Roxburgh Lions Club 4x4 Safari

 Catch-up 

From the Catlins we headed inland as we needed to be in Roxburgh for Waitangi weekend. I'd seen the Lions Club 4x4 safari advertised earlier in the year and put it in the diary 'just in case' we were in the area. At that stage we had no firm plans of where we'd be but as it worked out we were going to be passing through Roxburgh on our way to the next destination. We've been on several 4x4 safaris during our time on the road and have thoroughly enjoyed them, the most memorable one being through  Nokomai Station & the Garvie Mountains. We still talk about the fun we had on that one. 

Roxburgh Trotting Club

We've freedom camped at nearby Pinders Pond in the past, this time we decided on the Roxburgh Trotting Club POP as that was where the rally was leaving from on Sunday morning. 

Sunrise- Roxburgh Trotting Club

Over 66 vehicles signed in at the trotting club on Sunday morning, collected their packed picnic lunches and, when the word was given, headed north with directions to pull into an open farm gateway along the Fruitlands straight on the main highway. We waited here for everyone to arrive and once no more could fit through the gate we followed the leaders up and over the hill in front of us.

For the first part of the safari we were driving through the 21,000 hectare (52,000 acres) Earnscleugh Station which stretches along Old Man Range from Fruitlands in the south to the Cromwell Gorge in the north and over the range to the Southland boundary.

Hmmm....we thought, this is going to be a dusty trip, hoping that it was just this section but knowing that it probably wasn't as it has been a very dry summer.

Our next stop was beside Earnscleugh Station's woolshed, where many made use of the loos and we listened to our leader as he explained the programme for the day & gave us a little history on the station. He was also going to be positioned in the middle of the vehicle line broadcasting on a dedicated FM radio station as we passed various points of interest along the way. This was a great idea but unfortunately it depended where you were in the line as to whether you heard him or not. 

Many of us were fascinated with the farm's 'Bath House' which was parked near the woolshed.

Yes, I said 'parked' because it wasn't until you got up close to inspect it that you could see the Landrover inside. Complete with a bar & bar stools on the back, it was driven to local parties. If only walls could talk, I bet it could tell many a strange tale. 

From the woolshed we headed north along the bottom of the range exiting out the actual entrance to the station near Conroys Gully.

Our next point of interest was the old Earnscleugh Homestead, but sadly (for me as a photographer & collector of social history photos) the planned stop was changed to a drive past as timing was of essence and there would have been too many vehicles & people to wrangle back on track. 

Earnscleugh Station homestead was built in the 1920s and modeled on a mansion the then owner Stephen Spain saw in Uruguay. There is now a new homestead on another part of the station and sadly this one is unoccupied as it needs extensive & expensive renovations. 

As we filed slowly through the front garden I jumped out of the ute and ran across to the grand entrance quickly snapping a few photos before having to clamber back in before the row of vehicles disappeared around the back of  building where we also passed the staff quarters & stables built in a similar style.

NZMCA members may be interested to know that the Clutha Valley Area held a rally in the homestead's grounds some time ago, maybe they'll do that again sometime in the future (and let me know!).

From the homestead we headed along the back roads towards Fraser Dam Road passing these poor cyclists along the way. They must have wondered what on earth they had struck with so many vehicles passing them on a deserted back country road. They would have been covered in dust from head to toe by the time the last of the vehicles passed them, that's for sure!

Once on Fraser Dam Road we started the gradual and winding climb to the top of the range. Horse trekkers & cows stopping to watch the long procession pass by. We've actually driven the Fraser Dam Road before, which finishes at the dam. This time we passed the dam turnoff and took the Prospect Hill Track straight to the top.

At one stage the vehicles ahead all came to a stop which meant the photographers amongst us could jump out and take a few photos... 

...looking down below us as the rest of the fleet wound their way up the range (remember to click on the photos to enlarge).

When the vehicles started moving again fairly quickly and I had to race back to the ute before David pulled away, it suddenly dawned on me they'd stopped to open a gate, one of many to be opened & closed during the day.

Near the top I managed to get the window down and take a photo of a hut tucked into a small gully, as we passed by. I didn't manage to take a photo of the sign telling me who it belonged to though. 

At least there was a bit of a breeze at the top to cart the dust away, well a little bit of it anyway.

Just as we begun to wonder when we'd stop for a break we arrived at the top and parked up amongst the snow tussock and spiky Spaniards. People started heading to a style on the fence, and like sheep we all followed. And it wasn't until many of the men & a few ladies headed off in different directions towards the large rocky tors that we realised they were looking for somewhere to have a pee! 

Once that was sorted we gathered in a group for another talk, it was very hard to hear the speaker from the back but I gathered we were overlooking the Earnsleugh/Fraser River valley in one direction & the top of Old Man Range in the other. And that during the 1800s Otago gold rush there were many small settlements spread across the surrounding mountain tops mining for gold. 

Originally the safari was going to continue along the top of Old Man Range past the Obelisk but the scouts who'd checked on the route earlier in the week decided there were a couple of curly sections that may not have suited the 'shinnies' (street going 4x4 vehicles) so we had to re-trace our steps back down the range. Once at the bottom we stopped for our picnic lunch, many of us seeking out shade in what was a very hot day. 

The day before the safari, motorhoming friends Linda & Scotty had stopped at the Trotting Club to say hello, they were staying down the road at another POP and were also going on the safari. We'd both been up near the front of the procession for the first half and after lunch we made our way back to Roxburgh and waited at the bottom of Coal Creek Road which was the meeting point before we tackled the next section.

At first we were the only ones there & we began to think we'd got it wrong. Then several others trickled in to wait and we wondered how long it would be before the full fleet arrived. After a short discussion we made an executive decision to head off up Coal Creek Road and onto Mt Hope Road to the top of the range and either wait up there for the others of continue on along the top. 

This would give Linda & I a chance to stop and take a few photos, something we were both missing doing. We stopped several times as we climbed higher taking photos of the Roxburgh Dam,  Roxburgh township and the Clutha River. I picked up the Trotting Club & the rig in one photo (top right).

On one of the stops, I zoomed in on the meeting area and saw that there was now a good number of vehicles waiting, it wouldn't be long before they pulled out and followed us up the road.

We pulled over again as we reached the top so we could get another shot looking down over Roxburgh and as I headed back towards the ute...

...I looked back down the road and saw that the posse was coming!

And in fact they were very close to catching us up. I ran back to the ute...

...and jumped in. After a brief discussion with Linda & Scotty we decided our rebellious streak was over (although David was keen to hit the throttle) and we pulled to the side to let the leaders past and then cheekily pulled back in line when a gap appeared.

The dusty 'road' had now turned to a dirt track which made for a much more pleasant experience and being such a clear day we could see for miles. 

Across the Clutha Valley which was far below us, we could see the Knobby & Lammermoor Ranges, and somewhere out there one of favourite lakes, Lake Onslow.

We passed through Black Jack Station & Mt Benger Scenic Reserve as we travelled along the top of the range from Roxburgh to Ettrick.

There was great excitement & much gesturing to vehicles in front & behind when a Karearea/NZ Falcon flew past the procession at a fast rate of knots (top right, below) and then even more exclamations & gesturing when the front vehicles spooked a small group of seven wild deer who raced off across the tussock. I managed to grab a long distance shot as they hesitated for a moment before fleeing over the edge.

We haven't seen too many wild deer on our travels but a few years ago we saw a wild fallow stag on  Mt Hope Road (where we started this section) when we drove to the top of the range. We'd seen it on the way up but it ducked out of the way, so on the way back down we had another look for him. I'm sure he thought he was well hidden.

After many gate openings across the top we started to head down off Mt Benger...

...into Ettrick

Here's a tip for you if you're travelling in a group and there are gates to open & close, if the first vehicle leaves a rock on top of the gate post when they open it, then tail-end Charlie knows to shut the gate. If there's no rock, the gate is left as it was, open. 

Our hosts waited at the last gate and the exit into the valley, waving and thanking us for attending their fundraiser. We tooted our appreciation and then 66+ vehicles headed back into civilization and home (to wash their vehicle if they were lucky enough to have water, unlike us who had to wait until a suitable source was found). 

We had a great day although we'd probably have forgone the Fraser Dam Road loop having done the road before and knowing how dusty it was. 

Side note; I am asked often how we hear about the 4x4 safaris. There's no hard & fast directory for them. I usually stumble across them on social media or see them advertised on the side of the road as we pass through a town. 

Many small town organisations; including primary schools and Rotary & Lions Clubs hold them as fundraisers. They are usually held during the first three months of the year, when the weather should be good & the tracks dry and while we've only done them in the bottom half of the South Island, I've seen them advertised nationwide.

I haven't been able to join the dots on the tracks up to & across the top of the ranges (not drivable or not public land according to Goggle) but have put markers to show the route taken.

A Seriously Long Road Trip

Catch-up (Mid September, 2019)

While we were staying with our Southland family in Winton during September, I had the bright idea of doing a road trip to photograph the 'blossoms' in the fruit orchards of Central Otago. Never mind that it would be a 400km round trip and I was going by myself, it's no hardship at all as I love driving and I love being able to stop and take photos where and when I like. Not that David doesn't stop for me, but with the rig on the back it's often not possible or practical.

I left Winton at 7am in the cold pre-dawn light and enjoyed the quiet roads as I headed north passing through Dipton, Lumsden, Athol and Garston before making my first stop just north of Garston at my favourite woolshed...

...just as the sun reached over the nearby hills dispersing the fog that had settled in the valleys overnight.

Then it was on past Kingston around the edge Lake Whakatipu and up the 'Devils Staircase'; a winding cliff hugging road that is often bumper to bumper traffic with tour buses and tourist vehicles on the way to or coming back from Milford Sound (a 600km, 10hr round trip from Queenstown, and not one that should be undertaken lightly).

I drive through Frankton and head into the Kawarau Gorge. My next stop is at the historic 1880 Kawarau Suspension Bridge, the birth place of AJ Hackett's commercial bungy jumping. I stay long enough to watch a couple of jumpers; one extremely keen to do it, screaming and laughing with delight from the moment she stepped onto the platform, the other screaming and crying with fear!

Next stop in the gorge is at the Roaring Meg power station lookout. The Roaring Meg Stream tumbles down from the mountains above passing through two small power stations before exiting into the Kawarau River.

And the last stop in the gorge is at another favourite spot, a gravel pit that's a good stand-in for a lookout up the gorge.

And here's a comparison shot; I took this photo just a month later when spring was well on the way to turning the gorge a brilliant green.

My make-do lookout is just across the river from the replica Chinese village at Gees Flat, part of the Gold Fields Mining Centre. Sluiced terraces, tailing piles and the remains of huts can still be seen along the nearby steep edges of the gorge.

Once out the otherside of the gorge I'm approaching my blossom destination, Cromwell, 200km from home.  But after all that, there are not too many fruit trees in blossom in the orchards along the main highway, they have either finished flowering or the blooms are past their best. 

I can see several orchards smothered in pink blossoms away from the road but have no way of reaching them. Eventually I find a few trees and take some photos. I decide to carry on to Alexandra, 30kms away, another big fruit growing area in Central.

I grab a coffee & muffin from my favourite cafe in Cromwell, Fusee Rouge, and drive around to the Old Cromwell Town Lookout, above the confluence of the Kawarau and Clutha Rivers, to have them.

Then it's off through the Cromwell gorge towards Clyde...

...but not before I stop to check out the memorial plaque to the miners who first discovered gold here in the 1886 Dunstan gold rush.

I continue on to Clyde where I cross the Clutha River below the Clyde Dam bypassing Alexandra town centre because I know there are plenty of orchards along Earnscleugh Road on the opposite side of the river to town.

And I do find a few orchards in flower but I'm strangely not inspired, it's now the middle of the day and the light is harsh and I fail to get creative. Again I take a few shots and carry on my merry way east, I have plan...

I take a side road through Conroys Gully, it comes out at Butchers Dam on the highway heading east. I pass- what I think is a pear orchard in full blossom- just below a snow capped Old Man Range.

I stop at an unusually quiet Butchers Dam, there are no motorhomes or campervans at any of the freedom camping areas around the dam; it's just me and a few shags drying out on the nearby rocks on this chilly, blue sky, late winter's day.

Next stop is the old cob cottage at Fruitlands where some nosy cattle keep an eye on me from the paddock behind. Perhaps they think I have food for them. Much of the livestock in Southland and Otago is strip-fed over winter which means that after they have eaten the crop back to bare earth they have nothing to forage on while waiting for the next crop strip to be opened up or hay or silage to be delivered.

There are the remains of several other cob buildings nearby, this one looks quite substantial, it could have possibly been a homestead or a hotel.

I've decided to try the Roxburgh orchards for blossom. I'm driving further east and I know rather than retracing my steps, I can do a loop and head back to Winton by turning off at Ettrick, heading over the top of the hills past Heriot to Tapanui on to Gore and then across to Winton. 

Roxburgh has many roadside stalls which sell freshly picked fruit during the summer season, most are closed up as I pass by. Still more have disappeared altogether and others have been left to the elements while climbing creepers look to have swallowed a few too. 

There are a few orchards in blossom and this time they are more accessible...

...although once again the majority of them are white. The pink blossoms I do find are spent, pink must flower earlier than the white.

The afternoon is marching on but I do a quick calculation on distance & time and decide I'm going to carry on to Lawrence, 60kms further east from Roxburgh. There's another attraction that I'm aware of, it's only open for five weekends during spring and this just happens to be one of those weekends. But I do need to hurry along as the place I intend to visit closes at 4pm. 

The historic Hart's Black Horse Brewery at Weatherston, just outside Lawrence, is not only well known for it's ruins...

...it's also famous for the hundreds of thousands of daffodils that are planted over the nearby hillsides.

The daffodils were first planted in 1895 and it was thought that over 1 million bulbs were planted during the first few years, covering 10-15 acres of hillside behind the brewery. No expense was spared and  prices as high as £100 were paid for single bulbs from the Netherlands. Incredible when the average wage was only around £5.

People came from far & wide to see the daffodils when they were in bloom, the flowers were also picked by school children & sold for charity. In 1912 the first train excursions from Dunedin came; 2 trains of 13 carriages each organised by the Dunedin Horticultural Society.

More recently a charitable trust was formed with the aim of preserving and developing the site, which had fallen into disuse and disrepair. In 2005 the daffodil fields were once again opened up to public display, the first time in 50 years. After losing momentum the Trust was reformed in 2016 and with support and help from the people of Lawrence, the daffodil gardens were once again open for the public to view in 2017. 

The landowner prefers that the flowers aren't picked which in a way is a shame because I'm sure the money earnt from this would help in preserving the site, there is a $5 entry fee which goes to charity. 

I was pleased to have made the effort to visit, it had been on my 'must do, one day' list ever since we visited the brewery site in the middle of winter a few years ago and learnt of the daffodils. 

For those NZMCA members reading this, the property below the daffodil slopes is Paul & Glenice Kirkwood's Weatherston POP#8890, a delightful setting in the countryside and not too far from Lawrence & Gabriels Gully.

And that was it for me for the day, it was time to head home and with no dilly-dallying if I was to get there before dark. I drove 25kms back up the road to Raes Junction, turned left and headed south west towards Gore and then on to Winton arriving just as the sun dropped below the horizon. My 400km return trip to Cromwell ended up being a 500km round trip through Southland, Central Otago and Otago.

One last stop near Tapanui to photograph some little cuties