NZ2024 - Leg 11 - From Maniototo back to Dunedin March 6

 There was a sunrise this morning - a lovely one that lasted only a few moments, not enough time for me to haul my tired butt out of bed and go find a place to shoot it.  And it was followed quickly by a number of bleats from the sheep around the cabins we were in at Peter's Farm Lodge.  This is turn was followed by the sound of a helicopter that was spraying the local fields - flying in very low, back and forth.  Enough to wake the dead.  Might as well get the day started.

We'd heard about Peter's freshly baked bread, and wanted to try it, so we started the day with that, NZ butter, and NZ honey on top.  It was amazing!  But we decided to nix the coffee in favour of finding some along the way to St. Bathans, a historic gold-mining town about 45 minutes to the west of us.  Along with the historic buildings, we'd seen some photos of a small lake there surrounded by huge white walls of stone and a beautiful blue coloured water that was somewhat reflective.  

Ranfurly was the next town over that was right on route to St. Bathans, and sure enough, there was a cafe open that could provide us with a flat white.  We had stopped at the 4 Square market in Palmerston the day before and picked up a couple of items that we could devour for breakfast (besides the fresh bread), yogurt and fruit.  So we figured we could have some of that when we landed in St. Bathans.  Off we went, with the sun shining bright amongst some fluffy white clouds against a brilliantly blue sky - and it was starting to warm up again.  

The drive to St. Bathans is quite smooth and paved for most of the way.  The scenery is a bit different than what we've seen so far, with lots of mountains all around us, but the entire view is golden-brown.  Except for one mountain off in the distance with snow on top.  There is precious little greenery, fewer houses, save a couple of very interesting old historic stone houses and the Wedderburn Hotel - also stone.  

The turn to St. Bathans is onto a gravel road, but it's well maintained, and wider than a single lane for the most part.  Another few kilometers and there we are, going around a curve and the Lake is off to the right and below - stunningly and sunningly beautiful.  And no place to stop, pull over and take photos.

But when we get down into the town, we are blown away by how much we feel like we've stepped back in time by 100 years or more.  There's an old Post Office, a Gold Office, the Vulcan Hotel, and so much more.  We drive along the main road, and see that there isn't much else anymore.  So we find a parking lot to one side, and opt to get out and walk around, capturing the town before it opens up and gets rolling.

As we sidle up to the Post Office and ogle the beautiful School Bell that is now framed on the P.O. property, a young lady catches up to us and strikes up a conversation, starting with welcoming us to St. Bathans, population 8, although 3 are in town shopping so it's probably only 5.  She's super chatty, and asks "what's with all the Americans here today?"  When we say we're actually Canadian, she apologizes for mistaking us as Americans.  (So cute, happens all the time).  We explain about Pink Dunedin, and she regales us with a complete history of the area, the gold mining, rabbit hunting, star of david locks, and sluice pipes.  Fascinating!  She even lets us in to tour the Post Office, and shows us around the Gold Office, where we get some interesting photos and brain tweaks.

  

By this time, we're ripe for a flat white, and the Vulcan Hotel has now opened, and is playing some lovely old jazz that drifts out on the street.  We pop in, order our coffee, and find a table outside on the sidewalk.  It's perfect.  The sun is now out full and it has warmed up significantly from the day before.  More and more people start coming into town, and the bistro tables fill up, as well as the beer garden tables across the street in the shade under the trees.  We decide to get going on our walk along the Lake to see if I can get any reflection shots - the biggest reason I came.  

What we find is an absolutely stunning view of the white rock wall and blue lake, with just enough breeze to remove any possibility of reflection - for the first while.  But then the breeze dies, and the lake becomes a mirror, and all is right with the world.  

We walk around part of it, but decide against doing the entire trail, as we still want to get to Naseby for those historic buildings with some decent light.  Instead, we go down to the beach area that we've seen from the top of the hill at the edge of the lake, and get some different angles, have a picnic of Evansdale Cheese and fruit, and then maybe head out again.

After our snack, Linda opts for a wee nap, so I walk around the other side of the lake, and check out the "caves" that we saw from the trail, and find some interesting rock shapes.  This would be a fantastic place to stay for a few days, photograph this unique feature from every angle and in every light.  But we must press on, there is just too much to see and do.  We are so glad we came, however, and it was worth every moment of the drive up.

The drive back is just as lovely as it was coming up, and there are a couple of places we hope to stop - one is a stone house that is for sale.  This is dream bait - especially since it appears to be a home stay type of place.  Hmmmmm.......

We continue on, through Palmerston, chatting and reliving our amazing day and adventures from the day before, and enjoying some beautiful weather and scenery as we make our way to our new hotel, the Kingsgate, back in Dunedin.  By the time we arrive, we are tired, happy and very hungry, so we checked our Google maps for a nearby restaurant.  There were a few, but not many, and while the first one we found was booked solid, the second was almost empty - but closing soon.  Still, The Rustic agreed to feed us, and we ordered something simple - a couple of appetizers (starters, entrees....) which were very, very good.  

Walking back didn't seem as bad as we thought it might.  It had been downhill to the Octagon from the hotel, and we were a bit concerned it might be a steep uphill climb to return, but it really wasn't bad, and by the time we got to our room, we were fine.  Still, sitting down and having a glass of wine seemed like a pretty good idea.  We planned out what we wanted to do the next day (today), and I wrote yesterday's blog from the day before.  Some day, I'll get caught up.....