Exploring New Zealand: 3 - 5 January 2017: Lake Dunstan & Rabbits

Cromwell NZMCA (unpowered)

This is an interesting NZMCA site - enormous area, but only permission for 10 caravans. As you can imagine, this provides for some heated debate at the entrance sometimes when other members take it upon themselves to play the 'Gatekeeper'. But we knew the score (having read the comments on the NZMCA App) and arrived early to secure our spot.

The NZMCA site at Lake Dunstan...that's us on the right! :)

Boy o boy! Never in my life have I seen so many rabbits! One bank was totally covered in warrens. Dizzy went crazy after them!

Some of the enormous warrens near the Lake Dunstan campsite.

Later I discovered that two months ago they had laid the poison Pindone down - all around the camp and by the side of the Lake. I was careful to keep Dizzy in sight at all times (as you probably all know, Pindone, like so many of these poisons that are banned in the rest of the world, but distributed freely around NZ by helicopter and quad-bikes, have the potential for secondary killing through a poisoned carcass).

We found at least 3 dead rabbits by the side of the Lake Dunstan - where paradoxically children played and families picnicked.

There were also numerous bones - from rabbits and also other wildlife. For instance, this (photo below) could have been an Australian Harrier? My guess is it may have died via secondary poisoning from scavenging one of the many dead carcasses. Whether Brodifacoum or Pindone, the risks are high.

One of the skulls around the poisoned area at Lake Dunstan. (my foot for perspective!)

Observing the kind of blase attitude from families surrounded by toxic poison and carcasses - makes we wonder again about the psyche of the typical New Zealander and how poisoning has become so embedded and normalised in this society. How did this happen? We warned fellow dog-owners of the risks...and went walking outside the poisoned lakeside area...And found some fabulous walks...

These people were having fun by the lake inlet - and saved Dizzy's ball for us from the water after they jumped in! It was a VERY hot day!

The significance of the area was the 45th Parallel -
and the tracks provided lots of location information along the way.

The fabulous view from the top of locally-known 'Sugarloaf mountain' or Mount Pisa - near Lowburn.

Later we went into Cromwell town to learn about how this 'new town' had come into existence: the old historical mining town had been flooded a few years ago, with the most 'valuable' old buildings being re-located to a new site. The new town is dominated by the symbolic fruits of the surrounding farmland economy:

Fabulous though the fruit stands and orchards were, it was alien compared to similar areas in South France and Italy I had visited for example; no bees or wasps hanging around. Why was this?

Cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots
were all in season during our visit - and very very cheap!

But was it natural there were no insects hanging around? Was it something to do with all the Glyphosate they used in and around the fruit trees? We saw them spraying it about hap-hazardly. In fact, it was ubiquitous during our journey. From every fence to every picnic table and even the remotest litter bin and road side - spray, spray spray those 'pest' weeds. Very depressing indeed.

The saved and re-located historical settlers buildings - now a tourist attraction.

Rebuilding the old sheds and positioning then all together on the edge of the new lake made it look like a scene from a movie-set. The old business were transformed into stylish art galleries (the original butchers), cafe (the old Bakers) and so on, Stepping from this parade into the New Cromwell town made for what Justin described as a 'Trueman show' kind of juxtaposition. The comparison of the tattered old timber-clad buildings with the white clean-lines and square roads and newly built houses of the 'New Cromwell'...an interesting and slightly sad experience.

BUT...

I loved the Otago landscape - dry and barren but wide grasslands and full of lakes. AND very few poisoned sites here (other than Pindone for the rabbits) because not too much bush (even DoC can't make up stories about Possum's eating leaves that don't exist)!