Daily Photo – State Highway 87 in Kokonga

On occasions, there are moments that give you a real understanding of just what elevation can mean, and my arrival in Kokonga, in the Maniototo Basin, was one of them. I’d been travelling for some time through the Strath Taieri and, thanks to a recent snowfall, the surrounding hills were covered in crisp, white snow. However, with the area mostly sitting in a broad, flat valley framed by the Rock and Pillar Range, the snowline could be clearly seen on the surrounding hills, leaving the valley itself clear and cool on a typical winter’s day.

Kokonga, on the other hand, sits on the edge of the Maniototo and Strath Taieri basins, and thanks to a short climb in elevation, the transformation was quite remarkable. The clear roads and surrounding farmland had been replaced by a patchwork of white, disappearing into the mist beyond.