New Zealand
The building of this cottage began in the 1880s and was finally completed in 1904. It was built by two brothers with stone masonry techniques learned from their father in the Shetland Islands - John and Andrew Mitchell. According to the information sign, the cottage housed John and Jessie's family of 10 children. Andrew remained... Continue Reading →
These photos were taken a few days before New Zealand went into the first lockdown for Covid-19, back in March. It was a beautiful autumn weekend and we drove to Central Otago and ended up in Ophir. Taken 22 March 2020. Text and photos by Liz; Exploring Colour (2020)
Driving along the Roxburgh East Road through the Teviot Valley, I spotted this gorgeous old stone cottage down below. Nigel stopped so I could get photos. Looking for more information I found a Facebook media-set of photos taken 04 October 2015 and was amazed to find the cottage was just a derelict ruin then! Someone's... Continue Reading →
The historic Daniel O’Connell suspension bridge (1880) crosses the Manuherikia River at Ophir. Central Otago, New Zealand. Taken by Nigel 22 Mar 2020.
Roxburgh hydro dam, on the Clutha / Mata-Au River often referred to as the 'Mighty Clutha River'. I always feel huge respect for this amazing river. There's two big hydro dams on the Clutha - the Roxburgh Dam (completed 1957) and Clyde Dam (completed 1993). Here's some overview photos I took from the top of... Continue Reading →
View from Roxburgh dam 16 Aug, final hydro dam on Clutha River. Central Otago, New Zealand
We turned off the main highway because I wanted to drive over the Roxburgh Dam. My photo's taken from the boat ramp after crossing. Central Otago, New Zealand. 16 Aug.
Bare remains of an old cottage or shelter in a sheep paddock. Another place we pulled off the highway on our return to Roxburgh from Fruitlands. Central Otago, New Zealand. Photos taken by me, 16 Aug 2020. Click on ANY photo to enlarge. In the opposite direction, on the other side of the highway ...... Continue Reading →
Paradise Ducks on the farm pond that I featured in my last post. These are more properly described as Paradise Shelducks (Tadorna variegata). They're exceedingly noisy birds, you can hear them in this recording. The male and female make different sounds, most often in unison! Endemic. Photos taken by Liz, 16 August 2020. Central Otago,... Continue Reading →
Saw this beautiful farm pond as we were returning from Fruitlands and heading to Roxburgh, in Central Otago, New Zealand. We both took photos. There was also a resident pair of Paradise Shelducks (I'll share photos of them in another post). You can clearly see the female's white head in the first photo, and the... Continue Reading →
Our lovely Sunday afternoon drive (continued). I'd already mentioned that we were heading to Fruitlands, a wonderful scenic and historic area that pre-1915 was named Bald Hill Flat but then renamed Fruitlands in 1915 in recognition of fruit-growing efforts. This was short-lived as it was too cold but the name remains. It's a farming area... Continue Reading →
