Lake Coleridge Loop

Catch-up

One of the reasons we wanted to stay at the Rakaia Gorge campground was so we could do some exploring in the Lake Coleridge basin.  Now that we were back in Methven is was just a short drive back through the gorge, up to Windwhistle (don't you love that name) and then onto the lake road; 30km of lovely sealed road through to Lake Coleridge.

I took this photo at the top of the road out of the gorge, the gorge is tucked around the corner of the hill, middle left. You can see the road leading down to the gorge in the background. And that is Mt Hutt behind.

We pass the entrance to Terrace Downs Resort and championship golf course along the way; I'd always wondered where it was. That's two extremes in accommodation just a few kilometres apart; camping down in the dip or top notch luxury up on the terrace! I know where I'd rather be.....in winter anyway! Just joking.

The road follows the Rakaia River inland, all the way to the Lake Coleridge village, but unfortunately there are only a few places that you catch a glimpse of it across the farmland.

There's an excellent information board on the side of the road with a map and listing accommodation, activities and walks that can be done in the area (click to enlarge).

Like the Ashburton Lakes, there are also quite a number of smaller lakes up this valley too. We'll have to come back and explore more in the summer, today we're only going to be touching the bottom end of Lake Coleridge.

Another photo opportunity presents itself at Dog Box Corner, I have no idea of the origins of the name but the 'box' looks like it could be used for the pickup or dropoff of supplies. Perhaps it's a take on the historic Dog Kennel Corner in the MacKenzie Country.

Lake Coleridge was the New Zealand Government's first hydroelectric power station, it was in an ideal location because of it's proximity to the growing city of Christchurch. There's a good display of historic items from the station and also a excellent information board on the reserve at the entrance to the carpark. 

Lake Coleridge is 170 metres above the Rakaia River, so only gravity is needed to bring water from the lake through to the power station and then emptying into the Rakaia River below.  Construction started in 1911 and with over 400 employees at its peak, it took 3 years to complete in what was a wild and bleak landscape. The station was built on a glacial moraine (shingle) which had never been achieved before. The winters were harsh, and a small village of permanent huts was built for the workers and then once they had moved on, power station staff and their families moved in. Today, with most of the power station automated, the village's permanent population is small and the residents are mostly there for the lifestyle and recreation in the area. 

Harry Hart, a power station superintendent, was interested in New Zealand's forestry potential and experimented with planting exotic trees, particularly conifers, around the village. The collection grew large and was diverse enough to be called an arboretum. Many trees are still standing and visitors can learn about some of them on the Harry Holt Arboretum tree trail. 

We drove past the power station, over the outlet canal, down an overgrown track and through several deep ice covered muddy holes until we found the edge of the river where we sat on the tailgate and had our lunch.

Here's a pano of the view up river (click to enlarge)- I've said this before; we certainly find ourselves some awesome spots to have lunch.

After lunch we wind our way up the hill above the power station, passing through the arboretum and stopping to take a photo of the view out over the river, half way up.

The pine forest gives way to farmland and this expansive view down the Rakaia valley and the backside of Mt Hutt. 

I zoomed in on the river here where you can clearly see the how braided it is before it narrows down to pass through the gorge.

We headed over the hill and down towards Lake Coleridge, passing several road repair vehicles on the way. The road has just been graded and several trucks and a roller are filling in potholes on a connecting road. 

And what do you know? We cross the Te Araroa Trail once again! 

It's a surprise to see divers in the lake, I bet they have super heavy duty wetsuits on, the water is freezing! It would seem that a Christchurch dive company use the lake for their dive courses- that's my type of diving; no chance of sharks!

Nearby a small fast inlet whirlpool takes water from the lake into the penstocks and off down the hill to the power station.  

The power station is moderate in output by today's standards, feeding the national grid with a maximum of 40 megawatts. Water stored in the lake is also used for irrigating farms on the Canterbury Plains.

I was a little disappointed that we couldn't explore further up the lake (on both sides)- there is a lot more you can't see from this small area- but it was getting on and we wanted to take the back country road over to Lake Lyndon. It exits onto the main highway over Arthurs Pass to the West Coast.

The road is just over 14kms long, there are several reasonably narrow sections but nothing out of the ordinary in our opinion and we'd take the 5th-wheeler across it if we had to, and the conditions were right. On this day there were several icy patches and I'm sure the clay base would be a slippery mess if it was wet or raining but in dry weather, it would be fine. 

Eventually we arrived at the bottom end of a frozen Lake Lyndon which, at this time of the year, is in the shadow of the mountain by the same name, Mt Lyndon all day. The only sign of life in this bitterly cold frozen landscape is a car parked at the lodge across the lake and a pair of spur-wing plovers protesting at being disturbed.

We stop further down on the edge of the road and I challenge David to a rock throwing competition. To see who can be the first to break through the ice, we lob huge rocks at the lake and they bounce and skid across ice until eventually David manages to puncture through. And it would seem that we were not the only big kids to try this, the ice is littered with rocks and very few holes.

There's a freedom camping area at the top end of the lake, it's never really appealed due to it's proximity to the main highway and the last time we came through here, the lake was bone dry, the area barren and hot. We stop this time for a quick cup of tea and then headed off, over Porters Pass back through Springfield, Sheffield, Glentunnel and Windwhistle to complete the loop and then back through the gorge and home to Methven.

Sculptures In Stone - Castle Hill

We left Lake Pearson on the last leg of our journey across the middle of the South Island, from the West Coast to the east heading for our next destination, Christchurch.

The road snakes through the dry Canterbury High Country with it’s rugged mountains, jagged bluffs and scree slides, as we head into the Castle Hill Basin and it’s distinctive limestone rock formations.

Castle Hill Basin lies between the Torlesse & Craigieburn Ranges and we stop at Castle Hill Village for a quick look. The village began as a development back in the early 1980s when the owner of Castle Hill Station wanted to create an alpine village beneath the Craigieburn Range as a centre for recreational activities in the area.

The houses are mainly holiday homes and there are no shops in the village. But there are four ski-fields within easy reach, a range of walking and tramping tracks throughout the nearby Craigieburn Forest Park & the Torlesse Tussocklands Park. And along with caving at the Cave Stream Reserve and rock climbing at the Castle Hill & Flock Hill limestone boulder fields, there’s plenty of outdoor activities to keep you occupied.

This ‘sculpture’ sits on the roadside near the entrance to the village- I took a photo for Dad; his golf club in Napier has some huge old tree trunks carved into golfing figures sitting alongside the road. The club paid a few thousand dollars to have them carved- and look they could have saved a few dollars had they seen this guy first (looks like he’s scored a hole-in-one). A $2 hat from Dollar Shop, a bit of bark scraped off and Bob’s your uncle!

Our next stop is just down the road at the well known Castle Hill (Kura Tawhiti) limestone formations. The beautiful and barren Torlesse Range forms a stunning backdrop to the carpark.

We head off towards the boulder pile at the end of the path- they don’t look that big from back here. The rock formations are the water eroded remains of limestone, formed 30-40 million years ago when much of present day New Zealand was covered by the sea.

A track leads off from the main path to a jumble of boulders but we decided to continue on to the main attraction.

While taking a photo I was overtaken by what appeared to be half a dozen ‘Sponge Bob Square Pants’. Disappointingly they turned out to be just plain old rock climbers. That’s their folded crash pads on their backs- although they look rather thin, I don’t think I’d trust falling onto them.

There are hundreds of rocks and dozens of big boulders in this pile.

We decide to follow the climbers along the front of the huge rocks, we might get to see them do some climbing. Now we’re up close we can see how large the rocks are; there are people dancing about on top up there.

We turn a corner and see the Sponge Bobs are disappearing up another steep path and heading to a boulder pile way off in the distance. We decide this will be as far as we go.

David heads up to a fenced off rock to check it out. People have been carving their names in it although I’m not sure whether that’s the reason it's fenced (I mean initials could be carved anywhere in any of the rocks if you so wanted), perhaps it’s unstable. Or perhaps there's some old Maori rock art on it that we failed to see.

I leave David to wander back the way we came while I walk around to the back of the rocks, it's here that I can finally see why the rocks were named Castle Hill, they look like the rocky remains of an old ruined castle.

It’s quite a distance to walk along the back and up on to the rocks at the end and I hope I can get back to the beginning through the back way. Here at the back, you can see that the exposed rocks have a more honey-combed effect from the erosion. You can also see how large the area is; I’ve walked along the fenceline from the back left and up onto the rocks at this end.

Up on top here, it’s quite wide with many tracks in and out of the boulders. There are two school groups visiting and they have ‘disappeared’ in amongst the rocks. One group is playing hide & seek, and the seekers are finding it just about impossible to locate their mates. I’d say it would be very hard to find anybody especially when it came time to call them to leave. Can you spot them?

I’m not sure how much the kids were learning but they were sure having fun in this natural playground.

Although it’s autumn and the day was rather hot, it was still a surprise to find a couple sunbathing on their towels in the lee of a large rock.

I found my way back to the front where David was waiting for me and we made headed back to the carpark. Castle Hill reminded me of the Elephant Rocks we saw last year near Duntroon, although these were on a far grander scale; well worth a visit but give yourself plenty of time to explore.

Our next stop was for lunch at one of the last of the high country lakes along the highway, Lake Lyndon. There’s a freedom camping area here but I’m not so sure it's very welcoming at this time of the year. Talk about a barren, windswept and very dried up lake. I have seen photos of it in the spring though, with snow capped mountains behind, wild flowers in full bloom across the lake front and water fowl feeding along the edge. Never judge a book by it’s cover.

At least it made a fine canvas to show off the rig!

Replete, and keen to hit the road, we headed off to Christchurch, dropping down out of the high country and out across the Canterbury Plains.