Daily Photo – Winter In The Maniototo

Leaving Kokonga, or what I could see of it, I continued along Highway 87 as paddocks, sheds, farm buildings, hay bales and livestock came and went in the white, misty gloom. A short time later, I arrived in Kyeburn to find that things weren’t much better. However, as I headed towards Ranfurly, the skies gradually cleared, revealing a crisp, cloudless blue sky. A heavy blanket of fresh winter snow covered the rolling high-country hills, while dark tyre tracks cut through the fields, where wire fences stretched into the distance past scattered livestock braving the chill. All of this was backdropped by the majestic, snow-clad Hawkdun Ranges rising sharply against the horizon, the scene captured the serene, rugged beauty of a classic South Island landscape.