Cromwell and the Bannockburn Sluicings walk

After leaving Glendhu and getting a few supplies in, we headed further south to Cromwell. We had been here before in sunnier times, and really enjoyed the bike riding and exploring the heritage area. This time we decided to do the Bannockburn Sluicings walk.

Bannockburn was the scene for gold mining in the early 1860’s, and is also famous now because Jane Campion filmed her latest movie “the Power of the Dog” here. The early miners found gold in between the layers of rubble that formed the hills. They sprayed the hillside with water cannons to loosen the rubble so they could sieve for the gold in the muddy sediment. What they left behind was piles of rocks, and steep towering precipices of hillside that had survived the water cannons.

The terrain was bleak and forbidding and dusty. Not much water was to be had in the area, so they built dams (now just ruins) to preserve it. I was really surprised to find that the only greenery growing in the area was actually the herb Thyme – acres of it and so fragrant when you walked on it. There were a few scraggly manuka bushes, but most of the original forest plants had been burnt for fuel.

They made a small town up in the hills called Stewart Town. The remains of a few of the stone cottages are still there, as well as the old fruit trees that had planted. ( the tin roof was put on to try and preserve the ruins).It was a fine day when we started out but by the time we got to the top at Stewart Town the wind was up and it was very cold. I have great admiration for the families who tried to survive here.

Overall, it was a great walk, with narrow ledges to traverse, but stunning views and a great history lesson. The dogs were happy to get back to the van and have a snooze, and we headed to the Bannockburn township to have lunch. Not much remains of the original buildings of the time but a couple have been preserved.

We had lunch down by the river which was much prettier……

…and then proceeded to the Historic Precinct for a quick look. The wind was freezing, and most of the shops were shut, so a quick look was all it was before we headed back to camp.

The buildings above were saved from the original township when it was flooded to form Lake Dunstan (for a hydro-electric scheme), and set up here out of harms way. A reminder of what the town of Cromwell used to be like. Now it is a sprawling metropolis with lots of building happening and new roading systems to support it.

The NZMCA camp is situated on the side of Lake Dunstan, and in itself is really lovely. It is a good place to walk the dogs, and the multitude of rabbits that we had seen the last time we were here, (just before the first Covid lockdown) had settled to a more reasonable few.

Sunrise over Lake Dunstan was pretty.