LAUDER is actually very Quiet!

Heading South

Another highlight of our South Island trip in May 2011 was a visit to Alexandra and the Eastern Southland region. The weather had become showery and overcast, but as it was early May, this was expected. They had already had a dumping of snow in parts, but as each warmer day arrived,the snow quickly melted. After leaving Te Anau we headed off to Lumsden and as I come from a long line of Railway men (excuse the pun) it was sad to see many local lines ripped up and transformed into cycling tracks. I know that rail has become unproductive in many rural areas, but New Zealand Government policy of selling it off to private concerns in the 1980s, where it was stripped of assets and then almost became extinct did not help railway to prosper. I guess if it encourages tourists to come and cycle or walk all over our landscape, while spendingmoney in the small rural towns, it is a positive benefit to NZ.

 

Rodgers Engine @ Croydon

Lumsden has a number of old railway buildings including the old station and the water tower and I loved the tiny local RSA building. I bet it was very crowded on Anzac Day! As we drove along the highway to Gore, we were startled to see an old Rodgers vintage steam engine sitting on a small length of rail close to another building that looked like a museum of some sort. Sure enough, we pulled into the car park of the Croydon Aircraft Museum next to the Mandeville airport and lo and behold a fascinating collection of vintage airplanes. Many of the planes are in excellent condition and are still taking passengers on flights. The floor was spic and span and the chap on the reception counter was very friendly indeed. The building was quite new and the whole conglomerate is owned by a trust. The steam engine is undergoing a refit and will have tracks laid so that it can regain it's ability to shunt around the yards. Gore has always been a favorite town of mine and my first visit would have been in the late 1940s on my visit to the South Island as a small child with my Dad. We received NZR passes because of him being an engine driver and I had a 1/4 fare pass and except for one flight in an old DC3 of NAC Airlines (a forerunner to Air New Zealand) we always travelled by NZR, which included the Cook Strait ferry and the Earnslaw ferry at Queenstown

Lyn checks out the 1932 Fox Moth

 I remembered the Creamoata porridge factory which was located by the main railway line and the building still carries the huge graphic of Sgt Dan, the Creamoata Man that was printed on every packet sold. They also produced Thistle rolled oats, but I gather the factory only processes stock feed now and the Creamoata products (a smoother version of rolled oats) have been discontinued by their new Aussie owners. Gore is also famous for the Annual Golden Guitar Country music festival and the town is very pretty with many trees in the town centre and features a huge Brown Trout statue as well as a huge Guitar statue. 

As we drove through Gore we noticed a building that sported a sign advertising "Errol Allison Art Studio and Gallery" This is the same name of my close relative Errol Allison who lives in New Plymouth and is one of my family" heroes" for his exploits during the war with our double VC Winner Capt. Charles Upham. It turns out that Young Errol (aged 68 years ) is named after Errol (aged 92) and this makes him a relative also. He made BOTH STATUES and is a local town hero for his work.
Here is a photo and article relating to the statues http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellywood-or-what/5559173/Why-is-town-branding-so-cringe-worthy.

We have yet to meet young Errol!

My Father was born in Wyndham in Southland, but lived in this region as a teenager on a small family farm at McNab and my Grandfather worked on the railway as a "lasher". Dad left the farm around the age of 16 and went to Invercargill, where he joined the NZR Locomotive branch, retiring 40 years later in Auckland as a top roster Engine Driver, so I grew up with the stories of "Hokonui Whisky" (illicit distilleries) and fishing in the Mataura River etc. We had a bit of a scare around Tapanui, where there had been heavy rain over the previous couple of days. As we drove down a very steep hill I noticed a truck on the side of the road with it's cab light flashing. There was no sign of anyone outside the truck, so we sailed past at 100kms and whamo! We hit a deeply flooded dip that hadn't been obvious until then. I decided to press on through the flood, albeit a bit slower and the heart was in overdrive as the water started to come over the car bonnet! I wondered if I stopped then, the car might get stuck, so we just pressed on and came out the other side ok. The truck was there to tow stranded motorists out of the deep hollow, shame they didn't have signs further up the road! We reached the Roxburgh Dam early in the afternoon and the spillway looked mighty impressive with the recent rain filling the dam to the rim.


Arriving in Alexandra, the Blossom Capital of NZ, we decided to head for our Motel after a long day on the road and after settling in, we contacted my Sister Carna & Husband Doug who were travelling in their bus and arranged to meet for dinner. Boy! can those Southland Chefs put on a meal and after staggering through huge plates of excellent food, we retired to our Motel ready for the next day. Carna & Doug headed off in the opposite direction as they live near Kurow and before leaving, we decided to see a bit more of Alexandra, which is known as the hottest, driest and coldest town in New Zealand Stacking our gear in the car was fun, as a heavy fog had descended and we couldn't see very much at all, but we drove to the bridge over the Clutha River, which has a wonderful viewing area and where you can see the vineyards and orchards that have become the lifeblood of the area. Unfortunately, Lyn missed seeing the huge clock that is embedded into a rocky outcrop because of the fog, but we admired the hard rocky landscape of this Central Otago area. As we headed North, the weather picked up nicely and as there was hardly any traffic, the ride was very pleasant indeed. We drove through Ophir, which has the lowest temperature reading in NZ (-22c) from memory and with the St Bathans mountain range on our left, we reached a high plateau named Lauder, where we stopped to admire the fantastic view.

There was absolutely no sound except for passing cars and we had a delightful 360 degree view of this Central Otago landscape. Through my binoculars I could see a farm house and a distant sound of a small vehicle being driven along the homestead road. A barking dog and some sheep were all that I could hear and both Lyn and I enjoyed this spot immensely. Who needs to go overseas to see such splendor? This area is now famous for the Otago Central Rail Trail and I can recommend a visit to their site http://www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz/lauder.html I wish I could ride a bike!

After finishing morning tea, we headed off to Ida Creek, Hyde, McRaes Flat until we reached Middlemarch. Many of these names were familiar to me as they were railway stops from the past and in the old days, the farmers in the region were extremely reliant on the railway for transport as the roads had not been fully established. (There's a little history lesson for you!) We reached the turnoff to Naseby and decided to visit this small historic settlement, mainly to see the Autumn scenery and we weren't disappointed. It was extremely quiet, but I believe it is a popular destination in Winter for the annual Curling competitions and the Motto of the District reads " 2000ft above the worry level" . The houses and pubs in the township have mostly been restored, but have kept the style of a bygone pioneering era. My brother Roger and His Wife Donna were snowed in while visiting in Winter and it is apparently known for very cold temperatures most years. There is an interesting link to Naseby here http://www.naseby.co.nz/

Moeraki Boulders

 The Scottish association is very strong throughout Otago and there many places named after famous (and not so famous) Scottish identities, I felt quite at home! After leaving Naseby we headed through Palmerston toward the coast and arrived at the Moeraki Boulders at low tide, so we got to see these unusual stone objects at their best. My youngest Daughter Heather and Husband Steve had taken film of the boulders when they visited on their honeymoon, so we were curious to see them ourselves. We drove to Shag Point to see the seals and dolphins, but the seals and dolphins had decided to retire for the afternoon as the weather was deteriorating and so we decided to head off to Dunedin for our final night in the South Island. Mosgiel is not far from the Dunedin airport and we had booked in advance and on the recommendation of the Motel owner, we dined at the Mosgiel Tavern.

The Southern Man @ Dunedin Airport

On every journey South in recent year, we have been impressed with not only the quality of the food eaten, but the amount of food served. I am sure the "Southern Man" promotion has a physcological effect on all the Chefs and everywhere you go, size, stamina and stoicism, seem to go hand in hand. As always, we were sad to fly home the next morning, but we were both making "bucket list notes" for the next trip.


MAYBE THE TRANS ALPINE NEXT??