On our way to Dunedin

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ON OUR WAY TO DUNEDIN
The weather is too cold, even for the locals. As we leave Lake Wanaka, a popular summer lakeside center of activity, we are headed for Cromwell and an area that has been changed over the years to accommodate the building of the largest dam in New Zealand at Clyde. Much of the original town is underwater, but the property owners were compensated for the loss of their property, orchards, buildings, etc. Many of the buildings were moved to an area on the shore of Lake Dunston. It is the Cromwell Old Heritage Village. Artists and craftsmen have shops next to the boutique cafes and have original products created from wood, metal, wire, and plastics, for sale. They happily share their experiences and simultaneously apologize and shiver, with stories of unexpected weather changes this year, for instance skiing here in January (their summer) near Roxburgh as we head South toward the tip of NZ. We are grateful for our heater.
The Roxburgh Gorge bike Trail is a very long and strenuous cyclist trail partially completed in 2013, thru a gorge that has a history of gold mning. The area from Alexandra to Roxburgh is a harsh and desolate drive thru immense and strange boulders and rocks. Once Roxburgh is reached the landscape becomes rolling, green and even attractive to lakeside lovers. The road thru the area is clearly identified as OPEN OR CLOSED; dependent upon the weather. Zee coffee and local barristas make the mid-morning breaks special.
The rains at night have basically cleared during the days, but we are now dealing with very high winds that rock our RV even when parked. We have started up the Pacific coast to see the unusual rocks in Moeraki, known as the Moeraki Boulders. As the photos will show, they are mostlly perfectly spherical with circumprances up to 13ft. and are scattered across a huge beach area and available for close observation at low tide. A Maori legend explains their presence in ancient terms of discovery of NZ by their ancentors. A surprise discovery on SH1 was the Evandale Cheese Factory. Wonderful samples persuaded us to once again try locally crafted food products.
Our plan is to return to 'do' Dunedin via the scenic route, with beautiful ocean lookouts crossing the local railroad about 7 times, and then start across the tip of NZ toward the Milford Sound overnight Adventure aboard a sailboat thru the Fiordland area.

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