Van Tour – The Maiden Voyage – Day 5 – Dams, Whales and Elephant

6 May 2018, Ohau B NZMCA Park to Waikouaiti

When I woke up I could see through my skylight that it was a dreary day so I decided to have another lie in. I set off after lunch heading to Benmore Dam. I had driven on this road a couple of times when on Army Exercises but had not done any sightseeing so this was the first time I had seen the dam.

I turned off SH 83 and followed the road beside the river until coming around the corner and seeing the Dam. The road then winds up the hill beside the dam to a carpark overlooking Lake Benmore, the dam and then the river below the van. There were some walks to do but as I wanted to do a different walk I saved these for another time.

I headed back down the road and stopped a km short of the main road to do the Otematata Wetland Walkway. There was a network of tracks, though only some of them marked on the display maps. The tracks were in good condition and there were interesting information boards showing the types of birds and plants in the different environments. I meandered around for around an hour and enjoyed the gentle walk. There were not many birds except for some black swans on the lake and some ducks on the ponds.

Once back on the main road I continued heading SE passing Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitati. I was impressed by the size of the waves on the lakes. At a viewpoint at the East of Lake Aviemore I watched a Motorhome crossing on top of the dam and waves were breaking over the road in front of them.

At the Lake Waitati viewpoint was some interesting information boards about the Waitati Dam. 36.5 m high, 354 long, producing 105 megawatts. It was completed in 1934 and was the Second Power Station built in the south island, the first being at Lake Coleridge.

I stopped in Kurow for a coffee then just short of Duntroon was Takiroa Maori Rock Art site right beside the road. Judging by the large carpark it must be busy in peak season. A 50m walk lead to a series of information panels and the cliff overhangs which protected the art. Unfortunately earlier scientists removed many of the art pieces and the information panels showed the sketches done in 1852 before the removal so you could try and imagine what it was like with the few bits still there as reference points. While the art was not overly impressive I was loving the cliffs above which was pockmarked and interesting shapes, complete with resident pigeons.

   

A couple of km more down the road and I turned off at a church which looked like a little castle.

The road turned to gravel and then meandered a few km to the Earthquakes Fossil Whale Site. I parked on the tiny grass park (room for two cars only). I crossed the stile and walked on a grass track up a hill for 50 meters to the cliffs. The cliffs were interesting and showed several geological periods. There was a great information board which showed the layers in the cliff and explained them. Also it had information on the fossil of a Baleen Whale. There was a cage with some bones in which I could not make sense of until comparing with the labelled photo on the information board. I continued on the track fascinated by the scenery. Not knowing if the track was still part of the site or now on the private farmland I reluctantly turned back. I could quite happily have kept going for the fascination of what was around the next corner.

     

Next on the itinerary was Elephant Rocks, just under 10 km away. This site was a field of huge rocks in interesting shapes. I wandered through the rocks looking at the different shapes. This would be a great picnic location.

This was my last planned stop as I had not noticed there was another site on this road. I was just short of getting back on SH83 when I passed a sign for Maerewhenua Rock Art Site. I reversed back up to a wider part of the verge to park and walked back. There was a gravel path up a short steep hill to the site under a cliff overhang. This site had a definite sea theme with sea creatures, what I thought was a Pa entrance, and a person.

The views from the site over the surrounding farmland was pretty impressive too.

I was also able to look down on my van from above and was able to get a photo of my roof setup.

 

Now I headed into Oamaru and had the delightful experience of emptying my toilet cassette for the first time. Getting the cassette out of the van was a little difficult. I have the access from the inside as I did not want to cut holes in my van. Normally it is easy to access but as the side door was stuck I had to lift the cassette over the front seat, clamber over myself and then out the front door. Thankfully the seals held and no leaks doing this. I managed the emptying mess free but learnt some small lessons and will be more efficient next time. That task done it was a short 1 hour drive to get back to my Mothers House and the end of this journey.

While it was a little awkward having things cluttered in the van without the organised storage I will have I am glad I decided to do this test run. I found a few faults I need to fix, the first being the side door, then the sink drain which leaked at one seal, getting rid of the shower cutoff button, checking the inverter, lifting the rear mount for my bike. Also finally getting the front seat out and replacing with a single seat so I can move between the front and back easier.

Overall though I am really happy with my design. I was able to access what I needed and had more room than I thought I would. Now I have a few more weeks to finish everything and off for another trip.

 

 

 

 

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