Soggy Glenorchy

Real-time

The day started out alright, overcast but at least there was nothing falling out of the sky. By the time we were ready to pull out though, the rain had returned with vengeance. And it rained all the way to Glenorchy at the top of lake. No beautiful turquoise lake or towering snow dusted mountains to see today. In fact, at times, we couldn't even see the lake.

There aren't too many options to stay at this end of the lake, a few small freedom camping areas beside the lake before you get to Glenorchy, a couple of DOC campgrounds further around and back up into the mountains, a campground here in Glenorchy that is closed as it goes through a major re-build and the Glenorchy Hotel & Backpackers carpark.

Which is exactly where we're parked up. There's space for 3-4 campervans and we have two neighbours tonight. It's free (they are obviously hoping you'll spend some money in the bar, cafe, or restaurant) or its $10 a night for power, which is what we all have opted for. So now there are 3 orange leads snaking across the carpark from the backpackers laundry- well insulated I hope. And the best bit? There's a free public wi-fi hotspot that is a lot faster than the Queenstown one we had access to!

What a lovely little settlement Glenorchy is, we've been through here many years ago when we did a day walk on the Routeburn Track but I can't recall anything familiar, not even the boat shed. It looks to be mainly tour operators, gift shops and eateries; a number of lovely little cafes but way too many to try them all out before we leave.

The rain stopped briefly this afternoon so I grabbed the camera, pulled on my gumboots (wellington boots) and wandered down to the lake front to shoot the iconic and historic wharf shed.

Before the road was put in from Queenstown to Glenorchy in 1962, the only way to the top of the lake for the many tourists visiting the national park was by boat.

Much of the reserve was flooded (this is when my gumboots come into their own, I can wade through without a worry). It looks like the lake level had risen considerably over the past week, with many of the willows in the water. 

I took a few photos before the rain came again and then I hurried home.

I can see stars out there now and the forecast is for a 1 degree start and sun all day....fingers crossed.

In Search of a Hoar Frost

We’re spending the next couple of weeks or so exploring the famed Maniototo area in Central Otago, an area known for it’s weather extremes, from one of the hottest places in New Zealand during the summer, often over 35c, to the coldest in winter where temperatures have been recorded as low as -21c.

The Maniototo is not only known for it’s vast tussock covered plains, rugged mountain ranges and big skies, it’s also known for it’s hoar frosts and I’m hoping to catch one to photograph on our way through. Although that now looks highly unlikely as so far we’ve experienced the warmest temperatures we’ve had all winter. And after speaking to the locals they’ve told me the last hoar frost was two winters ago. They told me this after cursing at me for wanting a frost. It’s the last thing on earth they’re looking for; the water pipes stay frozen for weeks on end, they can’t do any work, the stock suffer, on and on they went. Yes, they definitely don’t want a hoar frost thankyou very much! 

Our first stop after leaving Alexandra was at the historic Chatto Creek Hotel just 15kms up SH85. The hotel was built in 1886 and while it has been added on to over the years, the original structure is mud-brick. In the late 1890s when Chatto Creek was a booming town the hotel was popular with rabbiters working on the early sheep stations. Nowadays it’s a popular place to call in for lunch or dinner at the weekends, and during the cycling season it’s a very busy place as the Otago Rail Trail crosses the main road just past the hotel.

The original Chatto Creek post office, which opened in 1896, was a tent plastered with newspapers for insulation. It was replaced by a public works hut in 1933 and closed in 1975. The hut was shifted to Alexandra but brought back to Chatto Creek in 2004, restored and now sits beside the hotel.

Our next stop over is Omakau, a small farming town on the main road and the first overnight stop for most people riding the 4 day Otago Rail Trail. The 150km rail trail, which starts in Clyde and ends in Middlemarch (or visa-versa) has been the savior of the isolated Maniototo where farming is the main stay. Once the railway line was closed many of the settlements along the route disappeared, others now only survive because of the accommodation and food they provide to passing cyclists. And even though the Otago Rail Trail is now 15 years old, was the first and is the most popular of NZ's cycle trails, some settlements are still just hanging on by a thread. There are very few cyclists during the winter months and most accommodation places close during the off season between May and October.

The old rail goods sheds along the trail have been restored and it’s here that trail riders can self stamp there Rail Trail ‘passports’.

We’ve been parked up behind the Omakau Commercial Hotel for the last few nights, they have a few hard stands with power available. Although, as we’ve now found out, they turn the power off to the sites over winter. Luckily we are self-sufficient so they have allowed us to use the site as a POP (Park Over Property). There are a couple of freedom camping areas nearby, one is by the river, but we decided we'd like the security of parking here while we explore the area.

And it’s been great to head over to the pub most evenings to have a drink with the locals and it's where we’ve also had dinner, three out of four nights! A good solid country pub with friendly locals and great food- something we really enjoy and look forward to finding on our travels.

Beside us and part of the hotel are the McKinnon Stables built in 1880 to house the hotel owners horses when he farmed the surrounding land (it’s also where Speights filmed their “Good on ya mate” adverts), The stables have been restored and are now used for weddings receptions and other functions. This is the back wall of the stables, I’ve been getting up too late to catch the sun on the inside! With the surrounding dry landscape and mud-brick cottages and buildings about, the area reminds me very much of the French villages around Provence.

The ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ main street of Omakau.

A couple of the old commercial buildings have been restored and now provide accommodation for cyclists. I don’t have a photo of the one we were very impressed with and would highly recommend (I will try for a photo tomorrow and post it here later). Mandy, the owner of Omakau Accommodation Cottage & Studio Units was doing some maintenance when we were walking past and invited us in to see the units.

I’ve found some churches in some pretty unusual places but Omakau’s St Peters Catholic Church has got to beat them all- perched in all it’s glory & faded grandeur on top a nearby hill over-looking the town with the now, rented out clergy house, beside it and cows on the front lawn! Services are still held in the church every Sunday evening. Another country town that has proven my previous thoughts, that only the Bank of New Zealand & the Catholic Church had money early last century.

I took a drive exploring the nearby country lanes and came across the sheep in the bottom two photos, they were winter feeding on a paddock full of swedes. The nibbled tops of the swedes made an interesting pattern across the paddock, the sheep weren’t that keen on me stopping to take their photo and soon disappeared stage right.

In contrast are the top two photos which I took while we were in Winton. The sheep and cows in Southland are break fed during the winter in some of the most appalling conditions (I'm sure there are other areas in the country that are similar but I've noticed it more so in Southland during the last two winters). Each paddock of winter feed is drip fed to the stock in narrow fenced off sections called breaks. It’s usually very wet over winter and the paddock soon become a muddy bog.

The poor sheep are weighed down by all the mud on their wool and the cattle are mostly standing in mud up to their knees, and for days on end. There’s nowhere to lay down and rest and sometimes I saw animals resting on the hay they were meant to be eating, often there was no reasonable shelter either. I’m no farmer and I know just about every Southland farm looked the same and I’m sure animal welfare is a priority but I know I wasn’t comfortable seeing the state of some of the stock, especially the cows. Too much intensive farming and dairy conversions? I don’t know.

On a lighter note I also found this paddock of free-range chooks (chickens) on the outskirts of Omakau and unlike the shy sheep who ran off, as soon as I pulled up, they all came running as fast as they could towards me from over near the shed. I assume they thought I had dinner.

Exploring the High Country Lakes

Along with Lake Pearson, there are a number of other small lakes not too far away from our camp. We were on another mission; to find yet another fairly rare bird which makes it’s home on the high country lakes of the South Island.

The Australasian Crested Grebe/Kamana is a beautiful diving bird which is rarely seen on land except when they clamber onto their floating nests near the shore. Their legs are located right at the back of their body, this allows them to dive but makes it near impossible to walk. The grebe has a slender neck, a long sharp black bill and very distinctive head gear- a black double crest with bright chestnut & black cheek frills. These it uses in an involved and rather bizarre greeting & mating display. The grebe are also unusual in that they carry their young around on their backs.

Lake Grasmere was just up the road; access was through a farm gate, along a grass track across a paddock to a small DOC reserve on the edge of the lake. 

We saw our first Grebe, a juvenile on the waterfront in Queenstown last year, we now wanted to find an adult bird, to see their unusual plumage and hopefully a little of their courtship display.

Queenstown Juvenile Australasian Crested Grebe

The lake was a mill pond, the mountains behind reflected in the still water.

Any birds we could see were down the far end of the lake milling about. Looking through the binocs and spotting scope they turned out to be Canada Geese, Mallard Ducks and NZ Scaup- probably taking refuge from the duck shooting season on a protected lake.

Grebe tend to hang out by themselves and after a long sweep around the edges and over the lake we finally spotted two grebes swimming and feeding off to the side. There was no way I could pick them up with my camera so we decided to return the next day now that we knew grebes were in residence.

David searching for grebes with the spotting scope

The reserve’s tied-down (it must get windy around here) long-drop with the skull emblem on the door made a great subject with the Craigieburn Range behind.

We went back to the lake the next day but unfortunately the grebes once again stayed out of range. I took a shot just in case this was last we were to see of them- this is zoomed in and cropped to within an inch of its life but at least you can see, it's a grebe.

I was also unable to find any grebes at our end of Lake Pearson but there were smalls flocks of Australian Coot with their oversized feet, and NZ Scaup including this male (bright yellow eye) who I thought was nesting rather late in the season. Most scaup are usually quick to depart if you get near them but this one stuck it out while it’s mate did mad circles just off the edge and the rest of their friends swam away. So it was a surprise to see the next day that there were no eggs in the nest at all (hardly surprising when I thought about it) so I’m not too sure what it was up to- just lazier than the others and couldn’t be bothered moving when I approached.

We stopped in at the tiny Cass settlement not too far from our camp, Cass is little more than a handful of houses and a railway shed. But this is not just any shed, it’s a very important & iconic railway shed in New Zealand’s history (thanks Francis). There is an iconic painting by a famous New Zealand artist, Rita Angus, of this colourful little shed.

Before the line ran through Arthurs Pass to the West Coast, Cass was the railhead. Sadly, despite the paint job, the shed has seen better days; half a dozen swallows vacated the interior as I approached & it looks like dry rot has set in on one side. Unfortunately the sun was in the wrong position, so I couldn’t shoot it from the same POV (point of view) as Rita painted it.

These two quietly watched me as I walked about shooting the shed, I went across to talk to them and give them a pat. The younger horse at the back took exception to my visit and tried to bite me while I was talking to his friend; he got a short shift.

Not too far from Cass we took a side road in search of Lake Sarah, another small perfectly formed lake tucked below a large hill. Again there were a good number of water fowl on the lake and again, mostly over the far side. We settled down to have some lunch looking down over the lake and were rewarded when we spotted three grebes swimming by themselves, front centre of the lake. But once again they were too far out for my lens.

I decided to give my wide angle landscape lens a whirl which allowed me to capture the whole lake in the frame. The following two photos were also taken with the lens. I should use it more often but because we’re always on the move and I never know from one moment to the next what I’ll be shooting I find my zoom lens much more user friendly, if somewhat heavier!

We drove another few kilometres up the road, deciding to turn around once we could see that the scenery was not going to change much and that the road looked to go on forever.

The views were spectacular, big mountains, huge skies & a wide open spaces with the Waimakariri River off in the distance- this is further east from where we’d last seen it.

I took this photo of the sign on the door of a small shed beside the railway and near the lake; it’s was either a fishing hut or belonged to the Canterbury University who had ‘Keep Out’ signs along the road- perhaps they farm the land. Whoever owned the shed, they’d obviously had enough.

Selwyn Huts & Akaroa

We took the long way to Banks Peninsula, driving to the end of the road on the south side of Lake Ellesmere, a huge shallow lagoon separated from the ocean by an 18km long spit. There are two tiny fishing crib(bach) settlements near the end; Selwyn Huts & Lower Selwyn Huts. Here the ramshackle stand alongside the cute & tidy. Many of the “huts” are lived in full time & although it looks like an idyllic lifestyle I am sure many of the people are refugees from the Christchurch ‘quakes. The post man sure has an easy job!

We provided the daily entertainment for some of the residents who were sitting outside soaking up the sun as we slowly passed through the villages with our home on the back. We were quietly hoping there was going to be a turning circle at the end of the road otherwise we’d have been backing into one of their drives! There was, so we parked up and had some lunch....

.....before walking down a track on the river bank, surrounded by native plantings and wetlands, right to the end which overlooked Lake Ellesmere. This is looking towards Banks Peninsula.

Across the lake with Kaitorete Spit on the horizon; six Pied Shags preening & one pied shag pooing!

As we drove back through Selwyn Huts, we both liked this crib which we both thought would be a great fishing hut to have. Across the road and over the river bank, there are plenty of private jetties or whitebait stands belonging to the huts. A lot were set up with fire pits, deck chairs & tables.

We skirted right around the lake heading for Duvauchelle Camp Ground on Banks Peninsula arriving just before the sun dipped behind the range behind and giving me enough time to walk across to take some photos of the boatsheds in the setting sun.

Looking back towards the camp ground which is just across the road from the stony beach of Duvauchelle Bay.

The camp ground is another well run ship, this time by caretakers for the Christchurch City Council. There are quite a number of caravans with permanent rooms & conservatories attached, but no one living in them full time. The owners pay a yearly fee & must use them for at least 30 days during the year, paying the going nightly rate. There’s a large green with casual camping sites right around the perimeter. It must be a busy place in the summer and very communal with, I can imagine, all the children playing cricket or running around in the centre of the field. Other than one other couple on the first night, we have been the only people staying this past week although a few have arrived at the permanent sites yesterday for the start of the school holidays.

The snow arrived on the top of the hills around us the night we arrived and the next day was cold & grey. We drove around the bays to Akaroa, 9kms away, to have breakfast at The Brassiere. The town was virtually deserted, just a few tourists about & us.

After breakfast we took a tour along the waterfront past the sailing club and the old lighthouse which after it was decommissioned was moved in 1980 from Akaroa Heads to this inner harbour site.

I wanted to visit an historic church that was located on the shoreline further down the harbour towards the heads but we took the wrong road and ended up in a dead end. It was rather a coincidence to find a lost hat on the side of the road there. Someone’s red French beret, totally befitting that it be found near the former French settlement of Akaroa.

We turned back and located the correct road which went up and over a crest before dropping back down to the shoreline, the roads are very steep, winding and narrow all over the peninsula. In another tiny bay we found the small settlement of Onuku, once a thriving Maori settlement with it’s marae & tiny church the centre points of the community.

Onuku Church built in 1878.

A couple of days later (after we had done a little exploring- blogs still to come), I left David relaxing at the van while I went off for a few hours on a photo shooting expedition. It was a lovely sunny day & Akaroa (Maori for long harbour) looked stunning in the winter sunshine.

Akaroa wharf, where the nature watching tour boats leave from. Rare Hectors dolphins, NZ fur seals & White-flippered penguins (a sub-species of the Little Blue penguin & only found on Banks Peninsula) are all found within the harbour.

You can see a smattering of snow on the range up behind the town. In fact the blog header photo was taken up there before I dropped down to the harbour.

A Little Black shag (kawau) drying it’s wings on the edge of the wharf.

Wharfs End……looking across to French Farm Bay

Daly’s Wharf, Akaroa (built 1914)

And more boat sheds in Duvauchelle Bay, these ones are across the bay from the others.