Daily Photo – Ohai

I continued on to Ohai, an even smaller town than Tuatapere. According to Statistics New Zealand as of the 2023 Census the rural town had 288 residents. However, in more recent times the place has experienced somewhat of a ‘boom’ as people from bigger cities have decided they rather like being able to buy a decent house for under $300,000 or a quarter-acre section $60,000.

Once a bustling coal town, life in Ohai appeared to be on the quiet side as I slowly rolled through the town. Just as I was passing through what I assumed was the beating heart of central Ohai, two teenagers came into view, slouching their way down the middle of the road, kicking a can. I kid you not. There they were, just ambling along the centre line, taking it in turns to kicking a crushed and faded tin can down the middle of the street. Occasionally one of them would stop, pick-up a stone and whirl it away in the distance to nothing in particular. Oh what it must be like to be a teenager in a rural, northwestern Southland town. 

Beyond the town the Tākitimu Mountains and Fiordland’s Princess Mountains were visible in the distance and gave the place a semi-alpine feel. The afternoon was pressing on, the light was starting to dip ever so slightly while heavy clouds once again hung overhead. On the outskirts of town a sign pointed back towards the town that read “Ohai Ohai”, so I said “goodbye, goodbye” and carried on to Nightcaps. Or, should I say ‘Nightcaps Nightcaps’.