Yesterday we cruised out of Wanaka and headed towards Cromwell at the end of a busy day. The intention had been to stay at the NZMCA site in Cromwell, although our reading informed us that there is high competition for this site as it is only allow 10 vans.
However, as we were driving up the side of Lake Dunstan (made by the flooding for the Clyde Dam) we came across a site right on the lake shore where there were lots of Motorhomes parked up. We investigated and found it was a free camping site that allowed dogs so we found ourselves a nice spot and parked up for the night.
This was an early stop for us but we had decided to relax a bit and even to have a sleep in in the morning. It was a great place to camp and to swim the dogs, and although there were a lot of motorhomes it was quiet and peaceful.
As per schedule we had a late start and after much discussion we decided to head to Cromwell and have a look around there. What a lovely town it is. On the way into town we came across a large orchard so we stopped to have a look. Well, more than looking occurred and we came away with superb nectarines, apricots, a jar of brandied apricots, vanilla and cherry jam, a bottle of spicy apricot sauce and a jar of spiced blackberry pickle. That should keep us going for a while!
Cromwell town itself appears to be prosperous, tidy, and probably quite wealthy. It is surrounded by vineyards and orchards but we were left wondering how anything could grow in the soils that we saw – very rocky and crumbly. The hillsides around Cromwell show signs of frequent rockfalls. The town is basically built from scratch after the building of the Clyde dam which flooded a lot of the original township. The little museum we found clearly showed us what had been lost both in the way of land and buildings, but also in heritage. The manager of the museum also told us though, that the exhibits did not tell the story of the great number of benefits the dam had brought the town as well.
Many of the historical buildings in the area to be flooded were relocated to the Cromwell Historical quarter, so after a cup of coffee and a nibble, we headed in that direction. I would have to say that we found it much better than Shantytown, and the bonus was that an Italian cafe located in one of the old buildings sold yummy gelatos.
Cromwell is situated on the junction of the Kawerau and Clutha Rivers. The Clutha river is damed and that forms Lake Dunstan. The lookout on the edge of town and also just outside of town give a great view of this.
We continued on toward Clyde to see the biggest concrete dam in New Zealand – part of the Muldoon Think Big projects. It caused a lot of controversy not just because part of town was going to be drowned, but because all the experts advised against building such a big structure on such unstable land. Millions was spent on stabilising hillsides as seen below, but also on the extensive foundations and stabilising works around the dam itself.
While we were looking at the dam we spied a group of motorhomes on the far side of the lake, just at the edge of the dam complex so we decided to have a look. We drove through Clyde without stopping to look (but deciding we would have to go back tomorrow) and crossed the river on a rickety looking bridge to find another reserve, owned by the power company, but available for freedom camping. It looked too good not to stop so again we found our perfect spot and set up camp for the night – another idyllic setting.
Away From Home NZ 