Out & About at Lake Benmore

Real-time

Well nearly. We left Ohau C campground on the shores of Lake Benmore a week ago! We're back with the family in Winton where we needed to help them with an urgent job....but wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

We had a lovely time at the lake and could have easily stayed another week if there hadn't been pressing matters to see to down south.

Sunrise at Lake Benmore

The fishing was fantastic, after being given a lovely Rainbow trout by a passing camp resident the day we arrived, David's first fish was this lovely Brown which he was under strict instructions to bring home, I had a couple of new recipes I wanted to try out.

After that he took photos of his 'catch & release' fish; these two Rainbows...

...and another Brown, all good sized fish. He hooked a few more too but you'll notice that the elusive salmon is still missing from the haul. 

The lake salmon are quite small though- they don't get a top-up feed from the salmon farms along the canal, and we didn't return to the canals to fish once the Takacat was inflated, David enjoys lake fishing a lot more than the canals. We also met another Takacat owner who lives in his 5th-wheeler at the camp.

Talking Takacat tactics

David wasn't the only one catching trout, the resident grebe was also getting his fair share.

David took a break from fishing one morning so we took the dinghy over to the far side of Lake Benmore to explore. We left our new neighbours discussing their early morning catches.

Like me, I'm sure regular visitors to the MacKenzie Country (and quite probably residents too) never tire of, or fail to be impressed with the view of Aoraki/Mt Cook from all locations around the area. Here, from the middle of the lake, is the tallest mountain in NZ not quite living up to her Maori name- cloud piercer.

Across the far side of the lake we cruised into Boat Harbour checking for waterfowl along the sides and under the willows. The Haldon Campground is also tucked in here amongst the trees, it's accessed from north of Tekapo via a 60km mostly gravel road. You'll remember my 'Road to Somewhere' blog post from June last year, followed by the 'Road to Nowhere' post? This is the campground we visited before driving that torturous Pukaki River road home. It looked a lot more inviting this time, even though there was still no one camping there.

Not only did we find several pairs of courting grebes as we entered the harbour but we also spotted a nori eating Australian Coot and a shy NZ Scaup family heading for cover as fast as they could paddle.

Afterwards we headed back across the lake to the Ohau River outlet which has several shallow channels surrounded by gravel islands entering the lake. David had made it up one of the channels the day before and he thought we could have had lunch on one of the islands. With the extra weight in the boat (I blamed it on the picnic bag), it wasn't long before we were scraping our bum along the gravel. Well actually the prop hit the stones before us, so we backed out and stopped at one of the entrances where there just happened to be some lupins!  That's the Ohau C Power Station in the background.

It must be lunch time, the neighbours have returned after their mid-morning fish.

It looked like the rain was heading our way one afternoon but luckily it skirted right around the edge of the lake and headed off up into the mountains.

While David was fishing I did my mini tiki-tours looking for lupins; one north to Lake Tekapo and one south to Omarama. I had one more road that I wanted to explore before we left the lake. The gravel road that carried on past the camp for another 8kms up the side of the lake.

I had been putting it off, hoping we might have had a little rain (that's ironic, now I'm hoping for rain!) which would have dampened down the very dusty road. But no, every day the clouds of dust billowing into the air as vehicles passed along the top of ridge above the camp, got thicker & thicker.

In the end I decided I'd drive it very slowly so as not to give David too much work in cleaning the ute *wink, wink*. Well that didn't work because every bugger coming towards me was driving like a bat out of hell! Someone with a sense of humour has added a 'rest home residents' sign to the cattle stop sign at the entrance to Totara Peak Station. 

The road runs along a plateau above the lake dipping around the edge of a number of beautiful little coves along the way. 

There are two camping areas along this road, the privately owned Totara Station's 'Benmore Views Family Camp' which has a number of areas for self contained vans along the top overlooking the lake (above) or down in the dips around the coves and then a more traditional camp on one of the small points jutting out into the lake, which included a boat ramp.

The campground itself was well looked after and is obviously very popular, with quite a number of campers already set up and in residence.

The second campground, Falstone Creek Campground is at the end of the road and is run by Waitaki District Council.

With the two camps being visited by campers and boaties, I can now see why there has been so many ribbons of dust snaking down the road past our camp.

Falstone Camp is set mostly under a plantation of pine trees and there are pine cones for Africa scattered over the forest floor. I'm not so sure I'd like to stay here, for a start we wouldn't get TV reception and then we'd be ducking pinecones every time the wind blew. It was also very dry and dusty although it would be shady during the heat of the summer.

I should have visited Falstone on one of our previous visits to the area, to take photos. This was where the set was built for the failed movie 'Kingdom Come'. The large movie set sat in the middle of the camp unused and taking up valuable space for the last 8 years. It was only removed last August.

Back in 2014 we saw another movie set for 'Kingdom Come' near the Elephant Rocks in Duntroon. This set too, was waiting for demolition.

I was excited to find a grebe family in the little cove beside the campground. They were initially a little too far out for me to get clear views of them and I'm sure most people looking at the ducks swimming around the little bay would have missed them.

I managed to spot them when I saw one of the adults disappear under the water leaving three striped bumblebee sized specks huddled together on the surface. I crossed the creek that entered the bay and fought my way through the undergrowth to the lake edge, sat down out of sight and waited.

They didn't move that much closer but I managed to get a few clear shots of them at the outer limits of my lens. One of the chicks was much smaller than it's siblings and I thought it mustn't be getting fed but it moved in quick each time a parent returned with food. 

The smaller chick was also quick to climb on Mum's back when it tired although she was just as quick to dislodge him by standing up on her legs and doing a shake. The chick would slip off the bottom and back into the water where he'd give it another go- his very own water slide! He managed  to stay on board a few times while Mum waited for Dad to return.

I could have sat watching them for a few hours but after they disappeared around a corner, it was time for me to head home too.

We had a very fruitful and relaxing time and Lake Benmore and we will be back. We still have that salmon to catch! 

We packed up and headed off towards Winton, stopping at our favourite 'passing through' camp at Lowburn near Cromwell for a night on the way. Yet another friendly duck family came to say hello

I fell in love with this pale cutie who I wanted to catch and cuddle. He wasn't having any of that.

And the reason we changed our travel plans to include Winton? We have a flash new personal POP (park over property), the family have bought a new house and we've come to help them shift houses. 

The drive is very long and the sides covered with beautiful roses but after a couple of slight maneuvering adjustments, David managed to back 'Out There' all the way down there...

...and now we have this new awesome hard stand to park on. I think I need a periscope to see what happening 'Out There' though...

The Gathering of the Grebes

Catch-up

Of course we couldn't stop over in Wanaka without paying a visit to our favourite birds' nesting sites on Lake Wanaka's waterfront and what a surprise awaited us.

Not just a handful of Australasian Crested Gebes this time, there were at least 25 grebes nesting, swimming, fishing, guarding, building, fighting, making babies, resting and searching (for a nest site) in the small area between the marina and lake edge.

The artificial nest platforms have multiplied too, obviously to keep up with the population explosion. 

There are at least 15 platforms attached to the marina and floating in the shallows.

And all but one are occupied and closely guarded...

This is the grebe equivalent of the penthouse suite; sheltered from the elements above and behind and complete with a natural greenery screen, providing privacy from the grebes next door.

It might have appeared peaceful after just a quick glance across the water but there were ructions going on all around the marina (this photo is a first- 5 grebes in one shot!)

This pair of grebes were on a mission...

...to secure themselves a nesting site...

They were told in no uncertain terms to back off here but they persisted, trying a different approach...

...from the back.

No luck with that one, they moved onto the next platform and got told off there too...

At a different platform, this grebe just wanted to pass by and under the marina to open water. He tried the 'don't look her in the eye' trick and got past.

The determined couple were now trying it on at floating platform #15, one of the first artificial nest sites and the one that is closest to the shore. It has featured in several of my past blogs, it's also had some modifications with a screen added to break the wind.

If the couple headed to the other end of the marina, they'd find an abandoned nest and a NZ Scaup squatter they'd have no trouble evicting. And, it has greenery too.

Oops...don't look now. I smiled at his dismount; he nose dived over the front, tangling his huge feet in her mane and disappeared into the depths.

It just goes to show that Australasian Crested Grebes thrive with a bit of help. There are going to be a lot of gorgeous little striped babies riding around on their parents backs very soon.

If you'd like to read more, here are some links from previous visits, including chicks riding shotgun and the beautiful courtship display.

But actually, the main reason we stopped at Albert Town Campground was to see if we could spy the NZ Falcon pair that were nesting again in the same place as they did last year; right beside a couple of old logs in the campground. 

Unfortunately, I think it was a bit early and they were still sitting on the eggs out of sight. The area is fenced off so you can't get too close- not that you'd want to, you'd be dive-bombed fairly quickly. We thought we might see an adult flying in or out but saw nothing. In another 6-8 weeks the fledglings will be visible, climbing up on the logs to beg for food.

Exploring Glendhu Bay, Wanaka

Real-time

What was that I said about trying to catch up on photos and blog posts and not going exploring? Well that all went out the window this morning when I woke to this stunning view of Lake Wanaka from our front door! Hey, but at least I'm sitting here this evening doing a blog on it. Warbirds will have to wait.

While I was getting breakfast, two vehicles towing River Journey jet boats on trailers passed through the camp ground, they were launched from the boat ramp in the middle of the camp. Soon afterwards, two small buses loaded with passengers also passed by. After a short briefing they donned lifejackets, climbed on board and roared out of the bay. On their way to jet boat up the Matukituki River exploring far into the Mt Aspiring National Park. 

While we donned lifejackets, check food supplies, wheeled our inflatable to the water's edge and pushed off  in our super fast, ultra lite Takacat. And puttered out into the bay.

Glendhu Bay was a millpond and the reflections magnificent. This is looking back towards the camp ground with The Stack Conservation Area behind, including Roy's Peak on the left.

We were heading towards Paddock Bay, which is a tiny bay in the scheme of things when you look at the size of Lake Wanaka, but a good size for a little boat to explore on a perfect day. 

We'd also heard that there was good fishing in the bay and David wanted to check it out, see if he could find a some ideal spots to fish when he comes out on his own.

As you can see, the willows and poplars at the water's edge are starting to turn. Those further back haven't started yet, it must have to do with the cold off the water giving the close trees a head start. 

The very first birds we saw on the lake were our favourite Australasian Crested Grebes, a single adult followed by an adult feeding a juvenile(top right). Later on we saw two more single adults and two more adult & juvenile pairs (bottom left). Grebes are alive and thriving on Lake Wanaka thanks to the efforts of of one man in particular, John Darby.

The bird life was plentiful around the lake edge and because we were following the shoreline we ended up disturbing many flocks of ducks; mallards and paradise with the odd pair of Grey Duck (top left) and lots of small gatherings of shags. Wherever there was a fence line into the lake the top wire had a row of evenly spaced shags perched on it, any logs or rocks were also covered in shags. We also passed hundreds of Canada geese milling about under some willows feeding in the shallows way back in a swampy delta area where we couldn't take the boat (and I imagine it could well have been at least a thousand birds, there were so many)

We weren't the only ones enjoying a beautiful autumn day, two groups of kayakers passed by.

And later, on our way home, we passed this rental campervan with the family enjoying a swim. Brrrr!! It was hot but not that hot.

We saw plenty of large trout in the shallows, many raced off back into the depths as we approached but some weren't too concerned with our presence and just dawdled along beside us. When one leapt out of the water in front of us, David couldn't contain himself any longer. Out went the line and we did a few circuits trawling, but with no luck.

We headed to a small beach below Emerald Bluffs to have lunch. It's a tiny area that's obviously used by boaties; there's a public gas BBQ in the trees and even though the bluffs are on private land it looks like many walk the track up to the top. The land owners are restoring the area and there are plenty of pest traps, new plantings and signs warning about lighting fires (hence the supplied BBQ and fire extinguisher, I would think). 

We followed the track up the rock face a little way and found a comfy place to sit and have lunch. What a magnificent view- another stunning place to add to our lunch site list. Afterwards David climbed down to the rocky overhang and watched as half a dozen trout made their way over the edge of the rock shelf and into the shallows. One even came in as far as the prop on the dinghy to take a look!

After lunch we made our way quietly back along the shoreline heading for home. The road to Mt Aspiring National Park runs along behind the poplars here.

Here are a few more reflections for you.

And approaching the camp ground, which stretches right along this shoreline behind the willows.

And finally home to 'Out There' tucked in behind the trees.

David dropped me off and headed back out to see if he could catch a fish. He didn't. But never mind he has a few days to practice.