Fog at Benmore

Catch-up

Our next stop after leaving the amazing Ahuriri Valley was back to a familiar camp site, Ohau C Campground on the shores of Lake Benmore, near Twizel in the MacKenzie Country. You'll remember we stayed there in early December last year and had a great time. 

David was keen to stop for a few days, get the boat out and catch some trout- lake fishing from his Takacat has become his first love when it comes to fishing. He hadn't had much of a chance to put the boat up over summer so he was looking forward to a few days fishing. And seeing trout swimming past the van in the shallows, it looked like he was going to be in luck!  

We were the only ones there the first night, without the facilities of summer it costs just $10 a night per van. The camp was now back to it's natural self, all the semi-permanent caravans and various added extras brought in by the regulars over summer had been cleared out. It was just us and nature.

This photo was taken back in May 2015 just after a light snowfall, so far there's been no snow this year (although as I type, snow is falling heavily in the MacKenzie Country).

As the sun set on our first night, the mist swirled and rose over the lake and the willows turned a beautiful gold colour...

...the sky changed to a dusky pink as the full moon rose above us. Picture perfect!

That was until we awoke in the morning to a heavy frost, a total white-out and a freezing cold temperature.

David had put the boat up the previous afternoon so it was ready to go. 'Oh well', we thought, 'not to worry, the fog will likely lift by the afternoon'. David headed out onto the lake and was swallowed up in the mist within seconds. We'd discussed that he'd stick to the edges or head down the canal to the power station so he'd be able to find his way home. 

Afternoon came and went, the fog swirled and hinted at lifting only to then descend even thicker than before. I did manage to spy the sun though. Just as it was setting.

Maybe tomorrow we'd see the sun...

Tomorrow arrived looking very much the same. It didn't come without it's drama either. I opened the door, camera in one hand, door handle in the other and stepped outside, promptly ending up in a heap on the mat; black ice on the steps- bump, bump, bump- as I hit each one on the way down. Luckily there was a soft mat over the mud at the bottom. Although I still did some damage- a badly bruised hip and an elbow and a head that hit something sharp on the way down. David thought a herd of elephants was passing through! 

It was funny (in a peculiar way, not a haha way...well actually it was probably both) but as I went to put my foot down, I saw the beautiful shiny black step in front of me and it registered that it was a ice covering but I just couldn't send the message to my foot quick enough.

David went fishing again, it was real pea souper. He got a little too far out into the lake at one point and completely lost the shore line and all sense of direction. Luckily he had a navigation app on his phone that directed him back into sight. 

I'd had enough of the fog by mid afternoon so after checking on a couple of live cams near Twizel and seeing that there were a few blue patches appearing, I headed out to the main road 12kms away. The NZMCA Ohau B camp site was thick in fog too, although it looked to be lifting a little.

I carried on down past Lake Ruataniwha and along the back road until I reached the Ohau A and Pukaki Canal and clear air! Well nearly clear air; the blue mist along the mountain base is smoke from a burnoff somewhere. On well, it has to be better than fog. 

I crossed over Pukaki Canal, stopping on the bridge to take a photo down the middle of the canal (this shot has been brightened a bit, I like it's dreamy appearance). I headed down the gravel road back towards the main highway. I wanted to check the Black Stilt ponds, I wasn't expecting to find any, just checking to make sure though. Not a bird in sight. All the ponds were frozen. 

From my vantage point up on the canal road I could see a thick blanket of grey fog laying across the MacKenzie basin from Tekapo right down to Lake Benmore and up towards Twizel. I headed back along the highway towards Twizel (bottom left) and straight back into the cold clammy dense fog. It's so depressing when you've just left brilliant blue skies and sunshine behind.

It was quite spooky driving down the canal road; the fog was so thick and I could only just see my edge of the canal. I don't know why, but that weird sensation of thinking you're going to drive over the edge kept coming over me. I slowed right down and took my time. Several parked cars and ghostly white figures loomed out of gloom; fisher people as mad as David! You have got to be keen.

I stopped beside the power station to take a photo of the penstocks to add to my penstock 'collection'- sun, snow and now I have fog.

I drove to the end of the top road above the boat ramp and camp to take a photo of the van parked on the edge of the lake across the water; a comparison shot. You can just see the white from top of the van in the centre of this shot if you look real hard! (click photo to enlarge)

And this is what you should be seeing, minus the leaves of course! We're parked in the same spot only horizontal to the lake this time. (And that is Aoraki/Mt Cook in the background, top left)

I heard some people talking below me; and spotted a boat heading back to the ramp. That's a bit scary because you just can't see a thing on the lake, I hope David was sticking to the edge of the lake although I doubt anyone was travelling very fast through the fog.

When I got back home, David was back from fishing too and busy dismantling the boat. He'd had enough of the fog, the icy cold, the dampness, and no fish since the first day. He was packing up so we could get out of there first thing in the morning; 60 hours of fog was just too much and testing his resolve.

That night the temperature dropped sharply again, the outside gauge said -3c at 9pm and when I checked outside, ice was forming along the van, over the ute and on the steps (mental note to watch those in the morning). Then at 11pm, without rhyme nor reason, a 'heatwave' passed through and the temperature rose just as sharply. The gauge now read 11c, a 14c gain in little over a couple of hours. It was really weird. 

Murphy's Law decided he'd had enough of the fog too and we woke to a beautifully calm and clear day with no boat to go fishing! David toyed with the idea of putting it back up again but it takes him about 3 hours to assemble the Takacat and all the paraphernalia that goes with it and he just decided he'd had enough. It doesn't help that he's so meticulous with everything and it was all neatly packed away in the many hatches and compartments he stores them in. 

We hitched up and headed out. From the sublime of the Ahuriri Valley to the ridiculous fog at Benmore, we'd been brought back to earth with a thump.

Crank Up- 2017

Catch-up

This one's been waiting in the wings for a long while- since Saturday, January 28th, 2017 to be exact, a Saturday that turned out to be the hottest day in the whole of Southland's poor excuse for a summer. 

Crank Up is one of the biggest vintage machinery events in New Zealand and is held in the shadow of the huge Edendale Dairy factory that dominates the landscape in the Southland country town of the same name. This year was the 30th anniversary.

Our Winton family have made it one of their 'must visits' each year and were keen to have us share the day with them this time round. We packed up a picnic lunch and folded ourselves into the people mover and headed off across country to Edendale. Ollie & Ruby were so excited, they spent the whole 55km road trip rattling off a long list of what they thought we should see and what they wanted to have a go at this year.

Once we found ourselves a car park. we hailed a 'taxi' and clambered aboard the quadbike-trailer combo, along with another couple, for an exhilarating ride weaving our way through and down the row upon row of vehicles already parked. I hope we can find our way home later...

Of course first up (and to curtail the excited chatter), were the mini jeeps. Last year Dad drove Ruby's jeep, this year she was determined to do it herself (see the tongue). 

I've never seen so many tractors in one place! I wonder where they all hide for the rest of the year. There were rows and rows of tractors lined up across a couple of large paddocks.

Southland certainly has more than its fair share of vintage tractors and trucks. It's great to see New Zealand's history and heritage is being so well looked after.

The tractor pull was happening near the dairy factory. Tractors in their respective classes pull a set weight on a sled. When a tractor gets to the end of the 100 metre track, it's known as a "full pull". When more than one tractor reaches the end, more weight is added to the sled and the competitors that moved past 100 metres compete in a pull-off; the winner is the one who can pull the sled the farthest. There seems to be a David & Goliath competition going on here. 

Various unusual contraptions trundled and shook their way along the walkways on their way to and from the parade ground. Before this traction engine made it into the alleyway, I had visions of excited kids (not our kids) falling underneath as they pushed each other out of the way and ran across in front of it.

Look at the face on this guy!

Either the guy is very tall (bottom right) or that's a truckie's version of a lowered car. Check the number plate out too. And we certainly knew when the tractor was making it's way through the crowd by its throaty roar, even if you couldn't see it.

Southern police need this secret weapon to chase crims across muddy fodder paddocks and maize fields. Ruby enjoyed climbing up into the cab and pretending to drive the tractor. And, it's a gimmick, the police don't really chase criminals in it, the tractor is used for PR at shows like this one.

These steampunkers wandering through the crowd certainly turned a few heads in conservative Southland.

And I have the feeling that this guy belongs with the others...or he's an extra in a Mad Max movie and has lost his way.

This guy (and his owner) certainly look like they belong with the others but they don't, this Macaw parrot is one of only two privately owned in New Zealand. His owner is a local magician who does shows and children's parties. Aren't those colours just stunning, nature sure is amazing.

Time for lunch....now where did we park the car and more importantly, how the hell do we tell our taxi driver where to go (shout at him loudly) .

After lunch we visited the stationary engines display...

Obviously there are plenty of people who enjoy owning and looking at these engines but personally I prefer something that moves. Fast.

Although I did try to convince David I'd be in seventh heaven towing this generator behind the rig! I don't think our neighbours would be though.

To add to their ever growing list of experiences at Crank Up, Ollie and Ruby were interviewed and videoed for a local newspaper. I'm not sure a ride in the mini jeeps was quite what the reporter was expecting from them when she asked what was the best bit of Crank Up. And 'Frankie' the teddy bear got a starring role.

Next came the parade, first a mock battle between....I'm not too sure, but they made a lot of noise. And don't ask, I have no idea what the Ninja Turtle was up to.

Someone won....but like the Turtle, I'm not so sure the Porta-loo quite fits the scene either.

Next came the steampunk people...

...some of whom didn't look too happy to be walking around the oval. I'm sorry, but I can't contain myself anymore. I wondered if they might have stolen a few subjects from the local rest home. Good on them for doing something outside the norm though.

Then came the Vauxhall parade and a few old memories- Dad's sister's husband was a Vauxhall fan and had many of these models. 

And I drove a few of the later models during my teen years.

It wasn't long before the kids got bored, the sun climbed higher and the queue for an icecream snaked across the yard. We decided to head for home, we missed the dancing tractors and another whole field of diggers and dozers and the kids were most upset that they didn't get to have a go at the 'digger dig' like last year. Cameron thanked his lucky stars we didn't find it, he had to queue with them and the queue was double the length of the ice cream line! 

And the reason why I hadn't done a blog before now? Once again I had to process the photos and as per usual I had far too many of them. I've uploaded them to a Flickr Album, click this link if you'd like to see more.

The Lady Behind The Lens

Real-time

I know many of you are NZMCA members and will have already read the following article but for those that aren't members, here's the write-up that appeared in the latest Motor Caravanner magazine.

At first I was a little reluctant to come out from behind my camera when Katrina (a friend and fellow 5th-wheeler) asked if I'd mind if she wrote a item about me and our lifestyle. It didn't take too long for her and David to convince me that people would be interested in reading a 'behind the scenes' article. Katrina sent me 101 questions to answer and I was away typing- you know me, I can't stop my fingers once I start typing (and she didn't really send 101 questions, just sufficient to glean enough relevant information).

It was a lovely surprise to find out that Chris (editor) had also chosen one of my photos for the cover of the latest magazine- Autumn in Bannockburn, Central Otago. This is my 6th cover and because I've now run out of room on our lounge's tiny wall space, I'm now having to hang the older framed covers in the toilet! Framing them is not something I'd normally do but it just seems to fit in with our nomadic lifestyle (and cover some crappy wallpaper).

And here's the article- the first two pages were a double spread of the sunrise photo from Hinahina in the Catlins. I've increased the size of the other pages so you'll be able to read the article a little better, remember to click on the photo to enlarge. But if you're still struggling to read it, there's a link to a PDF at the bottom of the page.

Enjoy! And a big thankyou to Katrina, who did an awesome job in gathering it altogether and asking the right questions.

The Lady Behind The Lens- PDF