Further up the Rail Trail

This is our last day for exploring the country around Wanaka so with picnic basket packed we set off to explore further along the Central Otago Rail Trail and kept the car rolling until we had driven past the places at which we had stopped yesterday. It meant a long stretch of driving – over two hours non stop – but once we started to explore new country that distance was forgotten and the cameras were kept busy. 1/60 f/8 ISO 200

Our first stop of interest was a watering hole that has become busy thanks to the development of the cycle track along the old railway tracks.

1/100 f/8 ISO 200

Wedderburn has a namesake in Australia but other than the name there is no similarity at all. This Wedderburn totals one old hotel and one back packer farm-stay. The hotel is built from what looks to be local stone, but I suspect that it has been restored and refurbished a few times since its original construction. The summer outside garden area is enclosed with the same stonework and the way it has been done gives character to a functional area. What amused us was the line-up of vehicles for hire near by. We wondered where the people would come from to hire these vehicles! Surely the cyclists wouldn’t want them!
At a T Junction I made a decision to turn left to see what Naseby looked like. It was only 15k up the road so not far. What a gem this place turned out to be! It is not on a through road, the road goes no further, and yet the town is quite sizeable and full of the most interesting buildings dating back to the late 1800’s. We locked the car and walked around taking plenty of photos of a town that seems to have been stuck in time. The shops that were open seemed to be selling junk from that era too!
The only picture of the buildings I am sharing with you is of a haberdashery on the corner.

1/180 f/6.9 ISO80 (p & s Samsung N50)

The little dark painted shop next door to it is a clock and optical shop! What a combination. Get your clock fixed while you try on some new spectacles! The items in the window were fascination and both Colin and I managed to take a couple of shots of them. It’s no good. I shall have to show you one of the pictures I took! Like I said, it is as though the place has been stuck in time, this display looks so natural! 1/60 f/3.9 ISO 100 (p & s Samsung N50)

As it was time for lunch I pulled the car up beside a grassy area with some dark and healthy fir trees. On taking a second look at the trees I was amazed to find that these trees had been planted in 1880 after being brought from different parts of the world, there was a tree from Afganistan, one from Canada, and the two huge Wellingtonia (Sesquoiadendron giganteum) were from California, USA. (there were labels on the trees!) You can tell from the size of our tiny red Toyota Corolla just how big these trees are!

1/180 f6.3 ISO 80 (p & s Samsung N50)

Another unexpected find was a german gun - sorry I am not interested enough in weapons to know what sort of gun it is! The NZ soldiers from Naseby who won the particular battle and comandeered this gun had it shipped to England and then it was send on to NZ where it eventually wound up at Naseby. When you drive the country roads for miles and miles and see nothing but hills and sheep it is a real surprise to learn that the soldiers from this little town were presented with this trophy! And look how new and well preserved it looks! It doesn't look as if it is nearly 100 years old.1/180 f/6.3 ISO 80 (p & s Samsung N50)

Our next town visited was Ranfurly and it is different as it could possibly be from Naseby. This town is quite large too but its buildings are mostly 1950s and are of the Art Deco style. We walked into one of them and found ourselves confronted by a delightful volunteer who really enjoyed explaining about the towns we had visited. She had some stories of her own travels to share too so it was difficult to tear ourselves away!
This evening we pack our cases in readiness for the long trek back to Christchurch. Just as we had promised ourselves, we shall be taking back to Australia a large chunk of New Zealand in our memory cards!
AJ