Country Road

Here's a new intersection but still on our country drive of 01 January. First up is a gravel road, lined on one side with a long line of our native flax plants and they're in flower hence the tall stalks. After that are three photos of swirly field patterns. We're well into summer now and...

Road Not Taken (Before)

On the first day of 2023, we looked for a sign. And we found: sign, seat, kettle. Rural road in Clutha and a triangle island.

Blue Gloss

Yesterday we returned to Commissioners Track and spent some time on part of it, mostly checking out the weeds and the native plants. We're right into summer now and lots of plants are flowering including grasses. We found some very pretty weed flowers, and some rather nice native flowers too. But today's post is about...

Storm Clouds

Storm clouds over Tapanui last night. Not captured: lightning in the very dark cloud layer down the end of the street. Amazingly, we didn't get the expected downpour. West Otago, New Zealand.

Rural Summer

This morning while travelling locally, I spotted pillar-shaped clouds hovering over a row of attractive amenity trees in a farming landscape. By the time Nigel had turned around and found a place to stop the cloud pillars were collapsing but it still offered an attractive scene. Between Tapanui and Crookston, West Otago, New Zealand.

Blue Door, Church

As we drove home Nigel made a stop at the fuel station in Clinton so I hopped out and wandered up the road to take a few photos of a church I like to keep an eye on. Something's afoot there but I don't know what - therefore I don't know the fate of the...

All Yellow

Except those that aren't. We were driving back from Central Otago via Moa Flat and through Edievale at which point I asked Nigel to pull over. The reason was this beautiful clump of yellow lupins flowering on the roadside verge with a weathered rustic shed behind the blooms. A few metres further along the road...

Orchard, Cottage and Cob

Stewart Town wasn't formally named as such. It was an outpost of historic Bannockburn and close to the gold mining activity. David Stewart began the stone cottage in 1873. In the first photo you can see an isolated corner of cob wall that once was part of a cob wall extension to the cottage. David...

Old Orchard

Historic orchard remnant, pear and apricot trees. Planted early-1900s at a small community that grew in the 1860s with the arrival of gold miners and hydraulic sluicing. Stewart Town.. accessed via a walk through 'badlands'-type landscape, a large terrace destroyed and shaped by sluicing and related activities. Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand 31 October. ~first...

Ominous

First three photos taken in Earnscleugh as we were en route to Cromwell, 29 October. Through Cromwell Gorge we crawled along as rain bucketed down.. we hurriedly unpacked at our motel. Later when quieter I took the last photo, from outside our motel unit. Central Otago, New Zealand. Beautiful lilac hedge and stone wall partnership.Lovely...

Mountain Views

Same mountain range but each photo taken from a different road. Spring in Central Otago, New Zealand. Pre-birthday road trip, 30 October 2022

Masonic Lodge, Cromwell

Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge No. 98. Founded in 1870 for the Freemasons of Cromwell, with the Lodge building constructed in 1900. Local stone, and sited on high ground adjoining 'Old Cromwell Town'. By Lake Dunstan - last pic - with view to Bannockburn. Central Otago, New Zealand. The sign reveals the Lodge was built by "Mr...