Tag: walking

Pinders Pond and Roxburgh

by awayfromhomenz

It was with some regret that we left Gabriels Gully and Lawrence and headed towards Pinders Pond and Roxburgh.

The last time we were in this area we had the drama of a flat tyre, so it was really nice to enjoy it this time without the drama.

Pinders Pond is also a gold mining area, alongside the Clutha River. The pond is where diggings once were. In the autumn colours it is very pretty and a lovely freedom camp.

As it happened, the van parked next to us also had two schnauzers, as well as a black lab cross. We had met them before at Waipapa Light House where I had the run in with the sea lions. Princess Di (as she calls herself) and Dennis arrived the day before us and the schnauzers enjoyed a bit of a play.

It was a quiet night, and the next morning we were able to make use of the cycle track alongside the river, which was pleasant for both the dogs as well as us.

After the dogs were a bit tired we headed into Roxburgh for a look and gravitated towards Lake Roxburgh and the power station. The only place we could drive to for a look had a big sign that said “Danger – for people with implanted medical devices”. That was enough for me, and we were off pretty quickly, and too quickly for Bruce to get a photo.

Just outside Roxburgh was a sign saying “Historic Bridge” so we went to have a look. It was an interesting place as the old bridge was a wooden structure that still looked pretty sound, although it was apparently built in 1887. The new bridge is alongside it, and if you stand in the right place it almost looks like they intersect (an illusion). The new bridge is pretty flash though.

The area is prettily landscaped and made a nice stopping place for lunch.

Roxburgh was a pretty enough town, with dramatic hills alongside the Clutha River, but there wasn’t enough to stay on for, so we headed on down the road towards Alexandra.

Slope Point – and seal capers

by awayfromhomenz

Next on our list of adventures, was a repeat trip to Slope point and the Waipapa point Lighthouse. The last time we were down this way the light house was all shrouded in plastic wrap as it was being re-furbished. We hoped to see more than just the top of it this time.

Once again the weather wasn’t the best but as it was just showery, I guess it could have been worse. Once again we were lucky in that it cleared enough for us to have a wander around.

At the base of the path up to the lighthouse is a sign warning that there may be sea lions in the area, and to stay at least 10 metres away from them as they can be aggressive. I wandered around the base of the light house and was on one side when Bruce called to me from the other. He pointed out this brown lump in the grass that I had not seen at all having been concentrating on photographing the lighthouse itself. It was a large lump, and at first I thought it must have been dead, but on closer observation I could see it breathing.

We hastily moved away and left it undisturbed.

The beach down from the light house had a big rocky point but also a little sandy cove.

There was a distinct path down to the beach so off I wandered down the path, expecting Bruce and the dogs to follow. The dogs started barking, and Bruce started calling out to me. I looked behind to see what all the fuss was about, and it seemed there was another sea lion in the grass next to the path that I had innocently wandered past. The dogs had woken it up, and it was starting to get a bit stroppy, lunging towards me once, and towards the dogs a couple of times. I was stranded!

Bruce had to take the dogs away, and I kept out of its way to give it a chance to settle down, and then I gingerly picked a path through long grass on the other side of the path, hoping I did not come across any other seal lions in the process!

Thankfully I didn’t, but so much for keeping 10 metres away!

I happened to look down to the beach and saw a couple of big paua shells lying there. Bruce was keen to go down and get them, but that would have meant going past the sea lion again, so I vetoed that!

Once we had recovered our nerves we settled into the motorhome again for the short trip to Slope Point. Slope Point is the southern most point of the South Island, and although we had been there before, we had to go again as we were so close.

To get to the point you have to trek over farmland, avoiding sheep poo and cow pats.

There has clearly been some erosion since we were last here, and the place is still rugged and exposed, with steep drops down to the sea.

We wandered around a bit and enjoyed the view (and the wind) before trekking back over the farm back to the car park.

The trees around this area are legendary in that they are all bent over by the wind. Some of them were judged to be the world’s most beautiful in 2017.

Even the long drop toilets at Slope point are cute.

All done for the day, we travelled on to our resting place for the night at Kaka Point.