[St. Bathans, New Zealand] Back on the road earlyish today after refueling. The little van is consuming just under 10l of petrol per 100km and with fuel costing around R10.30 per litre it is more expensive than we had hoped. First stop of the day was another LOTR location. This time the scene of the ‘Flight to the Ford’ where Arowen is taking Frodo to Rivendale and is being chased through the trees by the black riders. We found the place but could not get to it. Private land as part of the Tarras vineyard. One of these days we’ll get onto a location !

A short snack at Lake Dunstan and then into Cromwell. The ‘historic’ part of town was truly dismal. The few old buildings that exist where relocated from the original town centre before it was flooded as part of the hydro dam. The end result does not look very authentic but still better than the massive (and massively cheesy) fruit salad outside the new town centre. V had read that this is THE place to get fresh produce but we had no luck and ended up at the supermarket (biggest building in town) to stock up – they didn’t even have chives, but we splurged on some lamb chops and had a friendly chat with the cashier on the way out (almost all of the Kiwis we have met have been very friendly).

This area is full of gold rush towns. Most are now ghost towns or tourists spots on the Otago Central Rail Trail (a 150km long bicycle route along a decommissioned railway line). We stopped in at Clyde. A very quaint single street town with some delightful old buildings. Most have been converted to bike shops (servicing the rail trail), restaurants and guest houses.

Next up was Omakau and an old (1880) suspension bridge near Ophir. Ophir was another surprise. As old as old can get in New Zealand the tiny town also holds the record for the lowest temperature recorded in NZ, -22 deg C. Lucky for us it was sunny and warm so we stopped for lunch at the suspension bridge.

Last stop for the day was another gold rush boom and bust town. Saint Bathans (Population 6) has a picturesque Blue Lake that has gone a little green. The lake is man made – a result of the gold mining. We took a stroll from the ‘Vulcan Hotel’ (how cool) down to the lake and took some shots around the towns preserved buildings before heading to the campsite.

The ‘domain’ near town is just a public space that can be used for camping free of charge. We arrived in the huge tree spotted field to find two other groups there along with a tap and the cleanest long-drop toilet in the world (complete with loo paper).

I have to mention dinner. Up till now it’s just been regular camp food. Tins, noodles, pasta-n-sauce, that kind of thing. Tonight we had mash potatoes with chili and lamb chops. Simple but unbelievably awesome for camp food. Just wish we could have had a braai – no fires allowed.

[Pictures: Giant fruit salad outside Cromwell. The suspension bridge near Ophir and the man made lake at St Bathans]

– Posted from my iPhone via 3G