The old blog address of www.hawkeye.iblog.co.nz may still work for a short while.
The demise of my old blog site was spookily prophesied in Hymn 36!
Otago is steeped in gold-mining history and Golden Point, near Macraes Flat, has some of the old mining equipment maintained in working order. This rock crusher reduced the size of the larger bits of ore before it went in to the battery.
Miners’ accommodation was usually very spartan. This hut can only be described as luxurious with two windows, a coal range and space for a bed, a table and a chair.
A hundred years ago the miners spent a lot of time frequenting the drinking establishments in Macraes. Nowadays the only pub still standing curiously shares its name with my erstwhile adventuring partner Rowan (Stanley) Forbes.
The south island puts a lot of style into even its more mundane infrastructures like bridges and viaducts. This bridge over the Taieri River at Hyde is a good example.
The railway line in Central Otago from Middlemarch to Clyde existed for almost 100 years. The powers that be ripped it out during the 1990’s and in 2000 opened the Otago Central Rail Trail. The 150km trail is suitable for cycling, walking or horse-riding. In keeping with this journey’s motto of keeping a healthy body and mind it was mandatory that I ride the Trail.
Because the Trail was once a railway there are no steep climbs.
Dan’s birthday was on Hallowe’en and we celebrated with a lunch at Cromwell.
Picturesque Moke Lake is about 15kms out of Queenstown and is home to the Ben Lomond Station. Plenty of brown trout visible in the very clear water, but not a single angler managed to net one whilst I was there.
November is the month when your mind drifts into fast-forward mode with thoughts of Christmas and a long hot summer. Snow on Guy Fawkes’ Day is a bloody huge wake-up call regarding the fickleness of spring weather! We had decided to drive over the Crown Range from Queenstown to Wanaka and this was the scene just outside of Cardrona.
I hope this new blog site, operated by Google, has a longer life than my old one.
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Thanks for watching.
Good luck to all your families.
