Roxburgh & Pinders Pond

From Butchers Dam we drove on towards Roxburgh, passing the odd quaint little old miners cottage and the many rocky outcrops of layered schist

Typical view down this rocky road. 

which is such a special feature of this area. After buying some roadside fruit - the Moorpark  apricots are big and delicious - the Roxburgh Dam was a good stopping point to see the water gushing forcefully and spectacularly  through the gates into the Clutha River.

The I-site in the little town of Roxburgh  (population 500)  provided us with information about the cycle rides in the area, namely the Clutha Gold Trail which looks good to do, and the friendly lady on the desk gave us a nice hessian shopping bag for being responsible campers after we talked about the poo problems at Butcher's Dam. We also popped into the Pharmacy to pick up a faxed prescription - ongoing medical care is pretty easy when you're on the road!

The next crazy stop was The Roxburgh Golf Club situated just on the other side of town - crazy ( mad dogs and English men!!) because at 30 ° it was about the hottest day of the year and there was not a cloud in the sky! Boy it was hot. We had a chat to the Secretary who was there briefly but we were the only idiots on the course. The sun scorched down and the hot wind gusted through the rises and hollows meaning we couldn't use our umbrellas for shade.

Aftermath of letting trundler find its own way!

The tee is the other side of the canyon!

Golf bagatelle!

However, what an interesting but challenging course this is - unique really with the abundance of schist rocks everywhere, narrow entries to some fairways, a stoney creek in 2 fairway gullies, bunkers and so many exhausting ups and downs from one tee to the next that I would have liked an escalator! But I'm sure I would have managed better on a cooler day. Let this be a lesson!

A good place for reflection. 

We could have stayed overnight at the course but instead chose to drive to Pinders Pond, a beautiful free spot on the other side of the river with plenty of room and a toilet for non self contained vehicles! We parked almost right on the edge of the lake with the forceful Clutha River, just beyond the cycle track and trees, behind. On arriving we jumped straight into the Pond for a swim, needing to cool off from the golf - bliss even though there are funny tiny particles in the water.

Chris & Steve from Papamoa, whom we were parked next to at Molyneux Park 2 nights ago,  joined us for drinks and chat before dinner which was good. Len had a fish in the pond while dinner was cooking and then in the river after dinner but sadly the fish won again although he did get a perch to throw back and a couple of bites. He might be able to blame his gear as with the warm water on top of the lakes he may need something that takes his hook a bit deeper!
What a knackering day! I didn't even have the energy to read my book when I got into bed.

Thursday morning was cloudy with the promise of a shower or two but at 9.30 we  took my pet spider, who comes from Whakatane and lives in the handlebars of my bike, for a spin down the Clutha Gold Cycle Trail to Millers Flat, 14 km away. 

Great bike track alongside the Clutha.

This is a great, undulating but easy, track running alongside the powerful, rushing greeny Clutha with occasional views of cattle, sheep and fields of spinach. The whole track runs from just north of  Roxburgh to Lawrence being about 73 km long. It joins up with the Roxburgh Gorge Trail through to Alexandra and to us would make a good alternative to the Otago Rail Trail which can be a bit of a slog at times. Going out we met about 10 fit male cyclists racing towards us plus an older couple. On the return journey we saw no one else at all which made all the bends safe!

Delicious carrot cake,  second only to Trish's!

In tiny Miller's Flat we had a coffee and a delicious slice of carrot cake each in Faigin's cafe whilst enjoying using their Wifi as we caught up with all things Internet not having been able to connect for 2-3 days. The cafe is cosy with quite a lot of paintings and interesting memorabilia displayed on the surrounding shelves. We arrived back at Pinders Pond just after 1.00pm, the wind having started to suddenly drive into us 2 km from 'home'.  5 minutes later the showers started and a new plan was forged! We are now going to stay here another night to have a little rest before leaving for Lawrence tomorrow.