After a great time in Queenstown we hired a car and headed for Omakau, Central Otago to visit my Gran.  We went over the crown range to Wanaka and had brunch there.  I had forgotten what a great lake front is there.

From there we had a good trip to Omakau.  We had a relaxing afternoon catching up and playing with Lilly, the little sausage dog. The next day we planned to go exploring and we took a picnic which included our gas burner from hiking so we could have a hot cup of tea.

First stop was the Falls Dam.  It was built during the Great Depression of the 1930s for the purpose of ensuring there is water for irrigation but unfortunately we couldn’t go around as the gate was locked.  We back tracked and went to the next valley, Hills Creek Rd.  Gran mentioned that when she was a girl they use to come up this way as her Grandmother would cook for the shearers and they would come to help.  From there we went to the Oteake Conservation Park which starts at the base of the Hawkduns.  We had hired a 4wd so we did a little driving and stopped for some food. We had wonderful views and a beautiful day.

After that we went home and had a bit of a rest.  There was a rugby match on at the Domain, Matakanui vs Roxburgh.  Niels and I wandered down and watched the game.

Matakanui (home time) had the run of the play but were let down with the goal kicking.  With 2 mins to go a conversion would have but them in the lead but the kicked was missed.  Then on the buzzer a penalty was awarded to the home team and I had my doubts because of the distance, but to my surprise and also the rest of the crowd, Matakanui made it.  We finished the day of with fish and chips.  The next day we headed home to Australia.  Always sad to leave.