We took one long last look at Lake Wanaka this morning and then packed the car and headed south. We pretty much followed the Clutha River south (we think of it as ‘Our River’), through Cromwell, Clyde, Alexandra, Roxburgh to Balclutha and then to where it flows into the Pacific Ocean at Molyneux Bay. And then we went on a bit further to Kaka Point, where we are staying for a few days.
In Cromwell, we stopped to look at the old town. As we mentioned in a previous post, Cromwell used to be called The Junction, because it is where the Clutha and the Kawarau Rivers come together. When the Clyde Dam was built and Lake Dunstan created, the town of Cromwell was relocated to higher ground. A Heritage Precinct has been assembled from old buildings. It’s rather quaint – if a bit precious.
From Cromwell, we drove to Clyde to look at the dam, which is a fantastic structure: NZ’s Hoover Dam. Interestingly, during construction, it became apparent that the dam was built on an earthquake fault, so it had to be built in 2 sections. There is a slip joint between the two parts (over the fault). This allows the two parts of the dam to accommodate a maximum displacement of 2 metres resulting from any earthquake movement. A concrete wedge, with stainless steel facings, two metres thick and 102 metres high is held in place by the pressure of water.
As we drove further south the landscape changed. We started to see huge outcrops of rocks on the slopes, but the valleys are clearly fertile – stone fruit orchards and vineyards are plentiful.
We skipped back and forth over the Clutha and enjoyed some impressive bridges. It was not possible to take photos of them all, but we did get a shot of a nice one in Alexandra.
We had a comfort stop in Roxburgh – a very impressive system of automated public toilets, with a quite lovely steel sculpture. You have a maximum of 10 minutes, the flush activates when you wash your hands. There is a symphony to keep you company on the inside. Probably TMI!
We were quite taken with a mural on one of the buildings in Roxburgh. One of the Teviot Valley’s defining characteristics has been an enduring amalgamation of different people and different cultures. Māori traversed the Pacific and used the Central Otago area as a travel route and seasonal food source. Miners came from Asia, Australia and Europe based on the speculative promise of gold. Settlers built a platform for the development of significant horticultural and agricultural industries. More recently the fruit industry has been supported by a workforce who come from a range of countries including Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Malaysia. It the mural, you can see the influences of these different cultures and the Clutha River running through it all.
We made a brief stop in Balclutha to pick up some provisions and then headed to Kaka Point. We’re quite taken with our new accommodations. We look directly out on to the Molyneux Bay. We are not missing the groaning or the rustic nature of our last pad. As soon as we’d emptied the car, we took a walk along the beach – just us! Perfect. Tomorrow we explore more, hoping to see some of the local wildlife.
