Cavalcade 2017 - Omakau, Part 1; The Approach

Catch-up

We've now in Ranfurly after an fabulous 12 days at Poolburn Dam. We had a great time relaxing and doing a little exploring (I won't mention the fishing). We left yesterday morning and had a great run down the Ida Valley to Ranfurly where we sweltered through the afternoon on what must have been the hottest day Central Otago has seen this summer. 

I know there are a few people out there waiting for the blog posts on the Cavalcade; I'll post a link to my Flickr Cavalcade album at the bottom of Part 2 if you'd like to see even more photos (I took plenty!). And don't forget to click on these photos to enlarge them, click your back arrow to get back to the blog.

We left our spot on the banks of the Manuherikia River Thursday afternoon and headed to the Omakau Racecourse where the local NZMCA Clutha Valley branch were in charge of organising the motorhome parking in the centre oval of the racecourse. 

This year was the 25th Goldfields Cavalcade, and riders, walkers and wagons had spent the week riding across some of Otago's high-country properties heading towards the finish at Omakau. Nine trails- 3 walking, 4 riding and 2 wagon- set out from various locations and were due to arrive at the racecourse for the grand parade on Saturday. Each year the Cavalcade finishes in a different town and this year was Omakau's first visit (next year it's Owaka in the Catlins).

I'd checked out the trail itineraries hoping to maybe locate one or two to photograph as they approached Omakau but unfortunately most of them were across private land and it would have been hard to locate them anyway, as there weren't any times. Obviously. 

One trail started at Lake Ohau, one at Kurow, one in the Lindis Valley and one at the Stix in the Maniototo. The 'Heavy Wagon' trail was crossing the Dunstan Mountains on the Thomson Gorge Track and setting up camp at the base of the track, just up the road from the racecourse. 

I knew where that was, we'd crossed the track in the ute 18 months ago, so I headed up to the track later in the afternoon. Unfortunately they had already arrived! Bugger.

I knew another trail was due to pass through the historic town of St Bathans on Friday morning so the next morning we headed off, taking the back road past the end of Thomsons Track just in case....the wagons were on the move! 

This stage coach will be very familiar to many, it's usual parking spot is outside the Otira Hotel in Arthurs Pass.

No kidding...

I have a little confession to make, I'm not sure but these wagons might have been sent on a wild goose chase. I'd read that they were going to visit Matakanui on Friday (aka Tinkers- check that link for an awesome old settlement). 

When the first riders, on horses, came around the corner from Thomsons Track, they stopped and looked around and called out to me, who had just climbed out of the ute to take photos. "Which way?". I turned my hands up in a gesture of  'God knows' and then pointed up the road towards Matakanui, saying 'Maybe that way?' (based on what I'd read) and expecting them to ask more questions. Instead they cantered off, up the Matakanui road. 

And everyone else followed... (Omakau is down that road behind).

Later in the day, I saw the heavy wagons camped at the racecourse. Which got me wondering, perhaps they were in fact, headed to the racecourse. Oh well, they got to do a little tiki-tour on the way. 

A couple of the trails stopped for a night at Drybread, in the farm yard right next door to the old Drybread school which is now one of the farm buildings.

We carried on towards St Bathans, meeting a dejected looking guy standing beside his horse and light wagon, as we turned onto the St Bathans road. We stopped to talk to him and he told us he'd detoured, his horse was pulling and his shoulder was giving him gyp. He'd been down to the pub at Becks on the main road but it was closed. He told us he'd now take the direct route towards the racecourse and we left him to it.

We carried on up the road and around the next corner we found one of the rider trails heading towards us, hmmm.....one of the trails that had just passed through St Bathans! Late again.

We pulled over and waited for them to pass...

We called out pleasantries to each other and I found out that this was one of the longer stretches of seal that they'd ridden. 

They were heading onto a farm station shortly and then along the bottom of the Dunstan Mountains to Drybread.

They were stretched out like Brown's cows...

...enjoying the cooler temperatures...

...after a stinking hot day, yesterday. 

We carried onto St Bathans, although now I knew we'd missed both trails passing through the settlement- I'd seen photos the day before of the first trail. It would have been great to photograph the riders outside the historic old buildings but we had to make do with their squashed calling cards instead. Poo-ew!!

This is once again familiar territory, we stayed for a few days at the DOC camp at St Bathans during winter and had the whole place to ourselves- actually a bit like today, not a soul in sight...wait some people on the lake edge and a tent in the willows. The Blue Lake, aka the Glory Hole, actually looked blue today instead of the emerald green it was on our last visit. But with a breeze rippling the surface, it was nowhere near as stunning.

We headed back towards the main road and home to Omakau, stopping to take a photo of the historic White Horse Hotel at Becks. I wanted a better photo of the hotel than I had, the last one was taken on a dull day. And what should we spy tied up in the paddock next door to the new White Horse Hotel? The horse that pulled. His master making the most of a bad situation. Medicinal of course.

Back at the racecourse the numbers of RVs had increased tenfold...

To be continued...The Grand Parade

Ida Valley & the Cheat's Rail Trail- Part 2

Continuing on from Part 1...

Not far down the road from the Idaburn Dam is another historic site and one that has more significance that most to us. This is Ernest Hayes workshops and homestead, a family business dating from 1895.

Ernest Hayes Engineering holds a prominent position  in New Zealand’s agriculture history as a producer of a large range of innovative agricultural tools and equipment that were sold nation and world wide.

Ernest Hayes inventions include fence wire strainers, the Hayes Wire Strainer was once (and no doubt still is) a competitor of the Wirelok, a wire strainer that David developed and produced during the 1980-90s. David Evans Wirelok Ltd went on to sell over 1 million units before we sold the business. The Wirelok is still manufactured and sold in NZ and exported overseas. We quite often come across Wireloks holding fences together on our travels.

And as David once said in his speech, while accepting the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ award, for the Bay of Plenty Business of Year Awards (not for the Wirelok but for our Devan Water Tank business) “It is said that behind every man is a good woman, but sadly that is not the case with me” After a few murmurs and a dramatic pause, he went on to say, ‘No she’s not behind me, she’s right up there beside me” And he called me up to help accept the award. Given half the chance I would have disappeared under the table. Hannah Hayes was obviously one of those ‘good women’ too. (click on the photo to enlarge).

Hayes Engineering Works is closed during June & July but while we were checking out the buildings the manager arrived (the complex is managed by the Historic Places Trust). He offered to show us around but we declined and said we’d be back in the summer when we could see some of the machinery working, stay over in the front paddock/come carpark- it’s another NZMCA POP(park over property) and have a coffee at the cafe.

Just down the road from Hayes is Oturehua, another small deserted settlement with a memorial hall, an old restored hotel and the historic Gilchrist’s General Store, operating since 1902.

An unusual Memorial Board featuring photos of the local men who served in both the World Wars sits beside the hall. Rather than the usual a list of names, their faces really bring it home that these were real men who left to fight for their country.

What! Another church? A little further on along the road and another church appears. This is the Oturehua Presbyterian Church and even though it looks rather neglected, the colour scheme, the bell tower, the roof flourishes and tiny port hole window makes it look like it belongs beside a dolls house.

We finally turn onto the main road and head back towards Omakau on the way to completing a large loop…

…we pass below the snow covered Hawkdun Range and Idaburn Hills which are now a lot closer.

We still have time to stop at an old abandoned farm homestead and what a beauty it is, with  leadlight windows and a wide veranda to keep that hot Central Otago sun out; it’s such a shame that it’s been left to deteriorate…

…and right next door are a collection of ramshackle farm buildings and these grain silos with their wonderful colours and texture.

A few more historic buildings and hotels along the way; from top left- an old stone cottage at Hills Creek, the ‘new’ White Horse Hotel at Becks, with the old (very old) White Horse Hotel lower right. Centre right is the Lauder Hotel with the old Lauder School (now Cycle Trail accommodation) centre left. And finally, bottom left is the Oturehua Hotel (which really should be back up there with the store and church.

And finally one last stop at the NIWA Atmospheric Research Station not far south of Lauder. A rather random point of interest in an otherwise old and historic area. From their website-

Clear skies and geographical isolation makes the station perfect for observing atmospheric chemistry and radiation. The station specialises in measuring CFCs, Ozone, UV light levels and greenhouse gases and has a wide range of world class instruments.
World-class climate and ozone research by scientists at NIWA’s Lauder Atmospheric Research Station has been recognised by meteorology’s leading organisation in Geneva, making Lauder the fourth upper-air site in the world to be certified by the global climate-data network. There are approximately 20 staff working at our Lauder research centre.