| | | Lake Clearwater, Rangitata-Rakaia |
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Lake Clearwater, on the way to Erewhon. This picture shows a different landscape - that of the East Coast "high country". Being in the rain shadow of the Alps, these montane basins are drier and hotter in summer than the West Coast, but also colder in Winter. The rolling hills clothed in tussock are actually quite high (getting up to 2000m) - and you realise this very rapidly if you try running up them! Strong Norwest winds mean that Lake Clearwater is popular for wind surfing. Jet boating and water skiing are popular on calmer days. Lake Heron is on the other side of the hill we're on. The Arrowsmiths lie to the West. Erewhon (derived from spelling "nowhere" backwards) is the legendary sheep station near Mt Potts on the edge of the Rangitata river (its off the picture to the right in this view). There's a very friendly ski club based here - the first time I have enjoyed being on a ski field. Awesome tramping and mountaineering trips are possible in the headwaters of the Rangitata and Rakaia rivers, notably Mt Whitcombe, Mt Ramsay. Due to the long walk-in these areas are relatively remote and receive few visitors. |
Tramping overview | Back to Jonathan's gallery Copyright (c) 1996 Jonathan Carr |