Mulan backdrop - the Omarama Clay Cliffs

Wednesday 12 November

Sad to say haere ra to Hāwea, and on such a stunning morning. After watching the golden sunrise turn into a clear blue skies day with wispy clouds and the odd vapour trail. We packed up, made use of the jaunty dump station, then hit the road at 10.01am - just 1 minute after official check out time!

Heading for the Lindis Pass, it was our duty to stop at Tarras for morning tea and to get lunch and a snack for Louis!

An easy and scenic drive through the Pass and before we knew it we were in Omarama, having passed the clay cliffs at a distance once again, where we paused for a quick stop at the multi-lingual toilets, before we settled in to the Ahuriri Bridge DOC campsite, which coincidentally was part of the Alps2Ocean cycle trail. Sat outside in the sun for lunch - Tarras pastrami pretzel bun for Louis and the last of the Twizel salmon for me -and we had a lovely chat with Debbie, a passing A2O cyclist.

We were the first to settle in here, but a few others joined us soon after, with around a dozen of us there overnight. I took a stroll by the stream below Ahuriri Bridge and was delighted to find it was full of glorious lupins 🩷💜 Locals may not be so excited as they are technically a noxious weed... but they look so pretty.

Early afternoon we set off for the Omarama Clay Cliffs, which we’d seen from the road each time we had passed this way, but not yet visited. Apparently they are Insta-famous as they were used as a backdrop in the Disney live action movie" Mulan"

We were harassed on our way in by a very vocal Californian Quail who sat in the top of a spiky bush and shouted loudly at the world for about 10-15 minutes, and kindly posed for my long lens!

The Omarama Clay Cliffs turned out to be a fascinating landscape of sandstone erosion that could easily be the setting for a sci-fi alien planet! Sadly my knees found it quite challenging, but Louis has some great video footage to share online shortly.

The curiously shaped towers and ravines have been carved by rainwater over the centuries, creating Gaudi like peaks and fascinating shapes and textures. The amphitheatre of pinnacles after entering the space through a narrow gorge was totally surreal - a phenomenal place to visit.

Between us in the cliffs and the SH8 in the distance, the braided Ahuriri River carved its way through the landscape, creating a delicate glacial blue lacework across the plain.

Back at Banjo we made leftover-lamb pie for dinner then I went wandering along the A2O cycle trail at sundown (no cyclists at this late hour) and found a gorgeous stretch of the Ahuriri River at golden hour.

Sadly the clouds then swept over so we missed the Aurora but you can’t have everything!