Daily Photo – Outram

I left Clarks Junction and continued on State Highway 87 towards the southeast until I reached the small junction town of Outram. A drive that was 26 kilometers of quiet, peaceful bliss. The whole time, I didn’t see a single car, truck, campervan (thank goodness), tractor, or anything else that annoys me on the road. It was as if everyone else in the world had suddenly vanished. That was, until I descended from the higher elevation plains of Clarks Junction, Lee Stream, and Lake Mahinerangi to the Taieri Plains where Outram is located, and I found a steady stream of traffic milling around the town.

The journey is certainly much more pleasant than it used to be. Back in the 1860s when everyone lost all common sense and went completely crackers over the discovery of gold, the route (The Old Dunstan Road) I had just driven was close to the same one used by the miners to get to the goldfields. Outram was a key starting point for the original Dunstan Road. Travelers would start their journey from Outram and make their way up to Clarks Junction, where the more rugged and arduous part of the journey took miners high between the Lammermoor and Rock and Pillar Ranges to the goldfields. While it was possible to make this journey by horse or coach, many went on foot. This was an immensely difficult trip. Miners, with their heavy swags, would often be exhausted and starving. Some became so desperate for food and water they would trade gold for a loaf of bread, or they would eat the fat from a freshly killed sheep’s tail. The lack of provisions and the extreme weather, including snow and bitter cold, led many to be near death from starvation and exposure.

Having arrived in Outram, I parked outside a bakery that was conveniently located near a petrol station – this pleased me as I needed both food and petrol. Afterward, I went for a stroll around the town. Locals were casually going about their daily routines and ignored me as I poked around. I walked to one end of the street where the road heads out of town towards the Taieri River and further on to Mosgiel, while at the other, I found houses with connections to the earlier days of the town, such as the old Blacksmith’s house, the former Bank of Otago building, and a Watchmaker’s shop.

I returned to my car, pleased with the fact I wasn’t making the journey on foot carrying all my worldly possessions on my back. As I pointed the car towards the coastal suburb of Brighton, I noticed the time. It wasn’t nearly as late as I thought it was. Back in Sutton, when I decided to skip the Salt Lake, I had thought to myself, “If there’s time, I could detour from Outram to Hindon before continuing on to Brighton.” This seemed to me a capital idea, so pleased that I had the time to put the plan into action, I headed to the tiny settlement of Hindon.