Winter Wonderland in the Ahuriri Valley

Catch-up; I don't know, I think I'll give up apologising for the lack of blogs and how out of date they are and just do them when I can. Sorry *hehe*

This blog is from the July 2021, right in the middle of  winter when we visited the DOC camp at the top of the Ahuriri Valley. Oh what fun!

With a few days of winter sunshine forecast for the middle of July, we decided to head up to the top of the Ahuriri Valley for another visit. The valley is located on the north side of the Lindis Pass, about 20kms from Omarama in the Waitaki District.

The Ahuriri River & valley- spot the hut?

We were under no illusions of how cold it might be, the photo on the back of our rig was taken there a few years ago when we woke to a -16c hoar frost.

We were more worried about how Birchwood Road would be after recent snow fall. It’s 24 km of gravel to the camp and the last 4km are not maintained by the council. The first 20kms are not so smooth to travel either but at least there would be no dust.

The road passes through two farm stations, Longslip Station & Ben Avon Station. Birchwood Station used to be at the end of the road until it was returned to the Crown and is now part of the Ahuriri Conservation Park. 

The exclusive 5 star luxury lodge, 'The Lindis', is located on Ben Avon Station, the large steel sculpture at the gated entrance to the lodge makes for a dramatic sight in the expansive landscape as you make your way down the valley. The lodge can't be seen from the road here but if you look over the Ben Avon wetlands on your way back out of the valley you can see the contoured roof of  the lodge nestled into a dip in the landscape. It overlooks the Ahuriri River.

Driving the road was an adventure in itself with mud, snow & ice covering much of it's length and progressively getting worse the further into the valley we travelled. There were many ice covered & water filled pot holes. Some we avoided as it was hard to tell how deep they were or if there was thick mud underneath. 

Others we smashed through, the cracking ice making a satisfying sound as it was spat out the sides of the rig. 

Water flowed off the mountains in random places crossing the road and freezing in amongst the tussock and gravel rock slides creating large ice rinks to cross. 

The Ahuriri River; calm & reflective, meanders its way down through the valley. It's a great trout fishery but it's out of season so there'll be no fly-fishing this time.

Finally we made it to the park, opting to open the gate rather than drive through the last large icy puddle over the cattlestop.

We set up camp right beside the river in our usual spot just as the last of the sun disappeared out of the valley, climbing  Mt St Mary and turning the air from pleasantly crisp to frigid cold. Time to crank up the diesel heaters as the last of the day visitors heads back to civilization leaving us to enjoy the solitude & stillness of the approaching night.

A photo of the photo taken in nearly in the same spot. We met a 4WD vehicle somewhere in amongst the mud & ice as we travelled in and stopped to let him past. The driver had guests on board from The Lindis and he wound down his window to ask if we knew what we were doing & where we were going (David often answers this question with ' We're looking for a McDonalds'), this time we said 'We sure do, look on the back of the rig as you pull away'.  

The crisp winter air makes for crystal clear night skies; here's the Milky Way rising over Mt St Mary. The pink tinge is airglow; luminescence of Earth's upper atmosphere. 

The next day dawned bright & sunny so we decided to head further up the valley, test out David's 4WD skills a little more...famous last words.

We pass the old Birchwood Station homestead & cottage on our way, they're located in that clump of trees (back centre) in the photo above. 

Birchwood Station Cottage

Once through the front yard of the homestead and over the cattle-stop the condition of the road and the accompanying '4WD Access' sign says it all. It's now a 4WD track and ice and snow cover much of it.

We pass the 'Spadeline', if you haven't read the blog link on our first visit which I posted near the beginning, here's the explanation; ....this is the remains of a controversial boundary fence and spade line between the provinces of Canterbury & Otago. The spade line was actually dug out at the time and the indentation is still noticeable in places. The boundary line was drawn using a ruler, it didn’t allow for natural features or the rights of established run holders (and it's still a bug-bear for some people today, I'm regularly contacted by people telling me I've got the wrong province when I mention parts of this area).  

We stop at one of my favourite scenes to photograph; the striking green growth on the edges of a stream that snakes its way across the large wetland to the Ahuriri River. 

And then it's on to the serious stuff; 10kms of slippin' and slidin' to the end of the track; the water, snow & ice getting deeper & slipperier the closer we get to the head of the valley.

There have been several vehicles along the track already; we pull over & wait for a couple of them to come past. 

One couple have decided they can't risk going any further and have turned around and heading back out, another have parked up & the kids are having a snow ball fight. The last kilometre or so is rugged, the track is mostly frozen solid with compacted ice and heads down a long slippery slope towards the river before turning and crossing several water filled rock slides & deep washouts. We're bounced about the cab as we cross over them. 

We stop to talk to a couple of hunters who have pulled over to let us past near the Top Dingleburn hut track. 

They'd stayed at the hut the night before & had been hunting further up the valley earlier in day, they had found no deer but came across a couple of thar near the river on their way back to their vehicle.

Eventually we made it to the end of the road where we parked up and had a late lunch; a very welcome  cup of soup & ham sandwiches!

I thought I might do the 3km walk to Canyon Creek but soon realised that would be impossible, the track was a frozen skating rink with a fast flowing stream tracking along underneath the ice. I tried walking along the edge but the snow covered tussock mounds had me dropping into hidden holes filled with water and ice so I gave that away, promising myself to return and walk the route in the summer.

We head back home trying to remember the course we'd taken at each obstacle or choosing a new direction if it looks better.

Poor David, he was beside himself when we got back & he saw the state of the ute. I mean what did he expect? 

When he hadn't come inside after the sun disappeared, I stepped out to see what he was up to. Spare water pump, two flexi buckets of water and he was washing all the mud off! I asked him if he did realise that he still had another 24kms of mud to travel in a day or two. 

I should have known better, he has been known to get the water blaster & generator out to clean the ute after crossing over some particularly dusty or muddy roads before. 

Molesworth Station

 We enjoyed another gorgeous winter's day before heading back out of the valley (click on the photo to expand). 

While we were having lunch a vehicle arrived and we thought we had neighbours for the night when two guys put up a teepee tent behind us. We commented that hopefully they had plenty of winter woolies with them because the night time temperatures had been dropping to -6 to -8c while we were there. In fact they were doing a photo shoot of the tent for some advertising and were packed up and gone before the sun disappeared. Back to having the place to ourselves!

The next morning (another glorious day) we headed out, back past the icy bogs now not so frozen after a steady stream of visitors to the valley.

Over the frozen rock slides...

...breathing a sign of relief once we reached the Ben Avon Wetlands and the road proper. Just corrugations & potholes to content with for the reat of the journey.

Footnote- we have just spent another fews days up the valley in a totally different season. I'll post that blog next so you can see the comparison.

Winter in the High Country- Part 3

 Continuing on from Part 2    (and Happy Holidays to you all, I hope you've had a magical time)

Sunrise at the cottages next morning was spectacular! Just what I'd hoped for and the reason I'd wanted to return to there from Lake Pukaki and park up in the middle of a freezing cold hoar frost. 

Night Sky Cottages, Twizel, Mackenzie Country

It's not often that a sunrise can be captured during a hoar frost as usually the fog is too low or there's an inversion layer sitting between the sunny blue skies above & the frozen ground below. From experience I've found that a colourful sunrise usually happens on the last day of a hoar frost; the layer of fog has started to dissipate and the sun rays work their way through the thick cloud. 

Looking over the back fence, in the opposite direction to the sunrise, there was a beautiful pink glow over the landscape. A low bank of fog sits over Lake Ruataniwha behind the trees (click on the photo to check) and this is where it usually rolls in from, smothering us & Twizel town in a thick blanket of fog for several days at a time during winter. The fact that I can see this far today is another indicator that the hoar frost will be gone soon.

I head off early hoping that the it won't disappear before I've done my rounds. First stop is just down the road where the air is clear and the frost has coated the poplars & willows on Ben Ohau Station.

Glen Lyon Road, Twizel

Loch Cameron is much clearer than yesterday when all I could see was a ghostly shape of a tree on the edge of the pond. At least half of the surface is frozen which has pushed the NZ Scaups (diving ducks) to the end of the loch. 

Next stop is my favourite lookout above Lake Ruataniwha where there's a stunning winter wonderland on display in front of me.

The fog has retreated although it appears to be hanging around 'my' ponds below Benmore Range.

In the other direction Ben Ohau stands proud at the end of the range overlooking the winter scene below.

Of course the next stop is my favourite view over Lake Ruataniwha's lagoon, although I think my hoar frost photo from the winter before is still the better one.

The Lagoon- 2020

Another stop, another favourite view; the Old Iron Bridge over the old Ohau River pond below Lake Ruataniwha's spillway. I'm thinking up a plan here but...

...it's onto the Ponds to check them out first. This is the main highway, SH8,  just south of the salmon farm and where there's usually plenty of sightseers parked up taking in the amazing spectacle. I think I'm a little too early for them today, often there's black ice on the road north & south of Twizel at this time of the year and people wisely hold off travelling until later in the day.

The fog has lifted but the water is ruffled so there'll be no reflections here today.

There were several photographers (hidden behind trees & behind me in case you're looking) at another popular area of Kellands Pond where the water has also frozen over.

The raupo spikes (bullrush) look like giant popsicles. 

To shoot the highway culvert requires some careful stepping on drowned tussock mounds with icy patches in between. I should have worn my gumboots as I broke through the ice this time, brrrr!

The infamous nor-west arch was forming overhead and the fog had all but gone; once the wind & temperature picks up the frost will start to melt. I need to get moving.

This is another favourite view that I have several photos of during the various seasons; the brown rushes around the large tree over the far side remind be of an Elizabethan ruff.

I hurry on along the track, stopping briefly to take photos of the trees and their beautiful white icicles.

At the far end of the pond where the cold air is still & the water is sheltered from the wind, ice stretches from one side of the pond to the other.

After circling the pond I have one more place to return to before the frost disappeared. The nor'west arch is giving some great colour to the scenery but the still air is starting to move too.

While I was taking photos of the Old Iron Bridge from above, I thought to myself I really should head down to the pond and take some photos down there. But I wanted to get to the ponds first so on the way back I headed down to the bridge. 

And I was so glad I did, it was truly magical...

....and I captured, what I think, are my best photos from the three day hoar frost.

It was also very sheltered down below Lake Ruataniwha's dam wall so I was able to get my reflection photos.

And also one of my new favourite photos; the bridge from a totally different perspective and looking (to me anyway) very much like a Japanese scene. 

This photo also won me a place in the Creative Mackenzie Book & Art Festival photo competition and is now on display in Twizel's town square.

Along with a second hoar frost photo that was chosen too- it may look familiar!

As I headed home along Glen Lyon Road, I stopped across the road from the holiday park to take a last photo of the ice on the pines. The icicles were just starting to slide off the trees in great showers of ice crashing through the branches and knocking more off as it went.  I must take a video of this next time, it's quite magical listening to the noise and watching it fall.....as long as you're not standing right underneath that is! 

Just 2kms further on the frost had long gone; the fog hangs around town a little longer than out in the open. 

And that was that for the year, another spectacular hoar frost done & dusted!