Through the Nevis

 Real-time

Hi everyone & Happy New Year + one month!  I hope you're all well and coping with life in general wherever you may be in the world. It's summer here in New Zealand and we're all feeling very privileged to be able to get out and enjoy it without the restrictions many around the world are experiencing. Although some of us are still waiting for summer to arrive. Especially down here in the south of the South Island (someone must have heard me, it was 30c in Invercargill yesterday)

We had a lovely family time in Christchurch over the holidays and we're now in Southland where we had an appointment for a job to be done on the 5th-wheeler. That has now been completed and we're waiting for the weather to settle before heading off again. 

We had a week or so to fill in before having the job done so we spent it in Central Otago at Cromwell & at a rally near Alexandra. While in Cromwell we decided to drive, for the third time, the 'famous in New Zealand' Nevis Road from Bannockburn to Garston.

The Nevis Road is a 4WD road although in summer many 2WD vehicles are able to reach the Lower Nevis settlement from the Bannockburn end of the road. It used to be that 2WDs could make it through from one end to the other in late summer when the fords were running low or had dried out but no longer, the road (track) is very rough & washed out in many places south of the Nevis Settlement and the fords deep & rugged. 

Central Otago had had a lot of rain early in the new year so we weren't too sure whether we'd get through the 65kms to the other end but we were going to give it a darn good go. Once over Duffers Saddle, the view from the top of the Carrick Range down the Lower Nevis is spectacular. 

The Nevis River wends its way through the gorge at the far end and down through the valley. 

The green home paddocks of Ben Nevis Station on the far side of the river & Craigroy Station on the near side, provide a splash of colour in the otherwise typical Central Otago landscape of dry tussocks, spiky Golden Spaniard /Speargrass & rocky tors.

A lone caravan sits beside the river in amongst gold mine tailings from the Nevis' historic past. Alluvial gold mining is still carried out along the Nevis, as long as you have a permit. 

We stop at the old Nevis cemetery even though we've had a look before on one of our previous trips. There are some places you just can't drive past although the view never changes. 

One place that had changed was the old cob cottage near the cemetery. It's getting a 21st century makeover, with a new roof, doors, beams & a huge bank of solar panels (jealous much) amongst other things. 

Of course my photographer's eye much preferred the look of the old cottage.

David decided we didn't need to stop at the settlement this time as I already had photos. Before I realised we weren't pulling over we were past it. There was a little bit of muttering going on from the passenger seat for a short time before we hit the next ford... 

Gold mining tailing piles at the start of the gorge

...and then we were into the gorge, with more signs to warn those that think they are bullet proof. And twenty five fords was a little bit of an understatement as we were soon to find out. 

There were several easy fords through the gorge before we popped out onto the river flats of the Upper Nevis where a lot more mining was done in the early days. As evidenced by several large dredge ponds, multiple tailing piles, stark cliff faces and the remains of two stone cottages.

There are also several more 'modern' mining huts on both sides of the river which may well be used as fishing huts nowadays.

Just when we start to think the fords aren't anything to write home about, the mother of all fords appears before us.

We get out to check the depths and the best route through them, there are no gravel bases now, it's a muddy base. Some of the tracks are deeply rutted, others you can't see how deep they are through the tannin stained water. Just as we found along the Hawkdun Range, heavier 4WDs & off roaders have cut some of the fords up quite badly.  

The river has made it's own course along several sections of the track. We slip, slide & bump our way through and when we get out on the otherside to check, we notice that some of the fords have a small sign with a red arrow indicating which direction to take when there are multiple choices. The problem is they are all for the other direction, none on our banks. 

We suspect that direction arrows might have been used for a rally that has come in from the Garston end. 

We pass Roaring Lion Creek where we had lunch seven years ago while we were on a 4WD fundraiser over Nokomai Station. We came off the top of the range down the track you can see. That was such a fun day, we had a ball and still often talk about it. Make sure you read Part 2 if you click the link above, we had a grandstand view of a regular 4WDriver being pulled out of the river. 

Further on the river once again took over the track.

And then we came up on a washout that had created a sharp drop-off into the river. It had already claimed a few victims, a number of sump guards and bumper parts littered the river bank.

We couldn't squeeze through on the track above so took the most direct route over a drop of a couple of feet into the river.

Luckily we don't have a long overhang on the ute, although it felt like the tow bar caught the edge as we dropped into the river.

After all the rock 'n rolling and bouncing through so many fords and thinking we were through the worst of the fords, we decided to stop for a late lunch at a nice spot beside the river. 

It wasn't long before a guy on a bike pulled up behind us. Expecting a younger person on a trail bike (we usually come across them when out on 4WD roads) it was a surprise when he took his helmet off to see an older person. I offered him a hot drink but he was happy with the handful of cherries I gave him.

We got chatting, talked about the rough ford crossings we'd just done and then it got around to what we do in life. He said he worked for us so we guessed he had a government job. Yes, he said, he worked in Wellington but lived in Upper Moutere. After some more chitchat he introduced himself at Damien, David cottoned on straight away, I was a little slower.

It was Damien O'Connor. (Labour) MP for West Coast-Tasman, Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Biosecurity, Land Information, and Rural Communities! He was checking out Crown Land (Land Information) by riding his bike through many high country stations & 4WD tracks in the South Island. He had been on most of the tracks we've been on and was working his way through a few more. We had a good chat and then he was off. He took a selfie with us but would you believe it, I forgot to get a photo of him!

While we were talking to Damien (we're on first name basis now) I spotted a Karearea/NZ Falcon fly in to the top of that rock stack behind the bike in the photo above. When I zoomed in on the top I spotted TWO falcon chicks jumping about trying to get food off the parent. Unfortunately I didn't quite get the focus right on this photo, the wind was blowing quite strongly. 

The parent flew off  across the valley and landed on a rock high above us, calling and staying put, keeping an eye on the chicks while we had our lunch and a hawk soared through on the thermals. It was another good sighting we were able to report to the NZ Falcon Org who keep a track of falcon distribution around New Zealand. 

The falcon is one of our most favourite New Zealand birds and we've probably reported over 60 sightings since we've been on the road. Once tuned in to it, their call is very distinctive and we can instantly recognise it from miles away. This usually means a diversion from what we might be doing to track it down. Other times they just appear in front of us without warning; on a tree branch while walking, sitting on a power pole in the middle of a town, chasing prey past us while we're looking at a view or low flying straight across in front of the ute (which happened just a few days later on our way to a rally).  Falcons are much more common than you think.

The fords weren't finished with us yet, once again the river had gouged out the track and we bumped along sharp bedrock for a few hundred metres to the other side.

And then finally we were out of the valley and climbing steadily to the top of the Hector Mountains above Garston. Out my window and far below me, I can see the Nokomai Station track we followed on that rally up the 'Hidden Valley' to the top of the Garvie Mountains.

We head down the winding road into the Mataura River Valley, stopping...

...so I can take a photo of the amazing landscape along the top of the mountains...

...and another photo of the historic Garston Ski Hut, which I'm sure hasn't seen a good dump of snow in years.

The view out over Trotters Plain, Castle Hill and the Eyre Mountains is spectacular. The Mataura River can be see towards the back left below Castle Hill. SH6, the highway from Queenstown to Te Anau is in the centre and the track we're following in the slopes below. Click on the photo to enlarge. 

And a pano of the breathtaking view...

Finally we pass through the last gate with it's myriad of signs and head home to Cromwell (110km away), the fast way.

Night Sky Cottages Are Go

 Real-time

What can I say but sorry folks for the lack of contact over the last few weeks. I know, here I am again apologising for the lack of posts, and shock, horror, I am really disappointed with myself that there were no posts for November. That's the first time in the eight year history of the blog that I have missed a whole month! 

Hence the reason I'm now posting this blog, I don't want December to follow suit! No, not really although there is a little truth in there somewhere. With a busy Christmas season ahead of us, I probably won't be back posting regularly again until the New Year.  

And many of you will know the reason for the lack of postings, for the last six months we have been parked up in Twizel preparing our property purchase 'Night Sky Cottages' for the holiday home rental market. 

Kahu Cottage

Hot tub under the stars- Kahu Cottage

It's been a long haul that didn't come without a lot of  'blood, sweat & tears', not to mention fog, snow & frosts but we are finally finished and are both thrilled with the end result! It's going to be hard to pull out of here next week, the roots have gone a lot deeper this time.

Kea Cottage

Wild Flower Garden & Strawberry Patch

Last night the cottages' Facebook page went live so I thought you might like to see them in all their glory, click this link below to view, find the 'Photo' tab at the top of the page for the interior shots and don't forget to follow if you'd like to keep up to date with the news, & views, of Mackenzie Country- 

Night Sky Cottages Facebook Page 

Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve

If I don't manage to get back here before Christmas, we'd like to wish all my readers a relaxing & happy holiday season after what has been a horrendous year for many of us. Keep safe & do get 'Out There' and explore your own backyard, you may be surprised at what you find. 

Take care & best regards

Shellie & David     

Winter in the Mackenzie- A Hoar Frost; Part 4

Continued on from Part 3

I've finally finished processing five days of hoar frost photos! And there were some more beauties which I'd skipped over on the original hurried pass over. I've now loaded them into my hoar frost Flickr photo album so you can check them out there at your leisure. 

Frozen Briar Rosehips

Be warned though, there are a few hundred of them, it was very hard to select the best from a large bunch of amazing photos (if I must say so myself). Someone remind me next time there's a major event not to take so many photos. Because taking them is the easy (and fun) part, processing then is painfully long and then choosing which ones to upload & post, exceedingly tedious!

Kea Cottage- Night Sky Cottages

The photos in this blog are from days 3, 4 & 5 of the hoar frost. Each morning I tentatively pulled up the blinds expecting to find the frost had disappeared overnight (but knowing full well it hadn't going by the frigid temperature inside the van).

Our boundary fence

It was a delight every morning to see that frost was still coating everything within sight and building up in thickness too. The fog still hung low across the paddocks behind and in the distance over the canals & lake. Each day I headed out on a familiar circuit to check for any changes & also hoping to finally shoot my sought after blue sky hoar frost photo.

Ben Ohau Station

The frost wasn't so prominent on the trees surrounding the sheltered waters of Lake Ruataniwha's 'Lagoon'.

But up along the top of the cliffs, the frost covered pine trees looked splendid...

...and the pines along the track- heavily laden with ice crystals- reminiscent of a Northern Hemisphere Christmas scene. 

The moisture laden fog would have blown in over the top of the lake from the south, coating the trees exposed on the ridge along the lake's edge.

My favourite view over the lagoon was a little misty this time.

Motorists heading along State Highway 8 would have been in awe of the spectacle they were driving through.

Every day I drove a loop around Kellands Pond and everyday I shot something different (and it took me several hours). Here's another one of my favourite photos; look how still that water is. And what you can't see is me slowly disappearing into the water after jumping onto a partly submerged clump of tussock to get the right angle. Lucky I had my gumboots on.

The fog rolled back in thick & fast around the ponds on that day so I headed up the road a few kilometres to Lake Wardell, a large puddle of water surrounded by trees and wedged in between SH8 & the Pukaki Canal. 

Lake Wardell is also a freedom camping area where many of my readers will have camped (usually in warmer weather). 

Today it was a frozen & somewhat gloomy Lake Wardell, but even still, there were several hardy campers in residence! Brrrr.....

When I peeked out on the morning of Day 5 the fog looked to be retreating so hurriedly got ready and raced down the road to Loch Cameron to see if I could shoot a decent hoar frost sunrise.

Nailed it!

As the sun rose higher the fog rolled back and the cloud looked to be lifting too. I thought I might just get my blue sky shot today if I was lucky. 

Fraser Stream, Ben Ohau Station

Down at the ponds there were patches of blue sky and while I didn't get the perfect shot it certainly was a lot brighter and the scenery was just as amazing. 

The tracks of fellow photographers

I don't think I could ever tire of seeing how a hoar frost settles on the landscape, it looks just spectacular and very surreal.

 Enjoy this selection of photos from Kellands Pond.

By the time I reached the far end of the pond the blue sky had disappeared under a light cover of patchy cloud.

Even the raupo was coated in frost

At my all time favourite spot the water was once again a millpond making for a few more  perfect shots (I've actually put this one on canvas for one of the cottages and it looks fantastic!) 

With a loop around Kellands Pond complete I stopped for one more photo looking across Wairepo Arm before deciding to seek out some new territory before the frost disappeared.

I headed down the track on the south side of Lake Ruataniwha; it leaves the highway opposite the salmon farm. There were more amazing views across the lake and the trees were coated in just as much frost, if not more, than the trees on the other side of the lake.

I stopped often as I couldn't quite believe how thick the ice hung on some of the trees. Check out these photos, this frost wasn't just a little bit of ice settling on some trees. Once again you can see the direction the wind has blown the fog in from.

Although on this tree the branches were totally incased in ice. I had to resist the urge to break the ice off.

The scenery is stunning high above the lake. In the background Ben Ohau & Ben Ohau Range dip in and out of the cloud and I'm already thinking I must come down here for the autumn colours.

I could have easily driven on further but I turned around several kilometres down the track just before it drops down to lake level. It looked like the frost was thinning out further up the lake towards the Ohau River. 

I headed back to the main road, stopping often again as I saw the frost laden trees from a different angle.

Once out on the highway I pulled in just a few metres up the road to take some photos of another of my favourite views, looking across the lake to the small pine covered peninsula and Ben Ohau Range behind. (I've also had this pano put on canvas, it looks magnificent)

And then it was quick skip across the road to take a photo of the old Iron Bridge to add to my collection of 'Iron Bridge Photos' taken through the seasons; snow covered, autumn colours, spring greenery, summer dry and winter bare and now I have a hoar frost photo to add to it too!

I can see that the weather is changing, there's a bit of blue sky but heavy cloud is rolling in from the east. I stop for one last photo overlooking the lagoon (shall I tell you I have this one on canvas too?)...

...and then another stop further up the lake above the boat ramp...

...and at the lookout overlooking the Ohau River outlet and Ben Ohau. 

It wasn't long before the monster bank of dark cloud catches me up, and with the cloud comes a warmer temperature. I have a feeling this will be the beginning of the end for the hoar frost.

Isn't Mother Nature amazing? The cloud formations over the Mackenzie Basin never fail to impress me.

I head back along Pukaki Canal, back past Loch Cameron (no frost in sight) and stop just down the road from home. 

The frost is now fast disappearing off the trees and the loud noise as the ice crackles and crashes through the branches is a surprise. 

It falls at my feet like snow and coats my camera & head as I stick them under the branches to check it out from the inside (silly move).

 

And then that was that, my five days in hoar frost heaven ended. It was time to head home & check in with David, he's nearly forgotten what I look like, poor man. 

Kahu Cottage- melting fast

And within an hour all signs of the frost are gone, quietly melted back into the landscape. 

Kea Cottage- gone

And, I can't wait until next winter... 

Footnote- talking about cloud formations how is this for a sunrise taken a few mornings ago. Canterbury's infamous nor'west arch provided an impressive backdrop to the stunning colours of sunrise.  Some of you will have already seen it posted on Facebook where it's proved to be very popular with over 40,000 views and a few hundred shares (I always joke when I see these impressive numbers, 'If I had a cent for every view.....') 

A stunning sunrise over Night Sky Cottages