Daily Photo – Omakau

Just after you leave the town of Clyde – heading towards Alexandra on State Highway 8, there’s a turnoff called Springvale Road. I took this, heading for the town of Omakau. As I did so, a strange thing happened: the sky cleared revealing a stunning winter’s day. It felt almost biblical. One moment I thought it was going to rain, next I was traveling through bright sunshine under a vast and radiant blue sky. This was the weather I’d been hoping for since leaving home, and now at last, here it was – stretching off into the distance, a big blue sky over a timeless land. I couldn’t be happier. 

I’d read somewhere that Omakau is a charming little Central Otago town, a lovely place to stop and stroll around. So that’s exactly what I did. I parked out the former Commercial Hotel and went for a wander, reading signs and inquisitively peering into various shop windows before strolling the short distance down to the Manuherikia River 

Over a hundred years ago, a violent storm swept through the region, bringing a combination of flooding, snowstorms, and blizzards. So unexpected was the weather system, many people were caught unprepared and heavy rain caused rivers like the Manuherikia to swell with one drowning recorded. During the snowstorms that followed, further fatalities were recorded. Thankfully, when I was there the river was in a pleasant and agreeable mood, and looked rather fetching from my vantage point on the bridge. I could almost make out the town of Ophir, which was where I was heading next. For a moment I considered walking there. It was only two kilometres away and the day was warm and fine. What’s more, I was on my own time and in need of a good walk. Just as I was about to set off, a bout of rational thinking kicked in. If I walked there, I’d also have to walk back, and the afternoon would quickly disappear. A decent walk now would mean less time for a beer at the end of the day. I mulled over this quandary for a few minutes … and then headed back to the car.