South Island : March / April 2019 : Days 3 and 4
Day 3 - Geraldine to Dunedin, Fine, 24°C in Geraldine, windy and cloudy in Dunedin
Up at 7:30am and drove back to near Woodbury to shoot the sunrise. No clouds in the sky so not the most exciting shoot, but it was pleasantly warm ( about 15°C ) so it was nice to have a wander around.
Back to camp to pack, have some breakfast and check out. Drove west through the back roads then joined SH1 and south again, turned off at St Andrews and headed up the Esk Valey to St Mary’s Church for a look. Church was locked so looked around then back to SH1 at St Andrews and carried on south.
Stopped at Oamaru for lunch ( cheese rolls ) at 12:30 then onwards to Dunedin, and checked in at the Dunedin Beach Camp in St Kilda ( $60 for a small basic cabin ). Rested for a bit then headed in to town to the Meridian Mall for a coffee and then back to the camp. Headed back into town at sunset to shoot the Railway Station then to a Turkish restaurant for tea and then back to camp.
Day 4 - Dunedin to Middlemarch, Cloudy, breezy, 14°C
Up at 7:15am and drove along to St Clair beach to shoot the poles ( the same ones I shot 6 years ago ) which are now in bit of a sad state. The weather wasn’t great ( windy and cold ) but we met a few other photographers ( some chattier than others ), then we grabbed breakfast at the Esplanade Cafe, then back to camp. Packed and left at 10am, and drove into town to get some clothes at Kathmandu then headed south ( after a brief petrol stop ), turned off at East Taieri and then through Outram and up into the hills towards Middlemarch. Really rugged country through here, full of rock stacks, tussock and Marino sheep.
We arrived in Middlemarch at 1:00pm and checked into the Middlemarch Holiday Park ( $50 for a cabin ) and relaxed for a bit ( we were both feeling a bit poorly with colds ). Out for lunch at the Tap & Dough at 2 and then a wander around town. Grabbed some supplies at Maggies ( seems to stock everything ) then back to camp.
Went for a drive at 3pm to Hyde, stopping at the Rail Disaster Memorial ( where 21 people died in 1943 due to a train derailment ) on the way then back on the back roads east of the Taieri River, and back to Middlemarch at 3:30pm. More rest. Amazing landscape with piles of schist scattered everywhere.
I headed out at 6 to shoot the landscape before the sun disappeared below the Rock and Pillar Range to our west. I headed down some of the back roads around Middlemarch, nearly collected a few stray sheep, and got back to camp around 7pm.
We headed to the Strath Taieri Hotel ( the only option in Middlemarch ) for a couple of steaks then back to camp at 8:30pm