Thursday, February 20, 2014

A Southern Sojourn #6

The same day we visited Bannockburn and the sluicing remants, we spent a bit of time wandering around 'Old Cromwell'.

Cromwell as it is today is a recent development. A hydro dam was built further down the Clutha River at Clyde, which had the effect of backing up a lake which drowned a large area of the surrounding countryside, including the lovely old Cromwell Gorge road, and a good part of Cromwell township.

This area was the site of 1860s-era gold-mining, and so there were a lot of buildings which dated from that period. A number of these buildings were 'saved' by being dis-assembled and re-located above the new lake level into 'Old Cromwell Town' - an open air museum. So, of course, we had a wander about in the glorious sunshine:












The Lake looks pretty, and there have been successful efforts to plant the surroundings attractively, so I was left with mixed feelings about whether I like the outcome or not.




And despite the generally seer surrounding countryside, when water is applied in a garden setting, the colours are striking and glorious.





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