After leaving Te Anau, where I had such a wonderful time exploring Fiordland, and creating memories that will stay with me forever, (or until I lose my faculties - some will say that’s not that far away) I drove down to Lumsden, then Gore. They were nice little towns, but I was still coming down from the excitement of Fiordland.

I did however stumble across a wee gem, Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre, where they had some great displays of New Zealand aviation history. Of particular interest to me was the DeHavilland Dominie that used to fly down South Westland. The interest to me was because my late father had regaled my brother and myself with stories of being flown in and landed on the Big Bay beach by something similar (it might be this one) when he and some colleagues went deer shooting down there. It was of interest that he took photos out the window of the Dominie that showed (early 1960’s) of a herd of over 500 deer.

After a nice couple of days relaxing, and taking a deep breath, I set off for Central Otago. It’s like a different world when you leave the lushness of Southland and drive over the range to get into Central Otago where an almost lunar landscape is evident. New Zealand is a land of contrast and here, that contrast is very evident.

Finding fruit in Roxburgh

First objective was to get a whole pile of late summer fruit at Roxburgh - I was not disappointed and grabbed plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, blueberries and blackberries -a fruit diet for the next few days. It was wonderful.

This is an area I was quite well used to, from my time with Electricity Corporation, but I was not prepared for the rampant housing growth right across Central Otago. I was later told in Cromwell Museum that the area has been consistently the fastest growing in New Zealand over the last 10 years.

I stopped at the Roxburgh Dam, and it was just beautiful.

Then through to the NZMCA Park in Alexandra, which is really well sited, being right next to the Alexandra Swimming Pool and contains nice swimming pools and an awesome sauna which I used a number of times during my stay. Price is good at $6 including shower.

Alexandra is a really nice town, and I spent considerable time riding my bike around. It really is a mecca for cyclists, and I made a plan to come back next year in February-March to do as many of the bike trails as I can. I really like the history of this area (Alexandra, Cromwell, Wanaka, Queenstown) and there are artifacts everywhere that are interesting - the following photo is of the old Alexandra Bridge that has stood up to the power of the Clutha River for such a long time.

Following the Clutha

After a couple of relatively quiet days, I set off for Cromwell, via the lookout over Clyde Dam and Clyde itself. I had spent quite a bit of time here in the early 1990’s and it was great to be back - the Clutha River is awesome, as is the engineering of the Clyde Dam. I am still in awe of the engineering that takes into account the earthquake faults that run through the area, although I still would be hesitant about living in Alexandra, Clyde and Cromwell because of the risk.

Cromwell is such a fast-growing town and is the hub for many potential adventures, especially on a bike. At the museum (a good visit) they told me that the bike trail that connects Cromwell and Queenstown will be completed by next year. Hopefully it will be open by the time I come back next year.

The NZMCA Rotary Glen Park is about 3km from the Town Centre but nicely located alongside Lake Dunstan. I rode my bike around Cromwell before riding up to Lowburn.

The Historic Cromwell town is worth a visit and seems to be getting better every time. There is a new building being erected that will include the new museum when it opens in 2026 - this will make that end of town even better.

I always intended to visit the Highlands Motor Sport Park, and I was not disappointed. There is a really good collection of mainly supercars and race cars with at least 5 McLarens and the racing car in which Michael Schumacher gained his first ever Grand Prix points.

I had a really nice coffee and scone at the cafe and watched cars doing laps around the circuit. It seems like you pay a fee and can do a number of laps, although there is no passing and a pace car is at the front. I briefly wondered about how the Motor Home would go around the circuit but stowed that thought.

After the cafe I needed a pit stop, and it was here that the highlight of the visit occurred - the “Loo’s with a view”. The creativity is just wonderful of each themed ‘loo’. The men’s urinal was especially interesting and gave me the opportunity to vent my feelings about the current world situation. Enough said.

Winding down in Wanaka

I left Cromwell and had a really nice drive through to Wanaka, then Glendhu Bay, where I booked in for 6 days. I thought it was time for me to take a bit of time out after a pretty hectic schedule, and I was developing quite a heavy cold. I was fortunate to get a camp site where I could park the Motor Home and put out the awning, so I had an uninterrupted view over Lake Wanaka - it was magic!!!

The next three days I was full of my cold so just chilled out and watched movies, when I wasn’t looking out over Lake Wanaka. When I was finally feeling better, I firstly rode the 13km trip to Wanaka, but it was a bit gnarly to say the least with washouts in quite a few places meaning lots of walking my bike rather than riding it. I did however have a nice stop over at the Mt Aspiring Lookout - it was a beautiful day.

The next day I went to the National Transport and Toy Museum. I was, quite frankly, overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of exhibits on display. I spend about 1/2 day in here and rang my brother, Bruce, to say that if he was intending to come here in the future, he would need at least 3 days. The Museum has several different buildings holding diverse collections of aircraft, cars, fire trucks, army equipment, toy cars, Lego, Meccano, Miniature Train sets, Bulldozers and a myriad of other ‘things’. I am told there are over 600 vehicles in the collection.

This is a stunning collection, and I think it is well worth the $19 it cost to enter, especially as you can come in and out as many times/days as you like. I have so many photos but only included two because of space constraints.

Heading back to Waikuku Beach

Next day I drove through to Twizel and initially had some difficulty finding a place to stay. The reason was that there were a couple of major events on. Firstly, a Hot Rod show and secondly a Dragon Boat competition. So, anytime there is a Hot Rod show I will stay around - found a spot at Lake Ruataniwha Holiday Park and prepared for the weekend. I had a long bike around Twizel, once again noticing the housing development that had, and is happening.

The Hot Rod show was good, with about 100 vehicles for a gold coin donation at the gate. You really have to admire these people for their efforts.

Then I went down to the Rowing complex and watched some Dragon Boat racing. It was lovely.

Time to go back to base

I left Twizel early with the intention of stopping along the route back to Waikuku Beach in a couple of different places. But the weather was shitty, and I was getting very frustrated by some of the less average drivers, many of whom appeared to drive Ford Rangers, and most of whom were very impatient. I drive at 90km and pull over wherever possible, but some people just seem to think that a Motor Home needs to be passed immediately regardless of yellow lines or narrow roads.

So, I drove back to Waikuku Beach via the inland scenic route.