Celebrating 500 Followers at Ashburton Lakes

Monday 18 May

The frost faded away overnight and it was a tad damp as we woke - misty clouds hanging low in the valley and golden sunlight on the far peaks. We also found we had acquired a new neighbour overnight… with acres of campground to choose, they had parked up in our turning circle, about 10m away from us! Maybe we just look safe & welcoming! Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours 🎶

Had a lovely chat with Paul & Margaret (another Invercargill escapee - maybe the rellies know her family?) before they set off to repeat our cycle ride up the Waihi Gorge, and we reversed up and slid out without disturbing the MadCampers.

A quick stop in Geraldine to top up the water tanks and the fridge & pantry then we were on our way via Mayfield to the Ashburton Lakes. Stopping in Mayfield for a McKeown’s diesel fill up we pulled in behind these 5 farm dogs who were all keen to say kia ora! So cute that their owner Tony K spotted them online 🖤🤍🤎

Bumpy road into the Hakatere Consrevation area around the Lakes for the last 12-15km, but we took it slowly, admiring the views along the way. We dropped down to Lake Clearwater as the info we had found online suggested this was a good spot, but the campground was quite lumpy and didn’t have great views. The village at Lake Clearwater was interesting - hundreds of holiday baches lined up in serried ranks leading down to the lake.

Instead we trekked back to Lake Camp which has two camps - we chose the one at the Eastern end of the lake, took a while trying to locate the best spot for solar and met a couple taking their pack goat, Tarn, for a walk in the hills! Tarn is a "pack goat" and sometimes accompanies his owners on long hikes with panniers on either side - I love this concept, would save me carrying a 10kg back pack!

The views here are gorgeous - looking up into Lord of the Rings country, with Mt Sunday, Mt Potts and Mt D’Archiac lining up along the horizon to the west. You can tell it also gets a tad breezy here - check out the angle on this larch tree! There are also just enough trees to steal your solar at a moment's notice - we parked up in sunshine but lost it half an hour later!

We took a moment to celebrate our Banjo’s Odyssey FB page reaching 500 followers - it started as our travel diary just before we left Auckland on 12 December 2024, and a way to keep contact with friends and whānau - but somehow it evolved along the way! Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in our travels!

We met others of our fellow campers, including the Gallichan Truck Life Nz family who were parked up in the mighty BEAST right next to the lake, and took a stroll around part of the lake shore. The lake looked to be quite low, but it was quite still and reflective, and ideal for skimming stones. The autumn colours of the camp lit up in the low evening sunshine and everything looked stunning - you could see BEAST shining silver amongst the coppery golden autumn tones!

Coming back to camp we watched the sun set as a golden orb behind the Southern Alps at the western end of the Lake and the last rays of sun leave the jagged Harper Range.

I had a zoom call with CANZ and am now inspired to get busy with my celebrant work - it’s quite hard to offer services when you are all over the place!

Our last long-drop loo trip of the night under the stars was through frosty grass - negative temperatures already at 10pm! ✨❄️