Cromwell- Fog, Dogs & Winter Scenery

Catch-up

Our next stop is at one of our most visited towns in Central Otago; Cromwell, the fruit bowl of the South. Cromwell is a service town for the surrounding farm stations, vineyards and orchards, it also caters for the visitor overload from Queenstown & Wanaka. 

And while it still does service the local industries it's also becoming a great little town in it's own right with it's historic 'Old Town' precinct, Lake Dunstan for water sports & the renowned Highland Motorsport Park which attracts both international & domestic visitors alike. If only Cromwell could sort out it's small retail centre which is a hangover from a time when pedestrian malls were a priority, it's now a rabbit warren of cold alleyways, empty shops & real estate offices. 

Sunrise- Lake Dunstan

We usually find ourselves doing chores & resting up for a few days in Cromwell either at the NZMCA Park at Rotary Glen near the boat ramp or the freedom camping area at Lowburn on the shores of Lake Dunstan. But things have changed since our last visit.

Rotary Glen has always had a maximum stay of 3 nights which is fine, we would then shift to Lowburn if we needed to stay longer. Lowburn also has a minimum 3 night stay but now the powers that be have put up a low post and single wire fence right along the foreshore and through the long flat area beside the water. This now prevents all but the smallest of vans from parking along the edge of the water. I know this has been done because people were hogging the front row and parking side on (like us) and also blocking out the boaties in the summer but during the off season when there'd only be a handful of vans in each night it was never an issue. 

When you could park however you liked and had the whole place to yourself!

It's just as well that the latest NZMCA Park to open is also in Cromwell and just up the road from the freedom camping area at Lowburn. The Park is a large fenced area beside the lake and alongside the walking/biking track and will be a great asset for members especially during the summer. We were the only ones staying most nights and it wasn't until we left that I realised that this park also has a maximum 6 night stay unlike most other NZMCA Parks. Oops! (and no I'm not telling you how long we stayed though it wasn't the 21 nights you can in most other parks). 

You'll notice that there's a stand of large pines down the north side of the park. We chose our spot carefully, parking in the only corner that received the sun early in the day which worked well as we had some very heavy frosts while we were there. 

Although being in the sun didn't help much with our solar intake, the sun sits low on the horizon and is very weak down south during winter so we had to run the generator regularly. Luckily our only neighbours were rabbits! Dozens of them, including this warren on the fence line beside the van which I had fun watching from behind the tinted windows. How many rabbits can you see? Click on the photo to zoom in. 

Seven rabbits watch cautiously for any movement or noise from the van

It's just a short distance to the lakes edge, perfect for catching some stunning sunrises...

Two sunbursts, one from the sun and the other from it's reflection

...the mist rising...

...and beautiful reflections.

And on one morning I captured this amazing bank of fog covering Cromwell town...

...and then rolling up the lake towards me.

It was quite spooky how quickly it moved, I had visions of a tidal wave (and I felt the urge to run too).

At this point  I could feel the cold air being pushed ahead of it...

...and then suddenly it was over me and the temperature dropped sharply. It moved on up the lake pretty smartly and within 30 minutes or so was nowhere to be seen. I very weird experience, I must say.

I was writing a blog in the van one day and I could hear a dog barking on and off all day. By mid afternoon I thought I must check that out. I looked out and saw through the binoculars, a dog racing up the hill on the far side of the road. It was rounding up three sheep and I could hear the farmer whistling to it but couldn't see him. I decided he must be doing some dog trial training. 

It wasn't until the next day when David went out and then came back into camp to say there were dog trails going on right over the bank on the otherside of the road. I walked over to have a look and there they all were lined up in the paddock. When I spoke to a farmer he told me it was the huntaways yesterday (hence all the barking!). And today was the heading dogs turn. 

I stayed to watch for a time and used my camera to zoom in on the sheep, they're right up the top and were being brought down to the pen on the flat (click on the photo to enlarge).

Just in case you can't find them in the photo above, here they are. You can see the dog up behind, waiting for instructions. The sheep were being brought to the waiting area by a guy and a dog sitting out the day in the small hut you can see on the horizon in the photo above.

Half way down the hill and the sheep aren't happy. Look at all those rabbit holes too, it really is a major problem in Central. While we were at the NZMCA Park, there were several night time shoots happening over this hill and also across the lake on Northburn Station, gunshots during the night were a common occurrence.

Once down on the flat there was a bit of negotiation going on between the dog and the sheep- "Now, listen up ewe girls, I don't want no bovver, all you have to do is walk in the pen when the boss opens the gate, ok?"

I love the way this dog is carefully watching the proceedings, he's not tied up, and was walking around sniffing tyres and the the backs of utes but sat down and watched as soon as the other farmer started whistling.

Of course a visit to Cromwell for me isn't complete without a drive out to Bannockburn to check The Inlet- part of the Kawarau River- out for reflections, and in autumn for the stunning colours. 

And here's an autumn photo I prepared earlier...

This day the weather couldn't decide what it was doing, dark clouds loomed overhead and I was dodging rain showers one minute and then the sun would come out and warm everything up the next (still only about 5c though). Luckily there was not a whisper of wind though and The Inlet was a millpond.

And another autumn shot I prepared earlier (it looks like my processing has improved a little since these, although I blame my old laptop screen, I think I should have had it calibrated)

The surrounding hills are covered in vineyards with bare vines now of course, along with the willows, poplars and raupo (bulrush) around the waters edge.

Everytime I climb out of the ute to take a photo I'm surrounded by a very familiar fragrance, and one that speaks to me of Central Otago even when I'm not here. Much of the land around Central is smothered in thyme (a leftover from the gold mining days) and at this time of the year it's dry and brittle. The most amazing perfume fills the air even before I crunch over the plants which just intensifies the smell more. Thyme is one of the very first things I remember of Central Otago on our first visit to the region; the thyme aroma, the rocky tors and the rabbit proof fences!

I then drove out to the bottom of the Carrick Range and the road that climbs up, over and into the Nevis Valley to check on my 'special place', an old deserted pump shed.

How different does that look in autumn!

Then one last stop at the vineyards below the Bannockburn Sluicings to check on the vineyards...

...which certainly look a bit different to a summer shot I have of them. 

I've decided autumn is still my favourite time to visit Bannockburn.

Around the Ponds & Lakes- Mackenzie Country

Catch-up

It was a cold calm day at the canals when I decided to walk to the far end of Wairepo Arm to check out the reflections. I set off wrapped up warm, day pack on my back and wearing gumboots due to the soggy ground underfoot (aka Wellington boots for my overseas readers). I should have worn my tramping boots in hindsight but I thought I'd only be going for a short walk.

I followed the fisherman's track along the edge of the pond, I've walked it numerous times when I'm birding but I usually drive the 3kms to the far end when I'm looking for reflection photos because according to Murphy's Law, a breeze will kick in ruffling the smooth water just as I get there if I walk.

Today there's not enough overhead light to give clear reflections but the winter colours of the poplars & willows are nearly as stunning as the autumn colours. Because I'm walking I also disturb the waterfowl resting on the pond edge and they fly or motor off in alarm crashing through the water breaking up any reflections that are there.

I pass a stand of  alder samplings and try some creative blur shots with the bare trunks. This is done 'in camera' not with processing afterwards. To achieve creative blur in your photos slow the shutter speed down (this one is 1/50sec) and then as you push your shutter button, quickly move your camera up and down. Play with settings until you get the desired effect, it's fun to see what you can produce. I enjoy doing this with colourful flower beds too.

I cross over the main highway to Kelland Pond, another body of water with a lot of birdlife that feeds into Wairepo Arm and on to the canals. I'm thinking that it'll be frozen like it was on another visit and it is, but only just.

And funnily enough I find the same ice patterns as before. Ice is attached to the reeds a few inches above the water level. This happens when the demand for electricity increases and the power stations draw off more water; the pond level drops leaving these unusual frozen patterns.

I cross back over the road and as I reach the end of the Arm I can see that it's also starting to freeze over at a stream outlet. I decide to take a look along the dirt track that runs up the otherside of the pond.

It's dark and spooky in here and the swamp that's feeding the frozen stream is also mostly frozen.

I carry on along the track a little way and then decide to walk back to camp on this side of the pond.

I know from a past visit that there are a couple of calm little backwaters tucked into the trees on this side but in the end they too aren't providing me with any good reflections. 

Here's a photo from the previous visit-

By now I realise that wearing my gumboots was a bad idea; after 4kms my feet are starting to ache from slopping about inside with no support. I also know that it's about 6kms to get back to camp from this side as you have to drive/walk up to the power station to cross back over to the camp side of the canal. I put my camera away and press on up the track for another couple of kilometres and then call David up to come and rescue me. It's not long before I see the ute inching it's way around a far corner and then it appears in front of me. A welcome sight for my weary feet.

David stops opposite the camp so I can take a photo from this angle and then we take our time getting back up the track to the power station, it's heavily corrugated and not a nice experience, no wonder not too many vehicles fish on this side of the canal.

David wanted to check out the camp at Lake Benmore while we were at the canals. We've stayed here out of season before and although we had fog for 3 days solid we still enjoyed our time. This time though, it was quite depressing. I think because it is later in winter and very cold. 

David enjoys lake fishing from the dinghy much more than the canals so we decided we'd come back again in early summer when the weather is a little warmer. 

We drove down the road a little further and stopped high above the lake. The colour of the water and the stillness was breathtaking (or maybe that was the cold air).

Further on I spotted this lone willow on a point, of course I had to get a few shots of it...

...and then have a little play processing it later (it's called artistic license).

We hadn't stopped in Lake Tekapo on the way to the canals so while David was fishing I drove back up the road stopping along the way at all my favourite spots.

The beautiful turquoise waters of Lake Pukaki-

Irishman Creek Station's letterbox located on the main highway is a popular subject for passing tourists and photographers to photograph. I think I have a photo of it for every season now including another winter one where it's surrounded by snow.

A visit to Tekapo isn't complete without a short side trip down the Tekapo Canal to one of my favourite locations- Patterson Ponds.

Patterson Ponds are a series of small ponds surrounded by willows and birches which are located in the Tekapo River basin below the canal road and alongside the Tekapo River.

Once again I have photos of the ponds in every season, autumn is probably the most spectacular but in the winter the ponds are frozen and the ice a milky blue.

It is rumoured that large Brown Trout live in the ponds and while we've seen a few small trout swimming about we've never seen the big one.

Freedom camping is allowed beside the ponds and I notice that the road has possibly been graveled and graded (it's still about 2kms long though) and a toilet block installed at the beginning of the ponds, you can see it dead centre in the panoramic photo up above.

I didn't walk down to the ponds this time, just paused on the canal road above. This is looking back over the ponds towards Lake Tekapo with Two Thumb Range in the background.

Finished at the ponds I drove back up the canal road and down to Lake Tekapo where I lasted all of 2 minutes sitting on a bench seat, eating my lunch overlooking the lake. It was bitterly cold!

Next stop is the (in)famous Church of the Good Shepherd which, as is the norm, was swarming with tourists.

It's such a shame that there is now a fence and gates (locked overnight) surrounding the church, although I was pleased to see that the fence had been erected a good distance away from the church...

...so you can still get clean shots of the church if you wait patiently for a break in visitors!

Down below the church a forest of stone cairns (aka rock graffiti) are taking over the foreshore. I suppressed the urge to knock them off their pedestals.

The lake's turquoise blue is very intense in the quieter shallower bays on the east side of the lake.

I drove around to check on the NZMCA Park; one of the reasons we didn't stop here was it was closed for maintenance over winter. Many of the inner circle of large pine trees have been felled, this will open the space up and let in a lot more sunshine.

I stopped back in town to buy a coffee and noticed a lot of black suits and security guards walking around near the new $11 million Dark Sky Project building on the waterfront. The Governor General and Mana Whenua were due to open and bless the building.

They must have heard I was going to be in town, I was also here for the opening of the footbridge by Dame Jenny Shipley in 2015.

On the way home I stopped off at a view point overlooking the freedom camping area on a point that juts out into Lake Pukaki. There were already a few settled in for the night.

With no signs of fish or another hoar frost due anytime soon we decided to carry on south, stopping at the entrance to the Ahuriri Valley on our way. At the far end of the road is where we woke up to -16c and a hoar frost, it's where the photo was taken that's on back of the 5th-wheeler and this is the first time we've come back past since. We'll be coming back in the summer next time. 

Then it was up and over the Lindis Pass and into my favourite province of all, Central Otago (aka Central to locals and wannabe locals)