For this area, I have chosen the places from Milton, (Clarkes Junction) westward. There are other areas such as Lawrence but are of no significance to me personally. Between Milton and Millers Flat is predominantly farming. After Millers Flat, the area becomes mountainous, some which receive some snow, making the areas of postcard quality. In the valleys of the mighty Clutha River, schist rocks become the norm, with a number of tors visible. This rock has become one of the building blocks for many historic and modern day structures. Most of the Central Otago towns which are in the valleys of the Clutha River have their own micro-climates, with fruit and wine growing as predominant activities. Wild thyme which gives off a pleasant aroma grows in abundance.

Lawrence district

A fruit growing district on Highway 8 between Lawrence and Roxburgh.  The hotel serving the district is almost the same design as two others in the area, Raes Junction and Millers Flat. An interesting trip can be taken if one is travelling from Central Otago is down the Clutha River, ending up at Balclutha. This route takes you past forests, and at Tuapeka Mouth there exists the only punt in New Zealand.

This whole valley has been threatened with drowning, as a dam has been proposed for the area for hydro electric power.

A number of years ago, the Clutha River had been lowered, enabling a group of hardy souls to dig out a couple of steam locomotives from the river bed, and it is hoped that these would be running soon.

A few kilometres past the Beaumont Bridge, which crosses the Clutha River, is the Beaumont hill, a task once daunting to the motorists and the horses and their coaches, but now with more modern vehicles, can climb the incline with ease.

Central Otago

A substantial town on the route between Dunedin and Alexandra, Roxburgh is predominantly a fruit growing district cultivating cherries, strawberries, apricots, peaches and apples. It has been said that the fruit in the Roxburgh area, and indeed other parts of Central Otago have traces of gold, as this metal has been discovered in many parts in the central Otago, and Queenstown districts. The Roxburgh dam is at Coal Creek, 6 miles.  There was a minor gold rush during the construction of the dam, when the Clutha river bed was exposed, but the results were disappointing. I have stopped in Roxburgh plenty of times while passing through to Alexandra, Clyde or Cromwell. An interesting side trip can be taken while motoring between Roxburgh and Alexandra. One turns right at the township, one drives across the bridge spanning the Clutha River, then turn left towards Roxburgh East. The road goes for a fair distance, and then one arrives at the Roxburgh dam. One can actually drive across the concrete structure. I have stopped on the dam itself for a brief minute, and looked at the sheer drop on one side, towards the Teviot valley, and its orchards, township of Roxburgh, then to the other side, at the waters of Lake Roxburgh. At Roxburgh Hydro Village there is a small township, was originally a community for the Roxburgh Hydro, housing the dam workers and families. The detour is worth the twenty minutes.

Another side trip is to Pinders Pond, which was the result of dredging of the Clutha River, now a picnic area, with good swimming. Instead of turning left, at the Roxburgh East Bridge, turn right, and travel about five kilometres towards Millers Flat.

Central Otago

Situated at the junction of Highways 8 and 85, Alexandra owed its establishment to the discovery of gold from the Clutha River and environs. It was originally known as Lower Junction, the town was a satellite town to Clyde, which had the administration for the Dunstan Goldfields. It was eventually named Alexandra for the then Princess of Wales in 1863.  Now a fruit growing district, the townsfolk celebrate the coming of spring with the Blossom Festival in late September each year, with the procession of clowns, floral floats, vintage cars, trucks, horses, marching teams among the activities, which starts at 12 noon. There are quite a few places of interest in the Alexandra district. At the bridge end of the town are the piers of the old suspension bridge which was built in 1883 with locally acquired schist rock, these are of great interest for photographers and artists alike. It is schist rock that is the building block of early Alexandra, and is evident on many fine buildings

After all the gold has lost its appeal, people began to see the potential of Alexandra as a fruit growing area, with orchards of Apricots peaches and other stone fruit.

The semi-desert conditions of the Alexandra district has allowed many relics of the gold mining to remain in remarkably good condition, and indeed modern cars which have spent most of their lives in the Central areas have shown little to no rust compared to their coastal cousins.

The clock on the hill is always a good place to visit. The structure began showing the time, in 1968, and is visible as far away as Clyde, some eight to ten kilometers distant. Not too far away is a place which looks over the Alexandra and Clyde districts, a very pleasant view.

While in Alexandra, why not check out some of the spectacular scenery that makes this area so special by Safari?

I am sure you won’t be disappointed, rather you’d be truly amazed by the schist tors, sitting amongst farmland, and tussock.

A popular swimming and picnic place in a predominantly farming area on the Manuherikia River. One takes Highway 85 for a few kilometres before turning off the main road. Sometimes, as has happened, the Manuherikia River is in flood, the road to the picnic and swimming area gets washed out. There is also a nice area further on. Going through a farm gate (remembering to leave the gate as found, if it is closed, please close it; if it is found open, please leave open) there is a drive through a couple of paddocks. Eventually one comes to a shady area, with willow trees. In the Christmas holiday season, you have to compete for space as a lot of people bring their caravans and tents, and make Galloway Number Two their home away from home. And is it any wonder? Part of the river has been diverted, with the aid of a digger, and the diversion contains enough water for people to swim in. I have been there myself, with the water up over my head. The river of the Manuherikia River runs over pretty warm ground as it heads towards its junction with the Clutha River, and at Galloway, it is pretty warm in the summertime.

Central Otago District.

Known originally as The Dunstan, this place came into prominence as the administrative area of the Dunstan Goldfields with the discovery of gold in the Clutha by Hartley and Riley in 1862.  The population at that time grew to more than 4,000.  As a reflect on its mining past, a number of beautiful buildings made of schist rock are present, some as public places such as a couple of hotels, and houses. I had spent Christmas holidays during my teen years at the camp with my parents.  Site of the Clyde dam, and commencement of Lake Dunstan. During November 1999 there was a flood of the Alexandra and Clyde basin, and at the dam, the authorities decided wisely to let the floodgates open. The result was a torrent of water down the causeway at such a pace, that when it collided with the water that came through the turbines, there was a gush of water rising to almost the top of the dam itself. I was a witness to the spectacle, but alas no camera to record the event.

Central Otago province

In the early days Cromwell was known as "The Junction" as it is situated at the junction of the Kawarau and Clutha Rivers with a landscape consisting of bare rocky hills, and mountains, with tussock, briar and wild thyme as vegetation.  Cromwell was the closest town to the discovery of gold made by Hartley and Reilly; in fact it was only about a kilometre or so from the original town, at Brewery Creek. The original town of Cromwell was below the level of Lake Dunstan with some buildings made out of local schist rocks. With the onslaught of water made by the construction of the Clyde Dam, it was decided to save some of these original buildings, with at least seven being shifted, and another being refurbished to create an old time town, complete with some cottage industries.

The two rivers that converge on Cromwell have totally different colours, and this can be evident when viewing from a layby on the edge of State Highway 8. Now Cromwell is mainly a fruit growing and winery area, with such fruit as apricots, peaches cherries amongst its stone fruit. Where Cromwell is situated in conjunction to Queenstown and Wanaka, it is a cheaper alternative to stay in Cromwell, and drive the fifty kilometres to the two tourist meccas.

Within the Cromwell district are a number of satellite communities such as Lowburn, Bannockburn and Bendigo

An area of some gold mining importance at the head of Lake Dunstan.

Central Otago, Cromwell district

Where my wife and I were married. Much of the original town of Lowburn was drowned in Lake Dunstan. The new area of Lowburn is a very picturesque area, with reflections vivid in the calm water.

Overlooking Upper Clutha District and Cromwell

A mountain range extending from Kawarau to Wanaka, and forms the watershed between Cardrona and upper Clutha rivers.  Highest point is Mount Pisa

Central Otago

Accessible by road to the south from Cromwell Bannockburn was originally known as Quartzville, due to the once importance gold mining. Nowadays Bannockburn is home to a number of vineyards, and winegrowing.

Cardrona Valley between Wanaka and Queenstown

In the 1860s this locality was the scene of gold mining activity chiefly in the bed of the Cardrona River, which flows to junction with the Clutha and Hawea rivers below Wanaka. Only a lone hotel stands midway between Wanaka and Queenstown on the picturesque Highway 89. But in the nineteenth century Cardrona was the scene of feverish gold prospecting, of which there is now very little evidence, only the Cardrona Hotel. Nowadays, the Crown Range road as State Highway 89 is also known, is the scene for many car rallies, with hairpin bends, sharp curves, and a climb to well over 1000 metres above sea level! The road is a public highway, but is sometimes closed due to inclement weather such as snow. When one considers the steep bank one can easily go over it is no wonder.

As a gravel road, there are hazards one must encounter, such as corrugations which can alter the control of the vehicle considerably, but the last years of the twentieth century the authorities felt it was high time the road was tar sealed. Work had been well advanced in November of 1999, when a flood hit the area, causing washouts in the road, rendering it unusable, until a major rebuilding is completed.

The largest river in New Zealand, the main source lakes of this great basin are Hawea, Wanaka, and Wakatipu, Two hundred and ten miles long, the Clutha enters the Pacific Ocean a few kilometres north of Nugget Point.  It has been said that over 2 million cubic feet of water per minute is discharged.  Its most notable characteristic, perhaps is the majority of streams that combine to form the Clutha are gold bearing

The story of the Clutha River goes as follows;

As it leaves the safety of Lake Wanaka, the river flows past Albert Town and under the bridge that carries State Highway 6. Then it passes the scene of Warbirds over Wanaka, a biannual event which displays aircraft from both world wars, and other major battles. Then as it reaches Lake Dunstan, it meets up with State Highway 8, a route it is destined to follow for another hundred miles, and the semi desert areas of the Central Otago. During its connection with the Washdyke to Milton road, it encounters a number of towns with connections to the nineteenth century gold rushes, and successes. Before hitting the first major town of Cromwell, the waters of the lake pass through the 45th parallel, an invisible line marking the exact centre of the southern hemisphere. Here it is exactly halfway between the Equator and the South Pole. As it passes beside Cromwell, it junctions with the equally magnificent Kawarau River, ending that waterway’s relentless path from Queenstown some fifty kilometres away.

Then around the bend between the Dunstan and Cairnmuir Ranges, the Clutha River comes to Brewery Creek, the site of a substantial gold claim discovered by Horatio Hartley and Christopher Reilly. While it was here the claim was made, the administration centre was at Clyde, some thirteen kilometres downstream. Just before the town, with its historic stone buildings, the waters tumble down to the turbines of the third largest hydroelectric power station in New Zealand, at the Clyde Dam. Although this huge structure has had its fair share of troubles before and during its construction during the 1980s, the backup of Lake Dunstan has proven to be a haven for people with boats, yachts and other water craft.

Once past Clyde, the Clutha River continues its relentless journey towards Alexandra, and the two bridges, one completed in 1958, and the pylons of the older suspension bridge. Also at Alexandra, it junctions with the Manuherikia River, a waterway neither as rapid nor as well known as its gold bearing counterpart. Then it arrives at another man made lake, Lake Roxburgh, with its dam at the head of the Teviot Valley.

Then it passes by Roxburgh Township, and onto the lower Teviot Valley. About its arrival at Millers Flat, a small township on the left bank, it leaves behind the schist and desert like terrain of Central Otago, and enters the more sedate farming area, with its greener pastures and more sedate hillsides. Another departure will occur at Beaumont, some twenty kilometres downstream, and that is State Highway 8. As it passes under the single lane bridge, it enters another valley, one which is threatened from drowning by another hydro dam further downstream.

Then the Clutha River arrives at Tuapeka Mouth, another river not only famed for its gold, but also for the only public punt in New Zealand. This vessel is capable of taking vehicles, and was similar to others in the entire length, all of which has been made redundant due to the bridges.

After this township, it careers past Clydevale, and towards Balclutha, the last major town in its journey. Here as it passes under the bridge which carries State Highway 1, the river splits in two, the northern branch passing beside Stirling, and Kaitangata, the latter a coal mining town. Then as it reaches near Wangaloa, it dumps its load into the waters of the Pacific, thus ending a journey over three hundred kilometres of varied scenery, and terrain. There is still the south branch of the Clutha River, and it spends its load just north of Kaka Point. The combined waters of the two branches pump over two million gallons into the ocean every second, making the Clutha River the largest river by volume in New Zealand.

An upper tributary of the Clutha River, the Kawarau begins its relentless rush from Lake Wakatipu near the head of Frankton Arm. Here a dam was built at Kawarau falls at the outlet of Lake Wakatipu with sluice gates to control the outflow.  It was hoped by means of this device to lower the level of the river sufficiently to permit working of the rich gold deposits in its bed. As the river snakes its way downstream, it encounters two rivers made famous for their riches in alluvial gold, the Shotover and the Arrow. The amount of gold recovered from the Arrow made it one of the richest sources in the world! Then after it passes under the second bridge carrying State Highway 6, it encounters the A. J. Hackett bungy jumping enterprise. This is a hair raising activity, to which people trust the holding power of large elastic ropes and jump over the old Kawarau Bridge. After witnessing countless brave souls jump, the river rushes past Gibbston, noted for its many wineries and vineyards. Then just after this locality, the river rounds Nevis Bluff, an unstable hillside, which successfully closed the highway a few times. The last time the boulders came crashing down, motorists were forced to use state highway 89, the Crown Range road. As it passes under the highway once more it comes to a natural bridge, which the Maoris used in ancient times. Then it junctions with the Nevis River, another of the many gold bearing waterways in the district. As the river goes between the Carrick and Pisa ranges, the walls close in, making the Kawarau Gorge a very spectacular area. Two more noted streams are the Gentle Annie and Roaring Meg. The latter river powers an automatic power station. After the last ten or so kilometres of the gorge, the river enters the Cromwell district. The Carrick range gives way to the Bannockburn area, a wine making district, then onto Lake Dunstan. The river slows to a crawl as it hits Lake Dunstan, and so ends its fury, and often rapid descent down the gorge. It meets up with the Clutha River, and people can see the two distinct colours of the rivers as they merge.

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