Round The Bend

A drive through rural back roads in Southland, Waikaka area. 29 December. New Zealand.

Spitting Image

When I was at Black Gully Reserve on 28 December, I found a spittle bug on a slender stem of a tree. I hadn't seen one of these so convenient to photograph before and it was fairly well-lit. It turns out they're pretty interesting creatures! Below the photo I'll give you a 'gift-link' to a...

Old Timer

We went out for a country drive this morning, exploring some roads we hadn't travelled before. When we were well through our trip we came across this old building that appears to have been a farmhouse. Weatherboard house with corrugated iron roof. The front lower level has had its weatherboards removed and looks like it's...

Remnant

Perhaps the remnant held a claim boundary peg back in the day. It was illegal to sluice away a peg. I was intrigued by the horizontal hole at the top through which I could see the blue sky. The two 'remnant' photos were taken by me. The photos of Blue Lake and eroded hillside slopes...

Blue and Gold

Blue Lake at St Bathans in Central Otago was formed through gold mining activity from the 1860s till 1934. Originally the lake was a 120m high hill.. Kildare Hill.. which I've read was demolished via hydraulic sluicing in about 10 years. By using a hydraulic elevator the site of the now-gone hill became an ever-growing...

Hill > Pit > Lake

On 07 Dec we drove to St Bathans, a gold town established in 1863. (1) The mud brick Vulcan Hotel is fab! (2) Pipes took water to the workings. (3) Blue Lake was originally 120m Kildare Hill which was mined to a 68m deep pit dubbed the 'glory hole'. Mining ceased in 1934 when the...

Stark Difference

When the gold miners arrived in Central Otago in the 1860s they didn't bat an eyelid at radically and massively transforming the environment. The initial influx of individuals and small groups gave way to larger operations that harnessed the power of water to obliterate large parts of the landscape. They extracted relatively small amounts of...

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...

Alpha Street

Yesterday I walked from the highway to Old Cromwell. Along the way I found this public reserve, early afternoon in hot weather. The reserve is alongside Alpha Street and extends down to Lake Dunstan. I rested a while here and looked at a few things. Central Otago, New Zealand. 1) a glance behind me -...

Tulip Tour

It was great fun searching for tulip fields this morning. We drove over to the Edendale area again, Menzies Ferry and Seaward Downs. Here are four photos from four different tulip sites, all photos taken by Nigel and edited by me. Some plantings are huge and the colours stand out for miles. Others are more...

Daffodils, Blue Bridge

Daffodils at Weatherstons near Lawrence, Clutha District. Blue bridge; this is a beautiful single-lane bridge spanning the Clutha River (Mata-Au) at Millers Flat, Central Otago. All photos taken 02 October. New Zealand.

High Hopping Rates

These freshwater photos are from the historic daffodil property at Weatherstons near Lawrence, the site of the Black Horse Brewery that was in operation from 1866 until 1923 under various owners. Apparently the beer produced was of excellent quality and the water was an important factor - there's a photo with info about the water...