Out & About Around Wanaka

I’ve gotten a bit ahead of myself with my blog posts lately, so while I’ve had a bit of time (due to the fact that the strength of the cellular network in the Arrowtown area is beyond a joke & I couldn't upload a brass razoo) I’ve written up the missing blogs. Hopefully once I get these all posted I’ll be right up to date!….. That is until tomorrow when we’ll no doubt be off on the next adventure.

We went up to Wanaka a few days before the airshow and while we could have stopped in a number of camp sites located very near the airfield we decided we’d get back on the grid, charge the batteries, do the laundry and see a bit of Wanaka at the same time. We stumbled on the Lake Outlet Holiday Park, a traditional kiwi campground, just like they used to be. In fact the drive in on a gravel road through a pine forest and what looked like sand dunes (can you have sand dunes on a lake?) reminded me of driving into Opotama Holiday Camp at Mahia in Northern Hawkes Bay where I spend many childhood holidays.

Even though the camp ground was just 6kms from Wanaka town it felt a million miles away, a secluded and quiet spot on the shores of Lake Wanaka right beside the Clutha River outlet. The same Clutha River that we picnicked beside in Balclutha very close to it’s mouth. So we’ve been at both ends of the river but not travelled the middle yet! The camp ground was terraced down to the lake edge with many of the sites partitioned off by kanuka bush. Quail roamed throughout the campground and at nights the rabbits came out to play. It was no wonder there was hardly any grass.

We had a great spot at the end of a top terrace looking up Stevensons Arm & overlooking Dublin Bay & the river outlet. Everyday a range of motorhomes and caravans arrived, mostly just for the night, although in the run up to Easter these two tiny caravans arrived for a few days. David called them the hobbit caravans, they again reminded me of our childhood holidays. Once, a long time ago Mum & Dad hired(or borrowed) a two berth caravan for our family (4 kids) to holiday at Bay Park at Mt Maunganui. I think it was called Ocean Beach & it was right beside the old speedway with huge pine trees dotted throughout.

How do you fit a family of six in a two berth caravan? Mum & Dad inside, two kids in the awning & two kids in the back of the Holden stationwagon! Us kids had turns at sleeping in the awning & the car, that was until my brother went missing. After a frantic search he was found a fair number of metres away curled up in his sleeping bag fast asleep under one of those huge pine trees with a pile of pine needles for a soft mattress. He’d wiggled out under the awning and gone sleep walking. I think he was locked in the car for the remainder of the nights.

Central Otago badly needs a decent amount of rain, the lake level is very low which would have made it hard for us to launch the inflatable if we had decided to get it out. As it was the weather wasn’t the best, a little cold & overcast although the sun shone at some stage most days. All around this area, right from down Cromwell way through to the lower slopes of the mountains west of Wanaka are thousands of briar bushes growing over the barren & dry ground and in amongst the native scrub. And of course at this time of the year the bushes are covered with brilliant red rosehips (or are they called briarhips?). A fruit eating bird’s paradise I would think and probably the reason why we have seen so many hawks, dozens & dozens of them. Between the smaller birds & the rabbits they would have an endless supply of prey.

Around the lake edge especially near the town centre in Roys Bay were dozens of poplars looking splendid in their many shades of gold. I visited the area a couple of times but didn’t managed to get a blue sky to offset the beautiful colour.

There is one particular tree, a very small willow that is quite famous amongst photographers, both here in NZ and overseas. It grows on a mound all by itself surrounded by water near the lakes edge. It makes a great subject at sunrise, in stormy weather & also with its autumn cloak on. I say surrounded by water because it usually is, but not now that the lake is so low. Never mind, that shot will have to wait until we next visit.

I thought I’d give the willow a black & white treatment, I was quite pleased with the outcome. So now I can add this one to many different interpretations out there (no pun intended)

Across the river is Dublin Bay, a DOC conservation area so one day while out exploring we drove down to the lake edge on that side of the river to explore. The area was quite isolated and and looked a little dubious going by a couple of burnt out car bodies, some wheely tracks & these skins on a fence! We didn’t stay too long.

Nor pigs.......

Further down the Clutha, past the airfield & just before Luggate, the road branches off heading east, and crosses the river on the historic single lane “Luggate Red Bridge”. The bridge was built in 1914 and features a 66 metre Baltimore span.

Rustic Farmyard- Kirita Bay

After 3 nights we are about to leave one of what I’m sure is going to be our more interesting sites. This is the NZMCA lowcost park over property that we were wanted to stop at in the pouring rain the other day when we came up the coast. We liked the look of it and decided to come back here, mind you on first impressions we wondered if we’d made the right decision. The road down to this beautiful bay is rather steep & narrow but Marie, our host, told us on the phone ‘no problems, our laden sheep trucks come & go all the time’ & it wasn’t that bad although everyone we’ve met down here is a little afraid of the return journey especially the 2wd vehicles &/or meeting another vehicle on the way down. Stopping & starting 4 times to open & close gates doesn’t help either, especially the vans that only have one person in them.

And Marie was right, we managed fine. There was one other fifth-wheeler already parked up (they had brought their large dog & two parrots on holiday with them!) and with the direction of little signs we found our way through the mass of retired farm junk, buildings & machinery to the beach front. 

The Welcoming Committee

We did meet George, Marie’s husband on the way down & he directed us to park along the garden fence at the back of the site so the smaller campervans could park along the front when & if they arrived later in the day. Another benefit of us not being in a hurry & travelling short distances is we get to a new site late morning/early afternoon and have the pick of spots.

The “garden fence” was a rickety old farm fence that had in a previous life surrounded the holding yard of an equally rusty & rundown cowshed.  It now enclosed a large vegetable patch at the end of its summer growing season although there was a row of kumara (sweet potato) coming along nicely for winter. The local turkey family & a few blackbirds were sampling the tomatoes & many of the pumpkins were half eaten. Obviously the netting draped over the pumpkin patch did not work although it must have slowed the turkeys down a bit; I rescued a young turkey chick at one stage who was trussed up like, well, a turkey. He’d been doing a few backward & forward rolls trying to catch up with his mother & sibling when they took off without him.

We lined up nice & straight along the fence leaving enough room to open the slide-out, it wasn’t until we sat down at the table and there right outside our dining room window were 3 large piles of cow dung! Put there to fertilise the garden for the next season I’m assuming but right now sitting steaming away in the hot afternoon heat, smelling very high & attracting flies from all directions. But then along came the farm chooks which over the 3 days we’ve been here have quickly demolished & scattered each pile, scratching, pecking & clucking their way through finding lots of tasty grubs & seeds on the way. The highlight for me though were the family of quail, eight cocks & one very pretty hen, that came in the late afternoon to do the same. Fantastic! What gorgeous wee birds they are with fabulous feather detail, something I’ve not seen up close for awhile as they are quite timid birds.

As the afternoon wore on other campervans & buses trickled in & found their positions. It wasn’t too large an area but everyone was very mindful of not blocking other’s views. By nightfall there were ten buses, vans & fifth-wheelers parked up. There were about the eight on the second night and last night seven vans of various types, 3 tents, 6 fizz boats & 22 fisher-men & women from Papamoa. The farm has a bach (holiday cottage) in the corner of the bay where quite a few of them slept. They were quick to apologise for any noise they were going to make last night but in fact we didn’t hear a thing, probably because we were making our own noise with 2 couples across the way. I mean how could you not join in when one of the buses had this number plate and there was a beautiful sunset to watch.

We will have to keep an eye on our evening entertainment as it would be very easy to get into the happy-hour routine & while there’s nothing wrong with that when you’re on holiday for a week or so we wouldn’t like to make a habit of it every night of the week for the next year or so!

One evening after he’d mustered the lambs down to the woolshed just behind the camp site(he was dosing them the next day), George stopped by for a chat along with the farm dogs who waited patiently while he drank a beer & told us about the farm. He was the seventh generation to farm the large station and times have & still are very tough. I asked him when he had stopped milking, “November, 1979” he said matter-of-factly; I’m not sure whether he was so exact about the date because he was pleased or sad about that fact. The very hilly & steep land didn’t seem to me to be very suitable for dairying. They now just run sheep & beef. The motorhome park brings in a little more income & I wonder why more farmers aren’t doing this as it’s a relatively easy way to diversify and provide some fantastic overnighting opportunities for motorhomers. With the amount of coastline NZ has there are sure to be hundreds of accessible private bays like Kirita Bay.

I climbed up the hill behind us one evening to catch this old gnarly Puriri tree & pump shed in the good light of the late afternoon sun, an added bonus was the house cow & calf enjoying the view as well.

We are beginning to learn that you can never judge a book by its cover while living life on the road, we had a most wonderful stay & thoroughly enjoyed our visit.