (actors?) back and forward between sites.
In stealth mode, I managed to snap off a few shots of the occupants! Not really, they just happened to pass as I was walking above them or along the road photographing other subjects. It's amazing what a good zoom lens can see! I swear that could be Gandalf in the bottom left photos.
We passed a couple in a rental car near the bottom of the road as we left Poolburn. We pulled off the track to let them past and they pulled up beside the ute to thank us & to ask how far if was to Poolburn. When we found out they were looking for the film set, I explained it was 10kms further on from the dam. I'm positive they or at least one of them would have been an actor, I just didn't have the gumption to ask. I didn't want to look like some star struck fan! I'm kicking myself now. They also must have wondered where on earth they were driving too in their city slicker clothes & flash rental car.
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| LOTR TV series film set |
It goes without saying that I took oodles of photos; the cloud formations, sunrises & sunsets, cribs & night sky all making fabulous subjects. The Southern Lights even made an appearance for two nights running.
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| Poolburn Dam |
They're to come in the next few blogs from Poolburn Dam. Those blogs should be (hopefully) short on words and long on photos!
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| Big skies, small rig- Poolburn Dam |
And an added note; hopefully those that subscribe to my blog have had no issues with the new supplier as mentioned in the previous blog. And I note that some subscribers may not have been receiving any blogs due to the initial notification going into the junk folder. Hopefully this won't happen with the new company. If you'd like to now subscribe to my blog please fill in the details in the box out in the right hand column (back at the beginning of the blog).
Fascinating as always, your adventures and photos Shellie. Inspiring 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks Madeleine, pleased you enjoy the blogs :)
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