Daily Photo – Kokonga

Of course, when I arrived in Kyeburn, the only thing I found was a hard frost. Having settled overnight, it stretched across the fields as far as the eye could see, and by the time I reached Kokonga, it seemed even more bitter.

A few kilometres before the small settlement, I had passed through the Maniototo in the early morning. The hills lay flat and peaceful, like sleeping animals. Scattered farms stood distant and isolated; fields climbed up to the rolling hillsides, giving the valley a far-flung feel. The sun had yet to take hold of the day and, for the meantime, remained tucked away behind dark, puffy clouds. On a short stretch of road beside a frozen field, I passed a sign that read “Railway Road – No Exit”, the track itself running only a short distance up into the hills. I pulled over beside an old, forgotten fenceline and got out to look around. There was no one about. Presumably, the people of Kokonga were still sensibly tucked up in bed, warm and cosy.

I wandered past a house with a neatly kept garden – no sign of life – and then along the former railway line, now part of the Central Otago Rail Trail. I stopped where the view opened over a scattering of caravans and huts that sat in the frost-stiffened grass, paint peeling, windows squinting out at the day as if half-asleep. Behind them, the hills rolled away into the distance, capped with snow and looking noble and grand, as mountains often do. The whole scene lay under a pale winter sky, stark, cold, beautiful in a way that makes you wonder if the people living here are brave, mad, or a little of both. I pondered that notion for a bit, not reaching a conclusion as my feet crunched their way back to the warmth of my car.