 rom the MacKenzie Country we pass over the Lindis Pass to Central Otago. From Omarama, State Highway 8 follows the Ahuriri River and turns south up Longslip Creek to reach the pass. Although long familiar to the Maori who passed here on their way to the West Coast seeking greenstone, the first Pakeha to go through this area was the Otago surveyor John Turnbull Thomson who arrived in December 1857 and named the area after the island of Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland.
The view from the pass is remarkable with tussock-covered mountains stretching off into the vast distances. There is little in the way of larger vegetation apart from a few patches of matagouri and sweet briar and some willows along the stream. Otherwise everywhere there is tussock. Considering the amount of tussockland that is to be found throughout Otago, Canterbury and the Southern Alps, it has received extremely little recognition as a distinct and valuable ecosystem. Until recently less than 10 hectares of more than a million in the Otago area had reserve status.
There are few birds either. By leaving the road and remaining quiet you may see the chukar. The scarce falcon, or karearea, can also sometimes be seen, its piercing whistle or scream often betraying its presence before it comes into sight. Pipits are particularly common and these are the main prey of the falcon together with an occasional young rabbit. The harrier is also found here and it feeds on rabbits as well.
About 15 kilometres south of the pass is Morven Hills Station. This was one of the largest stations in the South Island, covering some 161,844 hectares and was started around 1859 by the brothers John and Allan McLean. By 1874, when they sold it, they had built their flock to an impressive 135,154 sheep.
Near the summit is a plaque commemorating the release in this area of seven red deer which had been imported from Scotland. From Morven Hills they spread in all directions with devastating results. But these were not the only deer liberated in the province: in 1867 axis deer were brought from Melbourne and released at Bushey Park but proved such a nuisance by raiding crops that they were shot by local farmers. Fallow deer were the next to arrive and had better luck, being released in the Tapanui Hills from where they have spread widely.
From the summit our route follows State Highway 8 which takes us down alongside the Clutha River to Cromwell and thence to Clyde, Alexandra and Roxburgh. The Clutha is fed by the three lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka and Hawea - which contribute to the Clutha’s flow of 650 cubic metres per second, the largest flow rate in the country. In its higher reaches near Lake Wanaka it is a favoured spot with anglers for its rainbow and brown trout.
An early archeological find near the Clutha in 1892, and now in the Otago Museum, was a waka huia, or carved box of huia feathers. While sheltering in a cave near Talla Burn, on the opposite side of the Clutha from Rae's junction, George Rae saw what he thought was a piece of sacking in a dry crevice. On closer examination this turned out to be the waka huia, which contained, as well as 70 huia feathers, 20 bunches of scarlet kaka feathers. It has been suggested they were brought from the north to be used in exchange for greenstone.
Near Cromwell lives one of our rarest known insects, the Cromwell cock-chafer beetle, which is confined to a small fenced area in a reserve near the town. It is not a particularly impressive-looking insect and although it does not get the recognition of our larger endangered species like dolphins and birds, it deserves protection notwithstanding. A rubbish dump is situated near the reserve and it is feared that the seagulls and rats that such dumps attract could endanger the beetles.
Most of this area was once a hive of activity as thousands of miners worked their claims. Large volumes of gold were extracted with large amounts of earth and rock being moved to get at it and many of the scars are still visible today. The most recent tailings are white, devoid of vegetation, but the older areas are gradually being covered by adventive scrub and willows. |
