Lake Wanaka, Alexandra, Roxborough and Dunedin

Wanaka is a pretty town by the shores of Lake Wanaka, with awesome views out to the mountains. It is a popular place for tourists and holiday makers at this time of year. Though new housing is under construction, I believe the number permanent residents is still quite low. A couple of hours and a cup of coffee there was enough for us.

We moved to Lake Dunstan, a man made lake  created by damming the Clutha River at Clyde and Roxbourgh. Here a local orchardist was giving away two trailer loads of cherries which weren't up to export standards. We soon filled bags and bowls with beautiful plump fruit as large as small plums, taking as many as we could eat and froze some too. Yumm! At the small town of Cromwell nearby, we did some shopping at the Salvation Army store for secondhand books and some lighter tops for me. It is so hot and dry here, as well as being extremely windy. The Nor' Wester is a legend in this part of the country, a warm dry wind which built up to hurricane speeds one afternoon.

Half an hour along the road is Alexandra, a fair sized town on the banks of the mighty Clutha River, with a great parking area for self-contained motor homes and caravans. This one was free of charge. The NZMCA (New Zealand Motor Caravan Association) is the best club we have ever belonged to. The club owns or leases motor home parking sites all around the country, which charge members a minimal amount to stay. Some have water, rubbish and dumping facilities and others don't, but the best part is that it the parks are affordable and we always feel safe with other friendly motor homers. Vehicles must be completely self contained and the club is not open to hired campers, but visitors to NZ who own their own van can be members, which I think would be very helpful.

The Otago Rail Trailhttp://www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz/   




We are not very intrepid cyclists but Warren was keen to do part of this 152 kilometer long trail which runs from Clyde to Middlemarch. The Otago Rail Trail opened in 2000 and is one of NZ's original cycling routes. We hired one bike from the Altitude cycle shop in Alexandra (my old banger is a bit ordinary), and drove us the 45 kilometers to a rural spot called Auripo so we could cycle the easy way - downhill! In our defense it was only a slight downward gradient most of the way and we had to push into a strong head wind too. 47 kilometers was a long way for me and I worried that I wouldn't manage it, but when Phil, our driver, told me children have done it and some very old folk including a 90 year old, I had no choice but to stop winging and get on my bike. In reality my anxiety was unfounded. It was an easy enough route which I handled well.

Being in these wide open valleys surrounded by dry hills dotted with weird black  pancake shaped rocks was awesome. The beer at Chatto Creek Tavern was welcome too.

There are only a few wild flowers growing, but the hills are covered in low growing wild thyme, apparently planted by the pioneers who needed it to flavour rotting meat. No refrigeration then!

I was so tired after our ride that I thought I couldn't manage and eight kilometer bike ride to Clyde the next day, so we took the truck. Clyde is one of the original gold mining towns in Central Otago. Old stone houses, shops and pubs have been refurbished and there are several good eateries and cafes.

 These small towns have been built on the banks of the powerful and fast flowing Clutha River, New Zealand's longest river, which is fed by lakes Hawea and Wanaka.

The Clyde Post Office

A short drive from Clyde took us to the Clyde Dam, the site of a massive electricity generator which supplies Dunedin and Christchurch and parts of the North Island too. This is NZ's  biggest concrete dam, an impressive sight.


From Alex we moved on to Roxborough, a small village where we visited an elderly relative, cycling 5.5.kilometers along the lovely 'Gold Trail,' which runs beside the river. She loves it here and I can now understand why. Central Otago has a micro climate unlike anywhere else in the country. It boasts both the hottest and the coldest temperatures in the county, so is usually reliably warm and dry in summer, and crisp in winter with amazing mountain views.

The hills slowly changed from golden straw to green during the 150 km trip from Roxborough to Dunedin, the country's southern most city, and the weather forecast is for rain. Time to enjoy some city life, shops museums and to catch up on some minor repairs. Perhaps some movies are in order.